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District of Haryana

Karnal District Population 2026

Population · 1 March 2026

≈ 18.41 lakh Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection 1 March 2026 How this is made →

18,41,000 1.84 million 1 March 2026

Karnal district's population is estimated at ≈18.41 lakh (18,41,000) on 1 March 2026. This is our estimate, tied to the official Haryana projection; Census 2011, the last count, recorded 15,05,324.

Estimate: method M1, constrained to the RGI projection for Haryana. Census: ORGI.

Which number do you mean?

District totals include villages. Here is how the 2011 population splits between towns and villages.

District

Karnal district

Census 2011
15,05,324
2026 Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection How this is made →
≈ 18.41 lakh

Urban population

Towns (urban)

Census 2011
4,54,810

Rural

Villages (rural)

Census 2011
10,50,514

Key figures

Population 2026
≈ 18.41 lakh 18,41,000 Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection How this is made →
Census 2011
15.05 lakh 15,05,324 Census 2011 Final count, Census of India 2011 (ORGI) How this is made →
Density
597per km² 2011
Sex ratio
887 Haryana: 879
Child sex ratio (0–6)
824 Haryana: 834
Literacy rate
74.7% Male 81.8% · Female 66.8%
Urban share
30.2% Haryana: 34.9%
Growth 2001–11
+18.1% Haryana: +19.9%
Area
2,520km² Census 2011
Households
2.92 lakh 5.2 people per household
Villages
434 Census 2011
Towns
8 Census 2011

Where it ranks

Population over time

Census counts on 2011 boundaries, then our estimate to 2036.

Karnal: Population over time
  • Census
  • Estimate
20 L 2026
› Show the numbers as a table
YearPopulation
19513,53,764
19614,74,722
19716,19,533
19818,29,927
199110,35,390
200112,74,183
201115,05,324
2016 *16,26,000
2021 *17,40,000
2026 *18,41,000
2031 *19,30,000
2036 *20,11,000

* Estimate

How Karnal's 2011 population was spread

Sub-districts (tehsils, talukas, mandals or blocks) as they were in Census 2011. “Part” means only some of it now lies in this district.

How Karnal's 2011 population was spread
#
1 Karnal7,14,32847.5%88577.2%46.0%
2 Assandh2,33,20415.5%88570.4%11.6%
3 Nilokheri2,07,10113.8%89374.6%21.2%
4 Gharaunda1,88,09812.5%88771.2%20.1%
5 Indri1,62,59310.8%89374.4%10.8%

Largest towns in Karnal (Census 2011)

Largest towns in Karnal (Census 2011)
  1. Karnal 3,02,140
  2. Gharaunda 37,816
  3. Assandh 27,125
  4. Taraori 25,944
  5. Nilokheri 17,938
  6. Indri 17,487
  7. Nissing 17,438
  8. Uncha Siwana CT 8,922

How people in Karnal worked (Census 2011)

Cultivators

21.8%

Agricultural labourers

25.9%

Household industry

3.0%

Other work

49.4%

Share of all workers, main and marginal. Work participation: 34.3%.

Age structure of Karnal

Population in five-year age groups, Census 2011. Men on the left, women on the right. Census 2011 Census 2011, as published. How this is made →

Age structure of Karnal
MenWomen
  1. 80+
  2. 75-79
  3. 70-74
  4. 65-69
  5. 60-64
  6. 55-59
  7. 50-54
  8. 45-49
  9. 40-44
  10. 35-39
  11. 30-34
  12. 25-29
  13. 20-24
  14. 15-19
  15. 10-14
  16. 5-9
  17. 0-4
› Show the numbers as a table
AgeMenWomen
0-475,46162,901
5-978,95763,482
10-1485,13767,923
15-1987,42570,238
20-2482,42775,501
25-2970,96764,553
30-3457,45454,747
35-3954,34550,401
40-4446,00543,192
45-4938,97135,294
50-5429,51427,002
55-5922,03623,151
60-6425,03225,890
65-6915,73915,300
70-7411,44210,994
75-795,6605,891
80+8,3868,647
Children (0–14)
28.9%
Haryana 29.7%
Working age (15–59)
62.2%
Haryana 61.6%
Older people (60+)
8.9%
Haryana 8.7%
Median age
25.0years
Haryana 24.8
Dependency ratio
52.4
children and 65+ per 100 aged 15–64
Haryana 54.0

Languages spoken in Karnal

Share of people by mother tongue, grouped into languages as the Census does. 33 languages recorded. Census 2011 Census 2011, as published. How this is made →

Languages spoken in Karnal
  1. Hindi 87.4%
  2. Punjabi 10.9%
  3. Lahnda 1.1%
  4. Maithili 0.2%
  5. Urdu 0.1%
  6. Nepali 0.1%
  7. Odia 0.1%
  8. Bengali 0.1%
  9. All other languages 0.1%

Largest mother tongues

  1. Hindi54.3%
  2. Haryanvi32.0%
  3. Punjabi10.9%
  4. Hindi Multani1.1%
  5. Bhojpuri0.3%
  6. Urdu0.1%
  7. Purbi Maithili0.1%
  8. Nepali0.1%

Housing and amenities in Karnal

Share of households, Houselisting Census 2011. Census 2011 Census 2011, as published. How this is made →

Basic services

  • Electricity for lighting 93.9%

    Haryana 90.6%

  • Tap water 80.7%

    Haryana 68.9%

  • Water source within premises 79.1%

    Haryana 66.6%

  • Toilet within premises 75.9%

    Haryana 68.7%

  • Open defecation (no latrine) (Lower is better for this one.) 22.2%

    Haryana 29.8%

  • Bathing area within premises 83.7%

    Haryana 82.5%

  • Closed drainage 20.5%

    Haryana 21.1%

  • Cooking with LPG/PNG 50.3%

    Haryana 44.1%

  • Cooking with wood, crop waste or dung (Lower is better for this one.) 47.8%

    Haryana 54.3%

What households own

  • Mobile phone 72.5%

    Haryana 74.9%

  • Television 75.8%

    Haryana 68.0%

  • Scooter or motorcycle 38.0%

    Haryana 33.4%

  • Computer or laptop 10.3%

    Haryana 13.2%

  • Car, jeep or van 9.2%

    Haryana 10.5%

  • Use banking services 65.6%

    Haryana 68.1%

  • None of the listed assets (Lower is better for this one.) 8.6%

    Haryana 9.4%

The home itself

  • Own their home 91.0%

    Haryana 88.3%

  • Rent their home 6.8%

    Haryana 9.6%

  • Permanent (pucca) house 74.3%

    Haryana 77.1%

  • House in good condition 54.1%

    Haryana 53.7%

  • Concrete roof 43.4%

    Haryana 32.7%

  • Cement or tiled floor 40.5%

    Haryana 49.3%

  • One room or less (Lower is better for this one.) 29.1%

    Haryana 26.2%

Haryana

What the numbers say

  • Karnal district held 5.9% of Haryana's population in 2011, 3rd of 23 districts.
  • Literacy is 74.7%, 0.8 points below the Haryana average of 75.6%.
  • The gender gap in literacy is wide: 81.8% of men but only 66.8% of women could read and write in 2011.
  • The child sex ratio was just 824 girls per 1,000 boys aged 0–6, among the more skewed in India (national: 918).
  • Our 2026 estimate, ≈18.41 lakh, implies growth of about 22% since 2011; it is tied to the official Haryana projection.
  • Its largest town, Karnal, had 3.02 lakh people in 2011, 20.1% of the district.

Compare with

All districts of Haryana →

Census 2027 status

Results pending

  1. Phase I: houselisting

    Done (1 May 2026 – 30 May 2026)

  2. Phase II: counting people

    February 2027 (reference date 1 March 2027)

  3. Results

    Not yet released. In 2011, first figures came about a month after counting ended.

When the Registrar General publishes Census 2027 figures for Karnal, they will appear on this page, at this address. Census 2027 explained →

Population by religion in Karnal (Census 2011)

Official figures as published by the Office of the Registrar General. Shown without commentary. Census 2011 Census 2011, as published. How this is made →

Population by religion in Karnal (Census 2011)
ReligionPersonsShareHaryana
Hindu 13,41,002 89.1% 87.5%
Muslim 31,650 2.1% 7.0%
Christian 2,049 0.1% 0.2%
Sikh 1,26,207 8.4% 4.9%
Buddhist 532 0.0% 0.0%
Jain 1,516 0.1% 0.2%
Other religions and persuasions 49 0.0% 0.0%
Religion not stated 2,319 0.2% 0.2%
Total15,05,324100%

Frequently asked questions

What is the population of Karnal district in 2026?
Our estimate for 1 March 2026 is ≈18,41,000 (18.41 lakh). It is not an official figure: it applies Karnal's 2001–2011 trend, damped, to the official Haryana projection (method M1). Census 2011 counted 15,05,324.

What was the population of Karnal district in Census 2011?
15,05,324: 7,97,712 males and 7,07,612 females, of whom 4,54,810 lived in towns and 10,50,514 in villages.

What is the literacy rate and sex ratio of Karnal?
Literacy was 74.7% in 2011 (men 81.8%, women 66.8%). The sex ratio was 887 females per 1,000 males, and 824 among children aged 0–6.

Which is the largest town in Karnal district?
Karnal, with 3,02,140 people in Census 2011.

How many villages and towns are in Karnal district?
On today's boundaries the district contains 434 Census 2011 villages and 8 towns.

⤓ Download Haryana district data (CSV)

Sources and method

Data updated: · Report a correction