District of Jammu and Kashmir

Kathua District Population 2026

Q: What is the population of Kathua district in 2026?

Our estimate for 1 March 2026 is ≈6,82,000 (6.82 lakh). It is not an official figure: it applies Kathua's 2001–2011 trend, damped, to the official Jammu and Kashmir projection (method M1). Census 2011 counted 6,16,435.

Q: What was the population of Kathua district in Census 2011?

6,16,435: 3,26,109 males and 2,90,326 females, of whom 89,713 lived in towns and 5,26,722 in villages.

Population · 1 March 2026

≈ 6.82 lakh Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection 1 March 2026 How this is made →

6,82,000 682,000 1 March 2026

Kathua district's population is estimated at ≈6.82 lakh (6,82,000) on 1 March 2026. This is our estimate, tied to the official Jammu and Kashmir projection; Census 2011, the last count, recorded 6,16,435.

Estimate: method M1, constrained to the RGI projection for Jammu and Kashmir. Census: ORGI.

Which number do you mean?

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

District

Kathua district

Census 2011: 6,16,435
2026 Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection How this is made →: ≈ 6.82 lakh

Urban population

Towns (urban)

Census 2011: 89,713

Rural

Villages (rural)

Census 2011: 5,26,722

Key figures

Population 2026: ≈ 6.82 lakh 6,82,000 Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection How this is made →
Census 2011: 6.16 lakh 6,16,435 Census 2011 Final count, Census of India 2011 (ORGI) How this is made →
Density: 246per km² 2011
Sex ratio: 890 Jammu and Kashmir: 892
Child sex ratio (0–6): 831 Jammu and Kashmir: 860
Literacy rate: 73.1% Male 81.5% · Female 63.7%
Urban share: 14.6% Jammu and Kashmir: 27.5%
Growth 2001–11: +20.5% Jammu and Kashmir: +23.8%
Area: 2,502km² Census 2011
Households: 1.2 lakh 5.2 people per household
Villages: 512 Census 2011
Towns: 6 Census 2011

#8 / 20
Population · Jammu and Kashmir
#593 / 782
Population · in India
#3 / 20
Literacy rate · Jammu and Kashmir
#13 / 20
Density · Jammu and Kashmir

Population over time

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

Census
Estimate

7.1 L 2026

› Show the numbers as a table

Year	Population
1951	1,80,968
1961	1,94,997
1971	2,56,755
1981	3,40,494
1991	4,19,120
2001	5,11,455
2011	6,16,435
2016 *	6,43,000
2021 *	6,64,000
2026 *	6,82,000
2031 *	6,99,000
2036 *	7,12,000

* Estimate

How Kathua'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 Kathua's 2011 population was spread
#
1	Kathua	2,10,949	34.2%	872	78.9%	33.7%
2	Billawar	1,50,882	24.5%	893	66.7%	3.3%
3	Hiranagar	1,37,798	22.4%	897	79.6%	6.0%
4	Bashohli	70,810	11.5%	905	68.1%	7.7%
5	Bani	45,996	7.5%	925	53.7%	0.0%

Largest towns in Kathua (Census 2011)

Kathua 59,866
Hiranagar 8,294
Parole 7,681
Bashohli 5,433
Billawar 4,978
Lakhanpur 3,461

How people in Kathua worked (Census 2011)

Cultivators

34.7%

Agricultural labourers

10.8%

Household industry

2.0%

Other work

52.6%

Share of all workers, main and marginal. Work participation: 32.5%.

Age structure of Kathua

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 →

MenWomen

80+
75-79
70-74
65-69
60-64
55-59
50-54
45-49
40-44
35-39
30-34
25-29
20-24
15-19
10-14
5-9
0-4

› Show the numbers as a table

Age	Men	Women
0-4	31,551	26,349
5-9	35,138	28,714
10-14	35,924	30,137
15-19	32,775	27,572
20-24	29,538	27,990
25-29	26,242	25,934
30-34	24,644	23,066
35-39	22,467	20,986
40-44	19,270	17,426
45-49	17,072	15,192
50-54	13,759	11,733
55-59	10,115	8,976
60-64	8,853	8,296
65-69	6,113	5,693
70-74	5,109	5,086
75-79	2,968	2,865
80+	4,097	4,021

Children (0–14): 30.5%; Jammu and Kashmir 34.0%
Working age (15–59): 60.9%; Jammu and Kashmir 58.6%
Older people (60+): 8.6%; Jammu and Kashmir 7.4%
Median age: 25.2years; Jammu and Kashmir 23.3
Dependency ratio: 57.1; children and 65+ per 100 aged 15–64; Jammu and Kashmir 63.4

Languages spoken in Kathua

Share of people by mother tongue, grouped into languages as the Census does. 30 languages recorded. Census 2011 Census 2011, as published. How this is made →

Dogri 81.9%
Hindi 12.3%
Kashmiri 2.2%
Punjabi 1.9%
Others 1.1%
Gujarati 0.2%
Urdu 0.1%
Bengali 0.1%
All other languages 0.3%

Largest mother tongues

Dogri81.9%
Pahari6.9%
Gojri/Gujjari/Gujar3.5%
Kashmiri2.0%
Punjabi1.9%
Hindi1.0%
Bharmauri/Gaddi0.3%
Ponchi0.2%

Housing and amenities in Kathua

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

Basic services

Electricity for lighting 92.9%

Jammu and Kashmir 85.3%
Tap water 51.9%

Jammu and Kashmir 64.8%
Water source within premises 44.1%

Jammu and Kashmir 49.4%
Toilet within premises 22.1%

Jammu and Kashmir 51.1%
Open defecation (no latrine) (Lower is better for this one.) 76.5%

Jammu and Kashmir 46.1%
Bathing area within premises 40.2%

Jammu and Kashmir 61.2%
Closed drainage 5.2%

Jammu and Kashmir 13.0%
Cooking with LPG/PNG 27.8%

Jammu and Kashmir 31.9%
Cooking with wood, crop waste or dung (Lower is better for this one.) 70.9%

Jammu and Kashmir 65.2%

What households own

Mobile phone 72.9%

Jammu and Kashmir 66.4%
Television 56.8%

Jammu and Kashmir 51.4%
Scooter or motorcycle 19.5%

Jammu and Kashmir 13.2%
Computer or laptop 5.2%

Jammu and Kashmir 8.5%
Car, jeep or van 4.0%

Jammu and Kashmir 7.5%
Use banking services 77.3%

Jammu and Kashmir 69.8%
None of the listed assets (Lower is better for this one.) 15.5%

Jammu and Kashmir 17.1%

The home itself

Own their home 97.5%

Jammu and Kashmir 96.7%
Rent their home 1.8%

Jammu and Kashmir 2.2%
Permanent (pucca) house 62.7%

Jammu and Kashmir 63.9%
House in good condition 61.3%

Jammu and Kashmir 54.7%
Concrete roof 55.2%

Jammu and Kashmir 24.4%
Cement or tiled floor 42.9%

Jammu and Kashmir 49.2%
One room or less (Lower is better for this one.) 32.2%

Jammu and Kashmir 25.6%

Jammu and Kashmir

What the numbers say

Kathua district held 5.0% of Jammu and Kashmir's population in 2011, 8th of 20 districts.
Literacy is 73.1%, 6.1 points above the Jammu and Kashmir average of 67.0%.
The gender gap in literacy is wide: 81.5% of men but only 63.7% of women could read and write in 2011.
The child sex ratio was just 831 girls per 1,000 boys aged 0–6, among the more skewed in India (national: 918).
14.6% of residents lived in towns in 2011, more rural than Jammu and Kashmir as a whole (27.5%).
The population grew 20.5% in 2001–11, slower than Jammu and Kashmir's 23.8%.
Our 2026 estimate, ≈6.82 lakh, implies growth of about 11% since 2011; it is tied to the official Jammu and Kashmir projection.
Its largest town, Kathua, had 59.9 thousand people in 2011, 9.7% of the district.

Compare with

All districts of Jammu and Kashmir →

Census 2027 status

Results pending

Phase I: houselisting

Done (1 June 2026 – 30 June 2026)
Phase II: counting people

Snow-bound areas: September 2026. Rest: February 2027
Results

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

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

Population by religion in Kathua (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 Kathua (Census 2011)
Religion	Persons	Share	Jammu and Kashmir
Hindu	5,40,063	87.6%	28.8%
Muslim	64,234	10.4%	68.8%
Christian	1,828	0.3%	0.3%
Sikh	9,551	1.5%	1.9%
Buddhist	24	0.0%	0.0%
Jain	16	0.0%	0.0%
Other religions and persuasions	2	0.0%	0.0%
Religion not stated	717	0.1%	0.2%
Total	6,16,435	100%

Frequently asked questions

What is the population of Kathua district in 2026?

Our estimate for 1 March 2026 is ≈6,82,000 (6.82 lakh). It is not an official figure: it applies Kathua's 2001–2011 trend, damped, to the official Jammu and Kashmir projection (method M1). Census 2011 counted 6,16,435.

What was the population of Kathua district in Census 2011?

6,16,435: 3,26,109 males and 2,90,326 females, of whom 89,713 lived in towns and 5,26,722 in villages.

What is the literacy rate and sex ratio of Kathua?

Literacy was 73.1% in 2011 (men 81.5%, women 63.7%). The sex ratio was 890 females per 1,000 males, and 831 among children aged 0–6.

Which is the largest town in Kathua district?

Kathua, with 59,866 people in Census 2011.

How many villages and towns are in Kathua district?

On today's boundaries the district contains 512 Census 2011 villages and 6 towns.

⤓ Download Jammu and Kashmir district data (CSV)

Sources and method

Data updated: 4 October 2026 · Report a correction