GlobeMetrics
EN

Try “Pune”, “Poona” or “पुणे”

State · Capital: Thiruvananthapuram

Kerala Population 2026

Population · 1 March 2026

3.62 crore Official projection RGI Technical Group on Population Projections (2020), as on 1 March 1 March 2026 How this is made →

3,62,07,000 36.21 million 1 March 2026

Kerala's population is projected at 3.62 crore (3,62,07,000) on 1 March 2026, according to the RGI Technical Group's official projection. Census 2011, the last count, recorded 3,34,06,061.

RGI Technical Group on Population Projections (2020), as on 1 March

Key figures

Population 2026
3.62 crore 3,62,07,000 Official projection RGI Technical Group on Population Projections (2020), as on 1 March How this is made →
Census 2011
3.34 crore 3,34,06,061 Census 2011 Final count, Census of India 2011 (ORGI) How this is made →
Density
860per km² 2011 · 2026: 932
Sex ratio
1084 females per 1,000 males
Child sex ratio (0–6)
964 India 918
Literacy rate
94.0% Male 96.1% · Female 92.1%
Urban share
47.7% 2026: 81.4% (projected)
Growth 2001–11
+4.9% 2011→2026: +8.4%
Area
38,852km²
Households
78.54 lakh 4.3 people per household
Work participation
34.8% 2011
Children 0–6
34.73 lakh 10.4%

Where it ranks

Population over time

Census counts 1951–2011, then the official projection to 2036.

Kerala: Population over time
  • Census
  • Official projection
3.7 cr 2026
› Show the numbers as a table
YearPopulation
19511,35,49,118
19611,69,03,715
19712,13,47,375
19812,54,53,680
19912,90,98,518
20013,18,41,374
20113,34,06,061
2016 *3,45,78,000
2021 *3,54,89,000
2026 *3,62,07,000
2031 *3,66,95,000
2036 *3,69,49,000

* Official projection

Districts (14)

All 14 districts of Kerala →
All 14 districts of Kerala
#
1 Malappuram≈ 47.22 lakh41,12,920109893.6%
2 Thiruvananthapuram≈ 35.02 lakh33,01,427108793.0%
3 Ernakulam≈ 35.74 lakh32,82,388102795.9%
4 Thrissur≈ 33.8 lakh31,21,200110895.1%
5 Kozhikode≈ 33.96 lakh30,86,293109895.1%
6 Palakkad≈ 30.95 lakh28,09,934106789.3%
7 Kollam≈ 27.93 lakh26,35,375111394.1%
8 Kannur≈ 27.28 lakh25,23,003113695.1%
9 Alappuzha≈ 22.37 lakh21,27,789110095.7%
10 Kottayam≈ 20.79 lakh19,74,551103997.2%
11 Kasaragod≈ 14.52 lakh13,07,375108090.1%
12 Pathanamthitta≈ 12.23 lakh11,97,412113296.6%

* 2026 figures are our estimates (method M1), tied to the official Kerala projection.

Largest cities in Kerala

All large cities of Kerala →

  • Thiruvananthapuram

    City (2011): 7,43,691

    Metro (2011): 16,79,754

  • Kochi

    City (2011): 6,02,046

    Metro (2011): 21,19,724

  • Kozhikode

    City (2011): 4,31,560

    Metro (2011): 20,28,399

  • Kollam

    City (2011): 3,48,657

    Metro (2011): 11,10,668

  • Thrissur

    City (2011): 3,15,957

    Metro (2011): 18,61,269

  • Alappuzha

    City (2011): 1,74,176

    Metro (2011): 2,40,991

  • Palakkad

    City (2011): 1,30,955

    Metro (2011): 2,93,533

Births, deaths and fertility

Birth rate
12.3 (18.4)
per 1,000 people
Death rate
7.2 (6.4)
per 1,000 people
Infant mortality
5 (25)
per 1,000 live births
Fertility rate (TFR)
1.5 (1.9)
children per woman
Sex ratio at birth
971 (917)
females per 1,000 males

SRS 2023 Sample Registration System Statistical Report 2023 (ORGI) How this is made → Sample Registration System 2023. India in brackets.

Age structure of Kerala

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 Kerala
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
0-412,47,53412,05,558
5-913,03,19012,51,922
10-1414,38,91713,83,853
15-1913,28,29912,82,253
20-2412,98,82613,66,983
25-2912,03,97814,00,114
30-3411,28,21713,27,284
35-3911,61,81914,17,854
40-4411,17,42412,95,074
45-4911,05,59812,42,932
50-549,31,1919,96,954
55-598,61,5278,80,881
60-646,85,1367,29,535
65-694,59,2325,42,902
70-743,26,5624,06,810
75-792,08,3172,93,050
80+2,04,3483,37,501
Children (0–14)
23.5%
India 30.9%
Working age (15–59)
64.0%
India 60.5%
Older people (60+)
12.6%
India 8.6%
Median age
32.0years
India 24.9
Dependency ratio
46.6
children and 65+ per 100 aged 15–64
India 57.1

Languages spoken in Kerala

Share of people by mother tongue, grouped into languages as the Census does. 79 languages recorded. Census 2011 Census 2011, as published. How this is made →

Languages spoken in Kerala
  1. Malayalam 97.0%
  2. Tamil 1.5%
  3. Tulu 0.4%
  4. Kannada 0.3%
  5. Konkani 0.2%
  6. Hindi 0.2%
  7. Telugu 0.1%
  8. Marathi 0.1%
  9. All other languages 0.3%

Largest mother tongues

  1. Malayalam97.0%
  2. Tamil1.5%
  3. Tulu0.4%
  4. Kannada0.2%
  5. Konkani0.2%
  6. Hindi0.1%
  7. Telugu0.1%
  8. Marathi0.1%

Housing and amenities in Kerala

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

Basic services

  • Electricity for lighting 94.4%

    India 67.4%

  • Tap water 29.3%

    India 43.7%

  • Water source within premises 77.7%

    India 46.7%

  • Toilet within premises 95.2%

    India 47.1%

  • Open defecation (no latrine) (Lower is better for this one.) 3.8%

    India 49.6%

  • Bathing area within premises 85.8%

    India 58.6%

  • Closed drainage 25.3%

    India 18.3%

  • Cooking with LPG/PNG 35.9%

    India 28.7%

  • Cooking with wood, crop waste or dung (Lower is better for this one.) 62.8%

    India 65.6%

What households own

  • Mobile phone 78.1%

    India 59.3%

  • Television 76.8%

    India 47.3%

  • Scooter or motorcycle 24.1%

    India 21.1%

  • Computer or laptop 15.8%

    India 9.5%

  • Car, jeep or van 10.2%

    India 4.7%

  • Use banking services 74.3%

    India 58.8%

  • None of the listed assets (Lower is better for this one.) 4.8%

    India 17.8%

The home itself

  • Own their home 90.7%

    India 86.5%

  • Rent their home 7.3%

    India 11.1%

  • Permanent (pucca) house 83.6%

    India 62.0%

  • House in good condition 66.3%

    India 53.2%

  • Concrete roof 48.0%

    India 29.1%

  • Cement or tiled floor 84.3%

    India 42.1%

  • One room or less (Lower is better for this one.) 8.4%

    India 41.0%

India

Per capita income of Kerala

Per capita Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) at current prices, the standard measure of state per capita income. NSO National Statistical Office (MoSPI), compiled in the RBI Handbook of Statistics on Indian States 2024-25 How this is made →

Per capita income 2024-25
₹3,08,338
#9 of 33 States/UTs in 2023-24
Real growth, latest year (2024-25)
+5.0%
per capita, constant 2011-12 prices
Average real growth a year since 2011-12 (13 years)
+4.5%
GSDP 2024-25
₹12.5 lakh crore
Gross State Domestic Product, current prices
Per capita income of Kerala
› Show the numbers as a table
YearCurrent prices (₹)Constant 2011-12 prices (₹)
2011-1297,91297,912
2012-131,10,3141,03,551
2013-141,23,3881,07,846
2014-151,35,5371,12,444
2015-161,48,1331,20,387
2016-171,66,2461,29,251
2017-181,83,2521,37,181
2018-192,05,4371,47,347
2019-202,08,8791,47,951
2020-211,94,4321,32,531
2021-222,30,2801,47,376
2022-232,57,3071,55,299
2023-242,81,2691,65,587
2024-253,08,3381,73,818

Median State/UT 2023-24: ₹2,34,721. Financial years (April–March). Latest years are advance or quick estimates and get revised.

What the numbers say

  • Kerala is home to 2.54% of India's people and is the 15th most populous of the 36 States and Union Territories.
  • The official projection has Kerala growing 8.4% between Census 2011 and 1 March 2026, slower than India's 17.6%.
  • Literacy in 2011 was 94.0%, 21.0 points above the national rate of 73.0%.
  • There were 1084 females for every 1,000 males in 2011 (India: 943), but only 964 girls per 1,000 boys under seven, a sign of a skewed sex ratio at birth.
  • 47.7% of people lived in towns in 2011; the official projection puts the urban share at 81.4% in 2026.
  • A woman in Kerala has 1.5 children on average (SRS 2023), below the replacement level of 2.1.
  • Malappuram is the most populous district, with 41.13 lakh people in 2011 (12.3% of the state).
  • At 860 people per km² in 2011, Kerala is 2.3 times as crowded as India as a whole (382).

Compare with

Census 2027 status

Results pending

  1. Phase I: houselisting

    Done (1 July 2026 – 30 July 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 Kerala, they will appear on this page, at this address. Census 2027 explained →

Population by religion in Kerala (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 Kerala (Census 2011)
ReligionPersonsShareIndia
Hindu 1,82,82,492 54.7% 79.8%
Muslim 88,73,472 26.6% 14.2%
Christian 61,41,269 18.4% 2.3%
Sikh 3,814 0.0% 1.7%
Buddhist 4,752 0.0% 0.7%
Jain 4,489 0.0% 0.4%
Other religions and persuasions 7,618 0.0% 0.7%
Religion not stated 88,155 0.3% 0.2%
Total3,34,06,061100%

Frequently asked questions

What is the population of Kerala in 2026?
The official projection by the RGI Technical Group puts Kerala's population at 3,62,07,000 (3.62 crore) on 1 March 2026. No census count exists after 2011; Census 2027 results will replace this projection.

What was the population of Kerala in Census 2011?
Census 2011 counted 3,34,06,061 people in Kerala: 1,60,27,412 males and 1,73,78,649 females.

Which district of Kerala has the largest population?
Malappuram had the most people in 2011 (41,12,920). The least populous was Wayanad (8,17,420).

What is the sex ratio and literacy rate of Kerala?
In Census 2011 Kerala had 1084 females per 1,000 males (child sex ratio 964) and a literacy rate of 94.0% (men 96.1%, women 92.1%).

When will Census 2027 figures for Kerala be released?
Counting of people takes place in February 2027 with a reference date of 1 March 2027. The government has not announced a release date; in 2011 provisional totals came out on 31 March 2011, about a month after counting ended. This page will switch to Census 2027 figures as soon as they are published.

⤓ Download Kerala data (CSV)

Sources and method

Data updated: · Report a correction