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State · Capital: Chennai

Tamil Nadu Population 2026

Population · 1 March 2026

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

7,75,46,000 77.55 million 1 March 2026

Tamil Nadu's population is projected at 7.75 crore (7,75,46,000) on 1 March 2026, according to the RGI Technical Group's official projection. Census 2011, the last count, recorded 7,21,47,030.

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

Key figures

Population 2026
7.75 crore 7,75,46,000 Official projection RGI Technical Group on Population Projections (2020), as on 1 March How this is made →
Census 2011
7.21 crore 7,21,47,030 Census 2011 Final count, Census of India 2011 (ORGI) How this is made →
Density
555per km² 2011 · 2026: 596
Sex ratio
996 females per 1,000 males
Child sex ratio (0–6)
943 India 918
Literacy rate
80.1% Male 86.8% · Female 73.4%
Urban share
48.4% 2026: 55.0% (projected)
Growth 2001–11
+15.6% 2011→2026: +7.5%
Area
1,30,060km²
Households
1.85 crore 3.9 people per household
Work participation
45.6% 2011
Children 0–6
74.24 lakh 10.3%

Where it ranks

Population over time

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

Tamil Nadu: Population over time
  • Census
  • Official projection
7.8 cr 2026
› Show the numbers as a table
YearPopulation
19513,01,19,047
19613,36,86,953
19714,11,99,168
19814,84,08,077
19915,58,58,946
20016,24,05,679
20117,21,47,030
2016 *7,46,35,000
2021 *7,64,02,000
2026 *7,75,46,000
2031 *7,80,82,000
2036 *7,80,67,000

* Official projection

Districts (38)

All 38 districts of Tamil Nadu →
All 38 districts of Tamil Nadu
#
1 Chennai≈ 65.44 lakh61,97,47998890.1%
2 Salem≈ 37.29 lakh34,82,05695472.9%
3 Coimbatore≈ 37.8 lakh34,60,059100084.0%
4 Thiruvallur≈ 38.39 lakh31,82,03298983.3%
5 Madurai≈ 33.04 lakh30,38,25299083.5%
6 Tiruchirappalli≈ 28.6 lakh27,22,290101383.2%
7 Cuddalore≈ 27.65 lakh26,05,91498778.0%
8 Tiruppur≈ 28.84 lakh24,76,92598978.7%
9 Tiruvannamalai≈ 25.93 lakh24,64,87599474.2%
10 Thanjavur≈ 24.6 lakh24,05,890103582.6%
11 Erode≈ 23.52 lakh22,51,74499372.6%
12 Dindigul≈ 22.66 lakh21,59,88899876.3%

* 2026 figures are our estimates (method M1), tied to the official Tamil Nadu projection. 6 districts created after 2011 are shown with figures rebuilt on today’s boundaries.

Largest cities in Tamil Nadu

All large cities of Tamil Nadu →

  • Chennai

    City (2011): 46,46,732

    Metro (2011): 86,53,521

  • Coimbatore

    City (2011): 10,50,721

    Metro (2011): 21,36,916

  • Madurai

    City (2011): 10,17,865

    Metro (2011): 14,65,625

  • Tiruchirappalli

    City (2011): 8,47,387

    Metro (2011): 10,22,518

  • Salem

    City (2011): 8,29,267

    Metro (2011): 9,17,414

  • Tirunelveli

    City (2011): 4,73,637

    Metro (2011): 4,97,826

  • Ambattur

    City (2011): 4,66,205

    Metro (2011): 86,53,521

  • Tiruppur

    City (2011): 4,44,352

    Metro (2011): 9,63,173

Births, deaths and fertility

Birth rate
12.0 (18.4)
per 1,000 people
Death rate
6.9 (6.4)
per 1,000 people
Infant mortality
12 (25)
per 1,000 live births
Fertility rate (TFR)
1.3 (1.9)
children per woman
Sex ratio at birth
933 (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 Tamil Nadu

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 Tamil Nadu
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
0-427,14,57825,64,123
5-928,51,29326,99,962
10-1431,88,99029,88,557
15-1932,29,83830,23,954
20-2431,54,80432,56,739
25-2932,37,37434,26,372
30-3429,08,74929,06,811
35-3928,15,20530,21,251
40-4425,49,84625,14,363
45-4923,74,91523,38,141
50-5418,75,56318,27,897
55-5915,40,92415,60,218
60-6413,78,03914,04,569
65-698,96,4129,71,958
70-746,93,1677,13,362
75-793,53,7463,56,495
80+3,39,8624,02,148
Children (0–14)
23.6%
India 30.9%
Working age (15–59)
66.0%
India 60.5%
Older people (60+)
10.4%
India 8.6%
Median age
29.8years
India 24.9
Dependency ratio
43.2
children and 65+ per 100 aged 15–64
India 57.1

Languages spoken in Tamil Nadu

Share of people by mother tongue, grouped into languages as the Census does. 97 languages recorded. Census 2011 Census 2011, as published. How this is made →

Languages spoken in Tamil Nadu
  1. Tamil 88.4%
  2. Telugu 5.9%
  3. Kannada 1.8%
  4. Urdu 1.8%
  5. Malayalam 1.0%
  6. Hindi 0.5%
  7. Gujarati 0.4%
  8. Marathi 0.1%
  9. All other languages 0.2%

Largest mother tongues

  1. Tamil88.4%
  2. Telugu5.9%
  3. Urdu1.8%
  4. Kannada1.6%
  5. Malayalam1.0%
  6. Hindi0.5%
  7. Saurashtra/Saurashtri0.3%
  8. Badaga0.2%

Housing and amenities in Tamil Nadu

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

Basic services

  • Electricity for lighting 93.4%

    India 67.4%

  • Tap water 79.8%

    India 43.7%

  • Water source within premises 35.1%

    India 46.7%

  • Toilet within premises 48.5%

    India 47.1%

  • Open defecation (no latrine) (Lower is better for this one.) 45.5%

    India 49.6%

  • Bathing area within premises 64.3%

    India 58.6%

  • Closed drainage 25.6%

    India 18.3%

  • Cooking with LPG/PNG 48.1%

    India 28.7%

  • Cooking with wood, crop waste or dung (Lower is better for this one.) 44.1%

    India 65.6%

What households own

  • Mobile phone 69.3%

    India 59.3%

  • Television 87.0%

    India 47.3%

  • Scooter or motorcycle 32.4%

    India 21.1%

  • Computer or laptop 10.7%

    India 9.5%

  • Car, jeep or van 4.3%

    India 4.7%

  • Use banking services 52.6%

    India 58.8%

  • None of the listed assets (Lower is better for this one.) 5.1%

    India 17.8%

The home itself

  • Own their home 74.4%

    India 86.5%

  • Rent their home 23.5%

    India 11.1%

  • Permanent (pucca) house 70.8%

    India 62.0%

  • House in good condition 70.2%

    India 53.2%

  • Concrete roof 43.8%

    India 29.1%

  • Cement or tiled floor 79.8%

    India 42.1%

  • One room or less (Lower is better for this one.) 48.1%

    India 41.0%

India

Per capita income of Tamil Nadu

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
₹3,61,619
#8 of 33 States/UTs in 2023-24
Real growth, latest year (2024-25)
+10.8%
per capita, constant 2011-12 prices
Average real growth a year since 2011-12 (13 years)
+6.0%
GSDP 2024-25
₹31.2 lakh crore
Gross State Domestic Product, current prices
Per capita income of Tamil Nadu
› Show the numbers as a table
YearCurrent prices (₹)Constant 2011-12 prices (₹)
2011-1293,11293,112
2012-131,05,34097,257
2013-141,16,9601,02,191
2014-151,29,4941,07,117
2015-161,42,0281,15,875
2016-171,56,5951,23,206
2017-181,75,2761,33,029
2018-191,94,3731,41,844
2019-202,06,1651,44,845
2020-212,09,6281,43,482
2021-222,42,3391,54,269
2022-232,75,2721,63,205
2023-243,13,3291,78,496
2024-253,61,6191,97,747

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

  • Tamil Nadu is home to 5.45% of India's people and is the 7th most populous of the 36 States and Union Territories.
  • The official projection has Tamil Nadu growing 7.5% between Census 2011 and 1 March 2026, slower than India's 17.6%.
  • Literacy in 2011 was 80.1%, 7.1 points above the national rate of 73.0%.
  • There were 996 females for every 1,000 males in 2011 (India: 943), but only 943 girls per 1,000 boys under seven, a sign of a skewed sex ratio at birth.
  • 48.4% of people lived in towns in 2011; the official projection puts the urban share at 55.0% in 2026.
  • A woman in Tamil Nadu has 1.3 children on average (SRS 2023), below the replacement level of 2.1.
  • Chennai is the most populous district, with 61.97 lakh people in 2011 (8.6% of the state).

Compare with

Census 2027 status

Results pending

  1. Phase I: houselisting

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

Population by religion in Tamil Nadu (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 Tamil Nadu (Census 2011)
ReligionPersonsShareIndia
Hindu 6,31,88,168 87.6% 79.8%
Muslim 42,29,479 5.9% 14.2%
Christian 44,18,331 6.1% 2.3%
Sikh 14,601 0.0% 1.7%
Buddhist 11,186 0.0% 0.7%
Jain 89,265 0.1% 0.4%
Other religions and persuasions 7,414 0.0% 0.7%
Religion not stated 1,88,586 0.3% 0.2%
Total7,21,47,030100%

Frequently asked questions

What is the population of Tamil Nadu in 2026?
The official projection by the RGI Technical Group puts Tamil Nadu's population at 7,75,46,000 (7.75 crore) on 1 March 2026. No census count exists after 2011; Census 2027 results will replace this projection.

What was the population of Tamil Nadu in Census 2011?
Census 2011 counted 7,21,47,030 people in Tamil Nadu: 3,61,37,975 males and 3,60,09,055 females.

Which district of Tamil Nadu has the largest population?
Chennai had the most people in 2011 (61,97,479). The least populous was Perambalur (5,65,223).

What is the sex ratio and literacy rate of Tamil Nadu?
In Census 2011 Tamil Nadu had 996 females per 1,000 males (child sex ratio 943) and a literacy rate of 80.1% (men 86.8%, women 73.4%).

When will Census 2027 figures for Tamil Nadu 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 Tamil Nadu data (CSV)

Sources and method

Data updated: · Report a correction