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District of Tamil Nadu

Chennai District Population 2026

Population · 1 March 2026

≈ 65.44 lakh Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection 1 March 2026 How this is made →

65,44,000 6.54 million 1 March 2026

Chennai district's population is estimated at ≈65.44 lakh (65,44,000) on 1 March 2026. This is our estimate, tied to the official Tamil Nadu projection; Census 2011, the last count, recorded 61,97,479 on the district’s present boundaries.

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

Which number do you mean?

The district, the city and the metro area are three different areas. Pick the one you mean.

City

Chennai (municipal limits)

Census 2011
46,46,732
2026 Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection How this is made →
≈ 48.1 lakh

Metro area (UA)

Chennai urban agglomeration

Census 2011
86,53,521
2026 Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection How this is made →
≈ 98.4 lakh

District

Chennai district

Census 2011
61,97,479
2026 Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection How this is made →
≈ 65.44 lakh

Key figures

Population 2026
≈ 65.44 lakh 65,44,000 Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection How this is made →
Census 2011
61.97 lakh 61,97,479 Reconstructed Census figures re-added on today’s boundaries How this is made →
Density
≈ 22,055per km² 2011
Sex ratio
988 Tamil Nadu: 996
Child sex ratio (0–6)
950 Tamil Nadu: 943
Literacy rate
90.1% Male 93.7% · Female 86.5%
Urban share
99.4% Tamil Nadu: 48.4%
Growth 2001–11
+13.3% Tamil Nadu: +15.6%
Area
≈ 281km² approx., from 2011 sub-district areas
Households
15.51 lakh 4.0 people per household
Villages
3 Census 2011
Towns
29 Census 2011

Where it ranks

Population over time

Census figures re-added on today’s boundaries (parts of earlier districts apportioned by their 2011 population), then our estimate to 2036.

Chennai: Population over time
  • Reconstructed
  • Estimate
65 L 2026
› Show the numbers as a table
YearPopulation
199147,76,131
200154,70,192
201161,97,479
2016 *63,75,000
2021 *64,87,000
2026 *65,44,000
2031 *65,46,000
2036 *65,01,000

* Estimate

How Chennai'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 Chennai's 2011 population was spread
#
1 Statutory towns (counted separately in 2011)46,46,73275.0%98990.2%100.0%
2 Alandur (part)5,52,7788.9%99692.5%100.0%
3 Mathavaram(part)5,46,0728.8%97788.6%99.0%
4 Sholinganallur (part)4,51,8977.3%97488.4%93.4%

Largest towns in Chennai (Census 2011)

Largest towns in Chennai (Census 2011)
  1. Chennai 46,46,732
  2. Tiruvottiyur 2,49,446
  3. Pallavaram 2,33,984
  4. Alandur 1,64,430
  5. Madavaram 1,19,105
  6. Oggiyamduraipakkam CT 76,600
  7. Pammal 75,870
  8. Puzhithivakkam 53,322
  9. Anakaputhur 48,050
  10. Pallikaranai 43,493

How people in Chennai worked (Census 2011)

Cultivators

0.7%

Agricultural labourers

0.8%

Household industry

2.0%

Other work

96.4%

Share of all workers, main and marginal. Work participation: 39.0%.

Age structure of Chennai

Population in five-year age groups, Census 2011. Men on the left, women on the right. Census 2011, approx. Census 2011 on today’s boundaries; approximate, because some 2011 units were split between districts and are apportioned by population. How this is made →

Age structure of Chennai
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
0-42,30,8292,19,705
5-92,24,0062,13,977
10-142,41,8962,30,343
15-192,54,9222,42,774
20-242,83,1662,99,745
25-293,06,0743,28,004
30-342,82,1332,75,671
35-392,65,0602,66,790
40-442,32,3232,17,672
45-492,04,0021,96,003
50-541,63,8091,53,731
55-591,34,0541,26,769
60-641,10,1791,08,763
65-6967,37972,821
70-7452,63755,791
75-7930,56031,954
80+28,68636,310
Children (0–14)
22.0%
Tamil Nadu 23.6%
Working age (15–59)
68.4%
Tamil Nadu 66.0%
Older people (60+)
9.6%
Tamil Nadu 10.4%
Median age
30.2years
Tamil Nadu 29.8
Dependency ratio
39.0
children and 65+ per 100 aged 15–64
Tamil Nadu 43.2

Languages spoken in Chennai

Share of people by mother tongue, grouped into languages as the Census does. 78 languages recorded. Census 2011, approx. Census 2011 on today’s boundaries; approximate, because some 2011 units were split between districts and are apportioned by population. How this is made →

Languages spoken in Chennai
  1. Tamil 80.1%
  2. Telugu 8.8%
  3. Urdu 3.8%
  4. Hindi 2.9%
  5. Malayalam 2.2%
  6. Gujarati 0.6%
  7. Kannada 0.5%
  8. Marathi 0.4%
  9. All other languages 0.8%

Largest mother tongues

  1. Tamil80.1%
  2. Telugu8.8%
  3. Urdu3.8%
  4. Hindi2.4%
  5. Malayalam2.2%
  6. Kannada0.5%
  7. Marwari0.4%
  8. Marathi0.4%

Housing and amenities in Chennai

Share of households, Houselisting Census 2011. Reconstructed Census 2011, added up on today’s boundaries from village, town or sub-district records. How this is made →

Basic services

  • Electricity for lighting 98.9%

    Tamil Nadu 93.4%

  • Tap water 77.4%

    Tamil Nadu 79.8%

  • Water source within premises 69.8%

    Tamil Nadu 35.1%

  • Toilet within premises 94.8%

    Tamil Nadu 48.5%

  • Open defecation (no latrine) (Lower is better for this one.) 1.6%

    Tamil Nadu 45.5%

  • Bathing area within premises 96.9%

    Tamil Nadu 64.3%

  • Closed drainage 85.2%

    Tamil Nadu 25.6%

  • Cooking with LPG/PNG 80.9%

    Tamil Nadu 48.1%

  • Cooking with wood, crop waste or dung (Lower is better for this one.) 3.7%

    Tamil Nadu 44.1%

What households own

  • Mobile phone 82.1%

    Tamil Nadu 69.3%

  • Television 94.5%

    Tamil Nadu 87.0%

  • Scooter or motorcycle 46.1%

    Tamil Nadu 32.4%

  • Computer or laptop 30.8%

    Tamil Nadu 10.7%

  • Car, jeep or van 12.1%

    Tamil Nadu 4.3%

  • Use banking services 69.9%

    Tamil Nadu 52.6%

  • None of the listed assets (Lower is better for this one.) 1.2%

    Tamil Nadu 5.1%

The home itself

  • Own their home 49.2%

    Tamil Nadu 74.4%

  • Rent their home 49.2%

    Tamil Nadu 23.5%

  • Permanent (pucca) house 92.9%

    Tamil Nadu 70.8%

  • House in good condition 81.7%

    Tamil Nadu 70.2%

  • Concrete roof 76.4%

    Tamil Nadu 43.8%

  • Cement or tiled floor 94.2%

    Tamil Nadu 79.8%

  • One room or less (Lower is better for this one.) 40.6%

    Tamil Nadu 48.1%

Tamil Nadu

What the numbers say

  • Chennai district held 8.6% of Tamil Nadu's population in 2011, 1st of 38 districts.
  • Literacy is 90.1%, 10.0 points above the Tamil Nadu average of 80.1%.
  • 99.4% of residents lived in towns in 2011, more urban than Tamil Nadu as a whole (48.4%).
  • The population grew 13.3% in 2001–11, slower than Tamil Nadu's 15.6% (on today’s boundaries).
  • Our 2026 estimate, ≈65.44 lakh, implies growth of about 6% since 2011; it is tied to the official Tamil Nadu projection.
  • It covers parts of 3 districts as they were in 2011 (Chennai, Kancheepuram, Thiruvallur); its 2011 figures are rebuilt from 3 village and 29 town records.
  • Its largest town, Chennai, had 46.47 lakh people in 2011, 75.0% of the district.

How this district was formed

Chennai covers land that was part of these districts in Census 2011:

  • Chennai (2011) 75.0% of this district
    100.0% of the 2011 district
  • Kancheepuram (2011) 16.2% of this district
    25.1% of the 2011 district
  • Thiruvallur (2011) 8.8% of this district
    14.6% of the 2011 district

Compare with

All districts of Tamil Nadu →

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 Chennai, they will appear on this page, at this address. Census 2027 explained →

Population by religion in Chennai (Census 2011)

Official figures as published by the Office of the Registrar General. Shown without commentary. Reconstructed Census 2011 on today’s boundaries; approximate, because some 2011 units were split between districts and are apportioned by population. How this is made →

Population by religion in Chennai (Census 2011)
ReligionPersonsShareTamil Nadu
Hindu ≈ 50,49,900 81.5% 87.6%
Muslim ≈ 5,30,600 8.6% 5.9%
Christian ≈ 5,03,300 8.1% 6.1%
Sikh ≈ 3,800 0.1% 0.0%
Buddhist ≈ 3,300 0.1% 0.0%
Jain ≈ 54,200 0.9% 0.1%
Other religions and persuasions ≈ 2,200 0.0% 0.0%
Religion not stated ≈ 50,300 0.8% 0.3%
Total61,97,479100%

Frequently asked questions

What is the population of Chennai district in 2026?
Our estimate for 1 March 2026 is ≈65,44,000 (65.44 lakh). It is not an official figure: it applies Chennai's 2001–2011 trend, damped, to the official Tamil Nadu projection (method M1). Census 2011 counted 61,97,479.

What was the population of Chennai district in Census 2011?
61,97,479: 31,17,945 males and 30,79,534 females, of whom 61,62,094 lived in towns and 35,385 in villages. These figures are on the district’s current boundaries, rebuilt from Census 2011 village and town records.

What is the literacy rate and sex ratio of Chennai?
Literacy was 90.1% in 2011 (men 93.7%, women 86.5%). The sex ratio was 988 females per 1,000 males, and 950 among children aged 0–6.

Which is the largest town in Chennai district?
Chennai, with 46,46,732 people in Census 2011.

How many villages and towns are in Chennai district?
On today's boundaries the district contains 3 Census 2011 villages and 29 towns.

⤓ Download Tamil Nadu district data (CSV)

Sources and method

Data updated: · Report a correction