GlobeMetrics
EN
  • English✓
  • हिंदी—
  • मराठी—

Try “Pune”, “Poona” or “पुणे”

District of Tamil Nadu

Tenkasi District Population 2026

Population · 1 March 2026

≈ 15.49 lakh Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection 1 March 2026 How this is made →

15,49,000 1.55 million 1 March 2026

Tenkasi district's population is estimated at ≈15.49 lakh (15,49,000) on 1 March 2026. This is our estimate, tied to the official Tamil Nadu projection; Census 2011, the last count, recorded 14,62,641 on the district’s present boundaries.

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

Which number do you mean?

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

District

Tenkasi district

Census 2011
14,62,641
2026 Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection How this is made →
≈ 15.49 lakh

Urban population

Towns (urban)

Census 2011
6,13,758

Rural

Villages (rural)

Census 2011
8,48,883

Key figures

Population 2026
≈ 15.49 lakh 15,49,000 Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection How this is made →
Census 2011
14.63 lakh 14,62,641 Reconstructed Census figures re-added on today’s boundaries How this is made →
Density
≈ 398per km² 2011
Sex ratio
1018 Tamil Nadu: 996
Child sex ratio (0–6)
965 Tamil Nadu: 943
Literacy rate
77.9% Male 86.5% · Female 69.6%
Urban share
42.0% Tamil Nadu: 48.4%
Growth 2001–11
+13.8% Tamil Nadu: +15.6%
Area
≈ 3,674km² approx., from 2011 sub-district areas
Households
3.94 lakh 3.7 people per household
Villages
220 Census 2011
Towns
27 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.

Tenkasi: Population over time
  • Reconstructed
  • Estimate
15 L 2026
› Show the numbers as a table
YearPopulation
199111,80,466
200112,85,686
201114,62,641
2016 *15,06,000
2021 *15,34,000
2026 *15,49,000
2031 *15,51,000
2036 *15,42,000

* Estimate

How Tenkasi'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 Tenkasi's 2011 population was spread
#
1 Tenkasi3,99,94627.3%100580.0%57.2%
2 Sankarankoil(part)3,17,59721.7%102375.8%20.7%
3 Sivagiri1,94,15613.3%103273.6%62.7%
4 Alangulam1,76,13812.0%102379.1%29.0%
5 Shenkottai1,41,4169.7%99579.5%63.5%
6 Veerakeralamputhur1,23,1378.4%102876.5%28.6%
7 Ambasamudram(part)88,4056.0%102982.5%24.6%
8 Kovilpatti(part)21,8461.5%103479.4%0.0%

Largest towns in Tenkasi (Census 2011)

Largest towns in Tenkasi (Census 2011)
  1. Kadayanallur 90,364
  2. Tenkasi 70,545
  3. Puliankudi 66,034
  4. Sankarankoil 57,277
  5. Surandai 35,272
  6. Shenkottai 26,823
  7. Sivagiri 23,040
  8. Kilapavoor 22,231
  9. Vasudevanallur 21,361
  10. Alangulam 20,948

How people in Tenkasi worked (Census 2011)

Cultivators

9.0%

Agricultural labourers

31.9%

Household industry

19.7%

Other work

39.4%

Share of all workers, main and marginal. Work participation: 50.7%.

Age structure of Tenkasi

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 Tenkasi
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
0-454,85852,779
5-960,14557,761
10-1466,14363,071
15-1965,11462,885
20-2461,69464,100
25-2964,14566,114
30-3456,79257,409
35-3953,60656,923
40-4449,27650,737
45-4945,58346,120
50-5436,95038,557
55-5931,17133,714
60-6427,09830,171
65-6919,94623,458
70-7414,97016,906
75-797,8599,041
80+6,9909,472
Children (0–14)
24.3%
Tamil Nadu 23.6%
Working age (15–59)
64.4%
Tamil Nadu 66.0%
Older people (60+)
11.4%
Tamil Nadu 10.4%
Median age
29.7years
Tamil Nadu 29.8
Dependency ratio
46.4
children and 65+ per 100 aged 15–64
Tamil Nadu 43.2

Languages spoken in Tenkasi

Share of people by mother tongue, grouped into languages as the Census does. 27 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 Tenkasi
  1. Tamil 98.7%
  2. Telugu 1.0%
  3. Malayalam 0.1%
  4. Gujarati 0.1%
  5. Urdu 0.0%
  6. Hindi 0.0%
  7. Marathi 0.0%
  8. Kannada 0.0%

Largest mother tongues

  1. Tamil98.7%
  2. Telugu1.0%
  3. Malayalam0.1%
  4. Saurashtra/Saurashtri0.1%
  5. Urdu0.0%
  6. Hindi0.0%
  7. Gujarati0.0%
  8. Marathi0.0%

Housing and amenities in Tenkasi

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 94.6%

    Tamil Nadu 93.4%

  • Tap water 89.5%

    Tamil Nadu 79.8%

  • Water source within premises 33.6%

    Tamil Nadu 35.1%

  • Toilet within premises 36.4%

    Tamil Nadu 48.5%

  • Open defecation (no latrine) (Lower is better for this one.) 50.7%

    Tamil Nadu 45.5%

  • Bathing area within premises 58.7%

    Tamil Nadu 64.3%

  • Closed drainage 11.9%

    Tamil Nadu 25.6%

  • Cooking with LPG/PNG 40.2%

    Tamil Nadu 48.1%

  • Cooking with wood, crop waste or dung (Lower is better for this one.) 52.8%

    Tamil Nadu 44.1%

What households own

  • Mobile phone 59.0%

    Tamil Nadu 69.3%

  • Television 83.0%

    Tamil Nadu 87.0%

  • Scooter or motorcycle 21.0%

    Tamil Nadu 32.4%

  • Computer or laptop 5.5%

    Tamil Nadu 10.7%

  • Car, jeep or van 1.8%

    Tamil Nadu 4.3%

  • Use banking services 54.8%

    Tamil Nadu 52.6%

  • None of the listed assets (Lower is better for this one.) 7.5%

    Tamil Nadu 5.1%

The home itself

  • Own their home 83.1%

    Tamil Nadu 74.4%

  • Rent their home 15.4%

    Tamil Nadu 23.5%

  • Permanent (pucca) house 69.6%

    Tamil Nadu 70.8%

  • House in good condition 69.7%

    Tamil Nadu 70.2%

  • Concrete roof 39.6%

    Tamil Nadu 43.8%

  • Cement or tiled floor 65.4%

    Tamil Nadu 79.8%

  • One room or less (Lower is better for this one.) 39.3%

    Tamil Nadu 48.1%

Tamil Nadu

What the numbers say

  • Tenkasi district held 2.0% of Tamil Nadu's population in 2011, 24th of 38 districts.
  • Literacy is 77.9%, 2.2 points below the Tamil Nadu average of 80.1%.
  • The gender gap in literacy is wide: 86.5% of men but only 69.6% of women could read and write in 2011.
  • The sex ratio of 1018 females per 1,000 males is higher than the state's 996.
  • 42.0% of residents lived in towns in 2011, more rural than Tamil Nadu as a whole (48.4%).
  • Our 2026 estimate, ≈15.49 lakh, implies growth of about 6% since 2011; it is tied to the official Tamil Nadu projection.
  • Its largest town, Kadayanallur, had 90.4 thousand people in 2011, 6.2% of the district.

How this district was formed

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

  • Tirunelveli (2011) 98.5% of this district
    46.8% of the 2011 district
  • Thoothukkudi (2011) 1.5% of this district
    1.3% 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 Tenkasi, they will appear on this page, at this address. Census 2027 explained →

Population by religion in Tenkasi (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 Tenkasi (Census 2011)
ReligionPersonsShareTamil Nadu
Hindu ≈ 12,19,700 83.4% 87.6%
Muslim ≈ 1,44,700 9.9% 5.9%
Christian ≈ 96,400 6.6% 6.1%
Sikh ≈ 100 0.0% 0.0%
Buddhist ≈ 100 0.0% 0.0%
Jain ≈ 0 0.0% 0.1%
Other religions and persuasions ≈ 100 0.0% 0.0%
Religion not stated ≈ 1,600 0.1% 0.3%
Total14,62,641100%

Frequently asked questions

What is the population of Tenkasi district in 2026?
Our estimate for 1 March 2026 is ≈15,49,000 (15.49 lakh). It is not an official figure: it applies Tenkasi's 2001–2011 trend, damped, to the official Tamil Nadu projection (method M1). Census 2011 counted 14,62,641.

What was the population of Tenkasi district in Census 2011?
14,62,641: 7,24,954 males and 7,37,687 females, of whom 6,13,758 lived in towns and 8,48,883 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 Tenkasi?
Literacy was 77.9% in 2011 (men 86.5%, women 69.6%). The sex ratio was 1018 females per 1,000 males, and 965 among children aged 0–6.

Which is the largest town in Tenkasi district?
Kadayanallur, with 90,364 people in Census 2011.

How many villages and towns are in Tenkasi district?
On today's boundaries the district contains 220 Census 2011 villages and 27 towns.

⤓ Download Tamil Nadu district data (CSV)

Sources and method

Data updated: · Report a correction