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District of Tamil Nadu

Virudhunagar District Population 2026

Population · 1 March 2026

≈ 20.18 lakh Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection 1 March 2026 How this is made →

20,18,000 2.02 million 1 March 2026

Virudhunagar district's population is estimated at ≈20.18 lakh (20,18,000) on 1 March 2026. This is our estimate, tied to the official Tamil Nadu projection; Census 2011, the last count, recorded 19,42,288.

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

Virudhunagar district

Census 2011
19,42,288
2026 Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection How this is made →
≈ 20.18 lakh

Urban population

Towns (urban)

Census 2011
9,80,226

Rural

Villages (rural)

Census 2011
9,62,062

Key figures

Population 2026
≈ 20.18 lakh 20,18,000 Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection How this is made →
Census 2011
19.42 lakh 19,42,288 Census 2011 Final count, Census of India 2011 (ORGI) How this is made →
Density
458per km² 2011
Sex ratio
1007 Tamil Nadu: 996
Child sex ratio (0–6)
955 Tamil Nadu: 943
Literacy rate
80.2% Male 87.7% · Female 72.7%
Urban share
50.5% Tamil Nadu: 48.4%
Growth 2001–11
+10.9% Tamil Nadu: +15.6%
Area
4,241km² Census 2011
Households
5.38 lakh 3.6 people per household
Villages
570 Census 2011
Towns
44 Census 2011

Where it ranks

Population over time

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

Virudhunagar: Population over time
  • Census
  • Estimate
20 L 2026
› Show the numbers as a table
YearPopulation
19518,59,840
19619,72,288
197111,51,449
198113,40,907
199115,65,037
200117,51,301
201119,42,288
2016 *19,87,000
2021 *20,12,000
2026 *20,18,000
2031 *20,08,000
2036 *19,84,000

* Estimate

How Virudhunagar'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 Virudhunagar's 2011 population was spread
#
1 Sivakasi4,26,75322.0%101480.2%62.1%
2 Rajapalayam3,47,66817.9%100481.2%55.4%
3 Srivilliputhur2,93,20915.1%100877.1%51.1%
4 Virudhunagar2,51,09712.9%100083.3%59.7%
5 Aruppukkottai2,46,23612.7%101084.4%50.8%
6 Sattur1,68,6078.7%102878.2%39.3%
7 Kariapatti1,05,4285.4%98976.3%29.6%
8 Tiruchuli1,03,2905.3%98474.5%0.0%

Largest towns in Virudhunagar (Census 2011)

Largest towns in Virudhunagar (Census 2011)
  1. Rajapalayam 1,30,442
  2. Aruppukkottai 87,722
  3. Srivilliputhur 75,396
  4. Virudhunagar 72,296
  5. Sivakasi 71,040
  6. Thiruthangal 55,362
  7. Sattur 29,398
  8. Pallapatti CT 27,925
  9. Viswanatham CT 25,555
  10. Anaiyur CT 24,436

How people in Virudhunagar worked (Census 2011)

Cultivators

6.0%

Agricultural labourers

22.0%

Household industry

3.7%

Other work

68.3%

Share of all workers, main and marginal. Work participation: 48.9%.

Age structure of Virudhunagar

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 Virudhunagar
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
0-470,71168,138
5-978,83075,315
10-1488,03884,156
15-1989,29684,375
20-2484,47287,228
25-2986,73490,245
30-3475,98377,479
35-3973,83980,588
40-4469,21170,434
45-4964,96662,506
50-5449,77847,800
55-5939,59340,609
60-6436,03639,466
65-6924,50327,409
70-7418,42019,569
75-798,8768,763
80+7,6179,735
Children (0–14)
24.0%
Tamil Nadu 23.6%
Working age (15–59)
65.7%
Tamil Nadu 66.0%
Older people (60+)
10.3%
Tamil Nadu 10.4%
Median age
29.5years
Tamil Nadu 29.8
Dependency ratio
43.7
children and 65+ per 100 aged 15–64
Tamil Nadu 43.2

Languages spoken in Virudhunagar

Share of people by mother tongue, grouped into languages as the Census does. 25 languages recorded. Census 2011 Census 2011, as published. How this is made →

Languages spoken in Virudhunagar
  1. Tamil 89.5%
  2. Telugu 8.9%
  3. Kannada 1.3%
  4. Urdu 0.1%
  5. Hindi 0.1%
  6. Malayalam 0.0%
  7. Gujarati 0.0%
  8. Marathi 0.0%

Largest mother tongues

  1. Tamil89.5%
  2. Telugu8.9%
  3. Kannada1.3%
  4. Urdu0.1%
  5. Hindi0.1%
  6. Malayalam0.0%
  7. Marathi0.0%
  8. Saurashtra/Saurashtri0.0%

Housing and amenities in Virudhunagar

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

Basic services

  • Electricity for lighting 93.7%

    Tamil Nadu 93.4%

  • Tap water 83.9%

    Tamil Nadu 79.8%

  • Water source within premises 21.5%

    Tamil Nadu 35.1%

  • Toilet within premises 30.9%

    Tamil Nadu 48.5%

  • Open defecation (no latrine) (Lower is better for this one.) 52.4%

    Tamil Nadu 45.5%

  • Bathing area within premises 58.9%

    Tamil Nadu 64.3%

  • Closed drainage 12.0%

    Tamil Nadu 25.6%

  • Cooking with LPG/PNG 43.5%

    Tamil Nadu 48.1%

  • Cooking with wood, crop waste or dung (Lower is better for this one.) 45.6%

    Tamil Nadu 44.1%

What households own

  • Mobile phone 61.5%

    Tamil Nadu 69.3%

  • Television 84.7%

    Tamil Nadu 87.0%

  • Scooter or motorcycle 22.1%

    Tamil Nadu 32.4%

  • Computer or laptop 6.9%

    Tamil Nadu 10.7%

  • Car, jeep or van 1.8%

    Tamil Nadu 4.3%

  • Use banking services 41.3%

    Tamil Nadu 52.6%

  • None of the listed assets (Lower is better for this one.) 7.3%

    Tamil Nadu 5.1%

The home itself

  • Own their home 70.3%

    Tamil Nadu 74.4%

  • Rent their home 27.7%

    Tamil Nadu 23.5%

  • Permanent (pucca) house 77.9%

    Tamil Nadu 70.8%

  • House in good condition 75.6%

    Tamil Nadu 70.2%

  • Concrete roof 49.9%

    Tamil Nadu 43.8%

  • Cement or tiled floor 86.5%

    Tamil Nadu 79.8%

  • One room or less (Lower is better for this one.) 53.8%

    Tamil Nadu 48.1%

Tamil Nadu

What the numbers say

  • Virudhunagar district held 2.7% of Tamil Nadu's population in 2011, 14th of 38 districts.
  • The gender gap in literacy is wide: 87.7% of men but only 72.7% of women could read and write in 2011.
  • The sex ratio of 1007 females per 1,000 males is higher than the state's 996.
  • The population grew 10.9% in 2001–11, slower than Tamil Nadu's 15.6%.
  • Our 2026 estimate, ≈20.18 lakh, implies growth of about 4% since 2011; it is tied to the official Tamil Nadu projection.
  • Its largest town, Rajapalayam, had 1.3 lakh people in 2011, 6.7% of the 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 Virudhunagar, they will appear on this page, at this address. Census 2027 explained →

Population by religion in Virudhunagar (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 Virudhunagar (Census 2011)
ReligionPersonsShareTamil Nadu
Hindu 18,22,626 93.8% 87.6%
Muslim 47,838 2.5% 5.9%
Christian 67,405 3.5% 6.1%
Sikh 245 0.0% 0.0%
Buddhist 87 0.0% 0.0%
Jain 98 0.0% 0.1%
Other religions and persuasions 75 0.0% 0.0%
Religion not stated 3,914 0.2% 0.3%
Total19,42,288100%

Frequently asked questions

What is the population of Virudhunagar district in 2026?
Our estimate for 1 March 2026 is ≈20,18,000 (20.18 lakh). It is not an official figure: it applies Virudhunagar's 2001–2011 trend, damped, to the official Tamil Nadu projection (method M1). Census 2011 counted 19,42,288.

What was the population of Virudhunagar district in Census 2011?
19,42,288: 9,67,709 males and 9,74,579 females, of whom 9,80,226 lived in towns and 9,62,062 in villages.

What is the literacy rate and sex ratio of Virudhunagar?
Literacy was 80.2% in 2011 (men 87.7%, women 72.7%). The sex ratio was 1007 females per 1,000 males, and 955 among children aged 0–6.

Which is the largest town in Virudhunagar district?
Rajapalayam, with 1,30,442 people in Census 2011.

How many villages and towns are in Virudhunagar district?
On today's boundaries the district contains 570 Census 2011 villages and 44 towns.

⤓ Download Tamil Nadu district data (CSV)

Sources and method

Data updated: · Report a correction