Kerala Demography

The Study of Population is called Demography. Eight censuses were conducted in India before independence. Censuses were conducted in British India in 1872, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911, 1921, 1931, and 1941 respectively. The eighth and last census in British India was conducted in 1941. The census after 1949 was conducted under the leadership of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India under the Union Home Ministry. The first census was conducted in post-independence India in 1951. It also collected information for economic development. Censuses were conducted in India in 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001, and 2011 by the Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India. Censuses were taken in Travancore State in 1816 and Cochin State in 1849. The first modern census of Travancore - Cochin was taken in 1875. The first census of Kerala after the formation of State was in 1961. It was conducted by Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India. After that census was taken every 10 years. The last census was taken in 2011. 

Travancore Demography

Demographics of Travancore (1816)

■ Total Population - 906,587

■ Hindus - 752,371 (82.99%)

■ Christians - 112,158 (12.37%)

■ Muslims - 42,058 (4.64%)

Demographics of Travancore (1836)

■ Total Population - 1,280,668

■ Population Growth Rate (Per Annum) - +1.74%

Demographics of Travancore (1854)

■ Total Population - 1,262,647

■ Population Growth Rate (Per Annum) - −0.08%

Demographics of Travancore (1875)

■ Total Population - 2,311,379

■ Population Growth Rate (Per Annum) - +2.92%

Demographics of Travancore (1881)

■ Total Population - 2,401,158

■ Population Growth Rate (Per Annum) - +0.64%

Demographics of Travancore (1891)

■ Total Population - 2,557,736

■ Population Growth Rate (Per Annum) - +0.63%

Demographics of Travancore (1901)

■ Total Population - 2,952,157

■ Population Growth Rate (Per Annum) - +1.44%

Demographics of Travancore (1911)

■ Total Population - 3,428,975

■ Population Growth Rate (Per Annum) - +1.51%

Demographics of Travancore (1921)

■ Total Population - 4,006,062

■ Population Growth Rate (Per Annum) - +1.57%

Demographics of Travancore (1931)

■ Total Population - 5,095,973

■ Population Growth Rate (Per Annum) - +2.44%

Demographics of Travancore (1941)

■ Total Population - 6,070,018

■ Population Growth Rate (Per Annum) - +1.76%

Cochin Demography

Demographics of Cochin (1849)

■ Total Population - 356,802

Demographics of Cochin (1854)

■ Total Population - 375,000

Demographics of Cochin (1858)

■ Total Population - 399,056

Malabar Demography

Demographics of Malabar District (1871)

■ Total Population - 2,261,250

■ Hindus - 72.43%

■ Muslims - 25.72%

■ Christians - 1.43%

Demographics of Malabar District (1881)

■ Total Population - 2,365,035

■ Population Growth Rate (Per Annum) - +0.45%

Demographics of Malabar District (1891)

■ Total Population - 2,652,565

■ Population Growth Rate (Per Annum) - +1.15%

Demographics of Malabar District (1901)

■ Total Population - 2,800,555

■ Population Growth Rate (Per Annum) - +0.54%

Demographics of Malabar District (1911)

■ Total Population - 3,015,119

■ Population Growth Rate (Per Annum) - +0.74%

Demographics of Malabar District (1921)

■ Total Population - 3,098,871

■ Population Growth Rate (Per Annum) - +0.27%

Demographics of Malabar District (1931)

■ Total Population - 3,533,944

■ Population Growth Rate (Per Annum) - +1.32%

Demographics of Malabar District (1941)

■ Total Population - 3,929,425

■ Population Growth Rate (Per Annum) - +1.07%

Demographics of Malabar District (1951)

■ Total Population - 4,758,842

■ Population Growth Rate (Per Annum) - +1.93%

■ Hindus - 63.25%

■ Muslims - 33.49%

■ Christians - 3.24%

Kerala Demography (1901 - 2011)

Year

Hindus

Muslims

Christians

Total Population

Decadal Growth Rate (%)

1901

4,378,305

1,119,473

891,767

6,389,545

N/A

1911

4,762,393

1,263,602

1,101,289

7,127,284

+11.55

1921

5,052,039

1,360,180

1,376,354

7,788,573

+9.28

1931

6,021,982

1,624,112

1,856,024

9,502,118

+22.00

1941

6,699,600

1,883,786

2,263,888

10,847,274

+14.16

1951

8,344,351

2,374,598

2,825,720

13,544,669

+24.87

1961

10,282,568

3,027,639

3,587,365

16,897,572

+24.75

1971

12,683,277

4,162,718

4,494,089

21,340,084

+26.29

1981

14,801,347

5,409,687

5,233,865

25,444,899

+19.24

1991

16,668,587

6,788,354

5,621,510

29,078,451

+14.28

2001

17,920,105

7,863,842

6,057,427

31,841,374

+9.50

2011

18,282,492

8,873,472

6,141,269

33,406,061

+4.91

Kerala Census 2011

■ Language (2011)

Kerala is the most unilingual state of India in which about 97% of the total population speak Malayalam as their Native language. In addition, there are Tamil, Tulu, Konkani and Kannada speaking peoples in Kerala.

■ Hindu Caste Percent Distribution (2011)

Nair (21.6%), Ezhava (39.2%), Brahmins (2.2%), Nadar (0.8%), Viswakarma (6.7%), Scheduled Caste (16.9%), Scheduled Tribes (1.2%) and Others (10.9%) are the major castes inside Hindu Religion.

■ Rural and Urban Population

Year

Rural

Urban

1961

84.9%

15.11%

1971

83.76%

16.24%

1981

81.26%

18.74%

1991

73.61%

26.39%

2001

74.04%

25.96%

2011

52.26%

47.74%

■ Birth rate and Death rate (2024)

• Year - 2024

• Births - 344,766

• Deaths - 313,553

• Natural Change - 31,213

• Birth Rate - 9.6

• Death Rate - 8.8

• Natural Change Rate - 0.8

■ Male - Female Ratio

Male : Female - 0.97 : 1.04

■ Life Expectancy

• Male - 75 years

• Female - 80.15 years

■ Age Structure

• 0–14 years - 19%

• 15–64 years - 70%

• 65 and over - 12%

■ Literacy

Kerala has the highest literacy rate in India of 93.91% (2011). 

■ Migration

Net Migration Rate - 0.08 per 1000 (2019 estimate)

■ Emigration

As of 2011, a total of 2,280,000 Keralites reside outside India.