Population of Kerala
| Source | 2011 - Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation |
| 2011-36 - Report of The Technical Group On Population Proiecttons (page no 89) | |
| Date | 10 Feb 2025 |
As per the report of the Technical Group by the National Commission, the population of Kerala is projected to be 36,111,000, or 36.11 million, or 3.61 crore, as of July 1, 2025. Kerala is the 15th most populous state in India and the least populous state in South India.
The size of the population of Kerala is equivalent to that of Malaysia, the 44th most populous country in the world.
In 2025, the sex ratio of the total population in Kerala will be 92.459 males per 100 females. There are 17,348,000, or 17.35 million, or 1.74 crore, males and 18,763,000, or 18.76 million, or 1.88 crore, females in Kerala. Kerala has 1,415,000, or 1.42 million, more females than males.
Kerala accounts for 2.55 percent of the Indian population, 1.34% less than the peak of 3.89% in 1971. The population growth rate for 2025 is projected at 0.40%, the 3rd lowest among states. Kerala will add 144k people more people in 2025.
According to the Census of India 2011, the population of Kerala was 3.34 crore, increasing from 3.18 crore in 2001. There were 16,027,412 males and 17,378,649 females, with a sex ratio of 92.225 males per 100 females. The percentage decadal growth during 2001-2011 was 4.91%, almost half of the 1991-2001. The population of Kerala increased by 1.56 million during the decade 2001-2011.
The population of Kerala, which at the turn of the twentieth century was only around 6.4 million, increased by approximately 5.65 times in 124 years to reach 36.11 million in 2025. In 1901, Kerala was the 13th most populous state, but as of 2025, it has overtaken Punjab and been surpassed by Telangana, Jharkhand, and Assam.
- Population
- Growth rate
- Net change
| Year | Population | Growth | Share (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Male | Female | Net Change | rate (%) | India | |
| 2011 | 33,484,000 | 16,065,000 | 17,419,000 | - | - | 2.75 |
| 2012 | 33,719,000 | 16,179,000 | 17,540,000 | 235,000 | 0.702 | 2.74 |
| 2013 | 33,953,000 | 16,292,000 | 17,661,000 | 234,000 | 0.694 | 2.72 |
| 2014 | 34,188,000 | 16,405,000 | 17,782,000 | 235,000 | 0.692 | 2.70 |
| 2015 | 34,422,000 | 16,519,000 | 17,903,000 | 234,000 | 0.684 | 2.69 |
| 2016 | 34,639,000 | 16,624,000 | 18,015,000 | 217,000 | 0.630 | 2.67 |
| 2017 | 34,821,000 | 16,714,000 | 18,107,000 | 182,000 | 0.525 | 2.66 |
| 2018 | 35,003,000 | 16,804,000 | 18,200,000 | 182,000 | 0.523 | 2.64 |
| 2019 | 35,186,000 | 16,893,000 | 18,292,000 | 183,000 | 0.523 | 2.63 |
| 2020 | 35,368,000 | 16,983,000 | 18,385,000 | 182,000 | 0.517 | 2.61 |
| 2021 | 35,537,000 | 17,066,000 | 18,471,000 | 169,000 | 0.478 | 2.60 |
| 2022 | 35,680,000 | 17,137,000 | 18,544,000 | 143,000 | 0.402 | 2.59 |
| 2023 | 35,824,000 | 17,207,000 | 18,617,000 | 144,000 | 0.404 | 2.57 |
| 2024 | 35,967,000 | 17,277,000 | 18,690,000 | 143,000 | 0.399 | 2.56 |
| 2025 | 36,111,000 | 17,348,000 | 18,763,000 | 144,000 | 0.400 | 2.55 |
| 2026 | 36,239,000 | 17,411,000 | 18,828,000 | 128,000 | 0.354 | 2.54 |
| 2027 | 36,337,000 | 17,460,000 | 18,877,000 | 98,000 | 0.270 | 2.52 |
| 2028 | 36,434,000 | 17,508,000 | 18,926,000 | 97,000 | 0.267 | 2.51 |
| 2029 | 36,532,000 | 17,557,000 | 18,975,000 | 98,000 | 0.269 | 2.50 |
| 2030 | 36,630,000 | 17,606,000 | 19,024,000 | 98,000 | 0.268 | 2.49 |
| 2031 | 36,712,000 | 17,647,000 | 19,065,000 | 82,000 | 0.224 | 2.48 |
| 2032 | 36,762,000 | 17,674,000 | 19,088,000 | 50,000 | 0.136 | 2.47 |
| 2033 | 36,813,000 | 17,702,000 | 19,111,000 | 51,000 | 0.139 | 2.46 |
| 2034 | 36,864,000 | 17,729,000 | 19,135,000 | 51,000 | 0.139 | 2.44 |
| 2035 | 36,915,000 | 17,756,000 | 19,158,000 | 51,000 | 0.138 | 2.43 |
| 2036 | 36,965,000 | 17,784,000 | 19,182,000 | 50,000 | 0.135 | 2.42 |
| Year | Population | Growth | Share (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net Change | rate (%) | to India | ||
| 1901 | 6,396,262 | - | - | 2.68 |
| 1911 | 7,147,673 | 751,411 | 11.75 | 2.84 |
| 1921 | 7,802,127 | 654,454 | 9.16 | 3.10 |
| 1931 | 9,507,050 | 1,704,923 | 21.85 | 3.41 |
| 1941 | 11,031,541 | 1,524,491 | 16.04 | 3.46 |
| 1951 | 13,549,118 | 2,517,577 | 22.82 | 3.75 |
| 1961 | 16,903,715 | 3,354,597 | 24.76 | 3.85 |
| 1971 | 21,347,375 | 4,443,660 | 26.29 | 3.89 |
| 1981 | 25,453,680 | 4,106,305 | 19.24 | 3.72 |
| 1991 | 29,098,518 | 3,644,838 | 14.32 | 3.44 |
| 2001 | 31,841,374 | 2,742,856 | 9.43 | 3.10 |
| 2011 | 33,406,061 | 1,564,687 | 4.91 | 2.76 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | M per 100 F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persons | Share (%) | ||||
| 00-04 | 1,247,534 | 1,205,558 | 2,453,092 | 7.34 | 103.482 |
| 05-09 | 1,303,190 | 1,251,922 | 2,555,112 | 7.65 | 104.095 |
| 10-14 | 1,438,917 | 1,383,853 | 2,822,770 | 8.45 | 103.979 |
| 15-19 | 1,328,299 | 1,282,253 | 2,610,552 | 7.81 | 103.591 |
| 20-24 | 1,298,826 | 1,366,983 | 2,665,809 | 7.98 | 95.014 |
| 25-29 | 1,203,978 | 1,400,114 | 2,604,092 | 7.80 | 85.991 |
| 30-34 | 1,128,217 | 1,327,284 | 2,455,501 | 7.35 | 85.002 |
| 35-39 | 1,161,819 | 1,417,854 | 2,579,673 | 7.72 | 81.942 |
| 40-44 | 1,117,424 | 1,295,074 | 2,412,498 | 7.22 | 86.283 |
| 45-49 | 1,105,598 | 1,242,932 | 2,348,530 | 7.03 | 88.951 |
| 50-54 | 931,191 | 996,954 | 1,928,145 | 5.77 | 93.404 |
| 55-59 | 861,527 | 880,881 | 1,742,408 | 5.22 | 97.803 |
| 60-64 | 685,136 | 729,535 | 1,414,671 | 4.23 | 93.914 |
| 65-69 | 459,232 | 542,902 | 1,002,134 | 3.00 | 84.588 |
| 70-74 | 326,562 | 406,810 | 733,372 | 2.20 | 80.274 |
| 75-79 | 208,317 | 293,050 | 501,367 | 1.50 | 71.086 |
| 80-84 | 118,544 | 183,899 | 302,443 | 0.91 | 64.461 |
| 85-89 | 59,903 | 104,352 | 164,255 | 0.49 | 57.405 |
| 90-94 | 17,967 | 34,963 | 52,930 | 0.16 | 51.389 |
| 95-99 | 5,746 | 11,044 | 16,790 | 0.05 | 52.028 |
| 100+ | 2,188 | 3,243 | 5,431 | 0.02 | 67.468 |
| Age not stated | 17,297 | 17,189 | 34,486 | 0.10 | 100.628 |
| Total | 16,027,412 | 17,378,649 | 33,406,061 | 92.225 | |
- Population pyramid
- Gender ratio
| Rank | District | Population | Rural (%) | Urban (%) | Sex ratio | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Total | Share (%) | F per 1000 M | M per 100 F | ||||
| 11 | Kasaragod | 628,613 | 678,762 | 1,307,375 | 3.91 | 61.06 | 38.94 | 1,080 | 92.612 |
| 8 | Kannur | 1,181,446 | 1,341,557 | 2,523,003 | 7.55 | 34.96 | 65.04 | 1,136 | 88.065 |
| 14 | Wayanad | 401,684 | 415,736 | 817,420 | 2.45 | 96.14 | 3.86 | 1,035 | 96.620 |
| 5 | Kozhikode | 1,470,942 | 1,615,351 | 3,086,293 | 9.24 | 32.85 | 67.15 | 1,098 | 91.060 |
| 1 | Malappuram | 1,960,328 | 2,152,592 | 4,112,920 | 12.31 | 55.82 | 44.18 | 1,098 | 91.068 |
| 6 | Palakkad | 1,359,478 | 1,450,456 | 2,809,934 | 8.41 | 75.91 | 24.09 | 1,067 | 93.728 |
| 4 | Thrissur | 1,480,763 | 1,640,437 | 3,121,200 | 9.34 | 32.83 | 67.17 | 1,108 | 90.266 |
| 3 | Ernakulam | 1,619,557 | 1,662,831 | 3,282,388 | 9.83 | 31.93 | 68.07 | 1,027 | 97.398 |
| 13 | Idukki | 552,808 | 556,166 | 1,108,974 | 3.32 | 95.31 | 4.69 | 1,006 | 99.396 |
| 10 | Kottayam | 968,289 | 1,006,262 | 1,974,551 | 5.91 | 71.37 | 28.63 | 1,039 | 96.226 |
| 9 | Alappuzha | 1,013,142 | 1,114,647 | 2,127,789 | 6.37 | 46.04 | 53.96 | 1,100 | 90.894 |
| 12 | Pathanamthitta | 561,716 | 635,696 | 1,197,412 | 3.58 | 89.01 | 10.99 | 1,132 | 88.362 |
| 7 | Kollam | 1,246,968 | 1,388,407 | 2,635,375 | 7.89 | 54.95 | 45.05 | 1,113 | 89.813 |
| 2 | Thiruvananthapuram | 1,581,678 | 1,719,749 | 3,301,427 | 9.88 | 46.34 | 53.66 | 1,087 | 91.971 |