Population of Punjab
| Source | 2011 - Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation |
| 2011-36 - Report of The Technical Group On Population Proiecttons (page no 84) | |
| Date | 04 Mar 2026 |
As per the report of the Technical Group by the National Commission, the population of Punjab is projected to be 31,370,000, or 31.38 million, or 3.14 crore, as of July 1, 2026. Punjab is the 17th most populous state in India. Punjab’s population is projected to reach 3.27 crore in 2036.
The size of the population of Punjab is equivalent to that of Cameroon, the 51st most populous country in the world.
In 2026, the sex ratio of the total population in Punjab will be 110.220 males per 100 females. There are 16,447,000, or 16.45 million, or 1.65 crore, males and 14,922,000, or 14.92 million, or 1.49 crore, females in Punjab. Punjab has 1,525,000, or 1.53 million, more males than females.
Punjab accounts for 2.19 percent of India's population, which is 0.97% less than the peak of 3.16% in 1901. The population growth rate in 2026 is projected at 0.58%, the tenth-lowest among states. Punjab will add 182,000 more people in 2026.
According to the Census of India 2011, the population of the state of Punjab was 2.77 crore, increasing from 2.44 crore in 2001. There were 14,639,465 males and 13,103,873 females, with a sex ratio of 111.719 males per 100 females. The percentage of decadal growth during 2001–2011 was 13.89%, 6.21% less than the 1991–2001 period. The population of Punjab increased by 3.38 million during the decade 2001–2011.
The population of Punjab, which at the turn of the twentieth century was only around 7.5 million, has expanded by approximately 4.16 times in 125 years to reach 31.38 million in 2026. In 1901, Punjab was the 12th most populous state, but as of 2026, it has been surpassed by four states: Kerala, Jharkhand, Telangana, and Assam.
- Population
- Growth rate
- Net change
| Year | Population | Growth | Share (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Male | Female | Net Change | rate (%) | India | |
| 2011 | 27,836,000 | 14,687,000 | 13,150,000 | - | - | 2.29 |
| 2012 | 28,116,000 | 14,828,000 | 13,288,000 | 280,000 | 1.006 | 2.28 |
| 2013 | 28,395,000 | 14,970,000 | 13,425,000 | 279,000 | 0.992 | 2.27 |
| 2014 | 28,674,000 | 15,111,000 | 13,563,000 | 279,000 | 0.983 | 2.27 |
| 2015 | 28,954,000 | 15,253,000 | 13,701,000 | 280,000 | 0.976 | 2.26 |
| 2016 | 29,220,000 | 15,387,000 | 13,833,000 | 266,000 | 0.919 | 2.25 |
| 2017 | 29,460,000 | 15,506,000 | 13,953,000 | 240,000 | 0.821 | 2.25 |
| 2018 | 29,699,000 | 15,626,000 | 14,074,000 | 239,000 | 0.811 | 2.24 |
| 2019 | 29,939,000 | 15,745,000 | 14,194,000 | 240,000 | 0.808 | 2.24 |
| 2020 | 30,179,000 | 15,864,000 | 14,315,000 | 240,000 | 0.802 | 2.23 |
| 2021 | 30,404,000 | 15,975,000 | 14,429,000 | 225,000 | 0.746 | 2.22 |
| 2022 | 30,600,000 | 16,071,000 | 14,529,000 | 196,000 | 0.645 | 2.22 |
| 2023 | 30,796,000 | 16,167,000 | 14,629,000 | 196,000 | 0.641 | 2.21 |
| 2024 | 30,992,000 | 16,263,000 | 14,729,000 | 196,000 | 0.636 | 2.21 |
| 2025 | 31,188,000 | 16,359,000 | 14,829,000 | 196,000 | 0.632 | 2.20 |
| 2026 | 31,370,000 | 16,447,000 | 14,922,000 | 182,000 | 0.584 | 2.19 |
| 2027 | 31,523,000 | 16,521,000 | 15,002,000 | 153,000 | 0.488 | 2.19 |
| 2028 | 31,677,000 | 16,595,000 | 15,082,000 | 154,000 | 0.489 | 2.18 |
| 2029 | 31,831,000 | 16,669,000 | 15,162,000 | 154,000 | 0.486 | 2.18 |
| 2030 | 31,984,000 | 16,743,000 | 15,241,000 | 153,000 | 0.481 | 2.17 |
| 2031 | 32,125,000 | 16,810,000 | 15,315,000 | 141,000 | 0.441 | 2.17 |
| 2032 | 32,239,000 | 16,862,000 | 15,377,000 | 114,000 | 0.355 | 2.16 |
| 2033 | 32,353,000 | 16,915,000 | 15,439,000 | 114,000 | 0.354 | 2.16 |
| 2034 | 32,468,000 | 16,967,000 | 15,500,000 | 115,000 | 0.355 | 2.15 |
| 2035 | 32,582,000 | 17,020,000 | 15,562,000 | 114,000 | 0.351 | 2.15 |
| 2036 | 32,696,000 | 17,072,000 | 15,624,000 | 114,000 | 0.350 | 2.14 |
| Year | Population | Growth | Share (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net Change | rate (%) | India | ||
| 1901 | 7,544,790 | - | - | 3.16 |
| 1911 | 6,731,510 | -813,280 | -10.78 | 2.67 |
| 1921 | 7,152,811 | 421,301 | 6.26 | 2.85 |
| 1931 | 8,012,325 | 859,514 | 12.02 | 2.87 |
| 1941 | 9,600,236 | 1,587,911 | 19.82 | 3.01 |
| 1951 | 9,160,500 | -439,736 | -4.58 | 2.54 |
| 1961 | 11,135,069 | 1,974,569 | 21.56 | 2.54 |
| 1971 | 13,551,060 | 2,415,991 | 21.70 | 2.47 |
| 1981 | 16,788,915 | 3,237,855 | 23.89 | 2.46 |
| 1991 | 20,281,969 | 3,493,054 | 20.81 | 2.40 |
| 2001 | 24,358,999 | 4,077,030 | 20.10 | 2.37 |
| 2011 | 27,743,338 | 3,384,339 | 13.89 | 2.29 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | M per 100 F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persons | Share (%) | ||||
| 00-04 | 1,149,956 | 983,573 | 2,133,529 | 7.69 | 116.916 |
| 05-09 | 1,301,682 | 1,066,337 | 2,368,019 | 8.54 | 122.070 |
| 10-14 | 1,445,530 | 1,137,872 | 2,583,402 | 9.31 | 127.038 |
| 15-19 | 1,570,180 | 1,247,503 | 2,817,683 | 10.16 | 125.866 |
| 20-24 | 1,465,531 | 1,311,105 | 2,776,636 | 10.01 | 111.778 |
| 25-29 | 1,270,405 | 1,193,456 | 2,463,861 | 8.88 | 106.448 |
| 30-34 | 1,082,533 | 1,034,006 | 2,116,539 | 7.63 | 104.693 |
| 35-39 | 1,010,862 | 978,209 | 1,989,071 | 7.17 | 103.338 |
| 40-44 | 909,208 | 879,261 | 1,788,469 | 6.45 | 103.406 |
| 45-49 | 818,135 | 769,636 | 1,587,771 | 5.72 | 106.302 |
| 50-54 | 663,664 | 590,800 | 1,254,464 | 4.52 | 112.333 |
| 55-59 | 485,845 | 470,710 | 956,555 | 3.45 | 103.215 |
| 60-64 | 482,483 | 514,107 | 996,590 | 3.59 | 93.849 |
| 65-69 | 372,806 | 346,782 | 719,588 | 2.59 | 107.504 |
| 70-74 | 272,120 | 241,352 | 513,472 | 1.85 | 112.748 |
| 75-79 | 130,203 | 126,463 | 256,666 | 0.93 | 102.957 |
| 80-84 | 102,623 | 103,712 | 206,335 | 0.74 | 98.950 |
| 85-89 | 40,280 | 40,951 | 81,231 | 0.29 | 98.361 |
| 90-94 | 25,180 | 27,694 | 52,874 | 0.19 | 90.922 |
| 95-99 | 9,428 | 10,592 | 20,020 | 0.07 | 89.011 |
| 100+ | 8,539 | 10,502 | 19,041 | 0.07 | 81.308 |
| Age not stated | 22,272 | 19,250 | 41,522 | 0.15 | 115.699 |
| Total | 14,639,465 | 13,103,873 | 27,743,338 | 111.719 | |
- Population pyramid
- Gender ratio
| Rank | District | Population | Rural (%) | Urban (%) | Sex ratio | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Total | Share (%) | F per 1000 M | M per 100 F | ||||
| 3 | Gurdaspur | 1,212,617 | 1,085,706 | 2,298,323 | 8.28 | 71.31 | 28.69 | 895 | 111.689 |
| 14 | Kapurthala | 426,311 | 388,857 | 815,168 | 2.94 | 65.35 | 34.65 | 912 | 109.632 |
| 4 | Jalandhar | 1,145,211 | 1,048,379 | 2,193,590 | 7.91 | 47.07 | 52.93 | 915 | 109.236 |
| 8 | Hoshiarpur | 809,057 | 777,568 | 1,586,625 | 5.72 | 78.89 | 21.11 | 961 | 104.050 |
| 18 | Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar | 313,291 | 299,019 | 612,310 | 2.21 | 79.52 | 20.48 | 954 | 104.773 |
| 19 | Fatehgarh Sahib | 320,795 | 279,368 | 600,163 | 2.16 | 69.09 | 30.91 | 871 | 114.829 |
| 1 | Ludhiana | 1,867,816 | 1,630,923 | 3,498,739 | 12.61 | 40.84 | 59.16 | 873 | 114.525 |
| 11 | Moga | 525,920 | 469,826 | 995,746 | 3.59 | 77.18 | 22.82 | 893 | 111.939 |
| 5 | Firozpur | 1,071,637 | 957,437 | 2,029,074 | 7.31 | 72.77 | 27.23 | 893 | 111.928 |
| 13 | Muktsar | 475,622 | 426,274 | 901,896 | 3.25 | 72.04 | 27.96 | 896 | 111.577 |
| 17 | Faridkot | 326,671 | 290,837 | 617,508 | 2.23 | 64.85 | 35.15 | 890 | 112.321 |
| 9 | Bathinda | 743,197 | 645,328 | 1,388,525 | 5.00 | 64.05 | 35.95 | 868 | 115.166 |
| 15 | Mansa | 408,732 | 361,019 | 769,751 | 2.77 | 78.75 | 21.25 | 883 | 113.216 |
| 6 | Patiala | 1,002,522 | 893,164 | 1,895,686 | 6.83 | 59.74 | 40.26 | 891 | 112.244 |
| 2 | Amritsar | 1,318,408 | 1,172,248 | 2,490,656 | 8.98 | 46.42 | 53.58 | 889 | 112.468 |
| 10 | Tarn Taran | 589,369 | 530,258 | 1,119,627 | 4.04 | 87.34 | 12.66 | 900 | 111.148 |
| 16 | Rupnagar | 357,485 | 327,142 | 684,627 | 2.47 | 74.03 | 25.97 | 915 | 109.275 |
| 12 | Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar | 529,253 | 465,375 | 994,628 | 3.59 | 45.24 | 54.76 | 879 | 113.726 |
| 7 | Sangrur | 878,029 | 777,140 | 1,655,169 | 5.97 | 68.83 | 31.17 | 885 | 112.982 |
| 20 | Barnala | 317,522 | 278,005 | 595,527 | 2.15 | 67.98 | 32.02 | 876 | 114.214 |