Population of West Bengal
| Source | 2011 - Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation |
| 2023 - Report of The Technical Group On Population Proiecttons (page no 86) | |
| Date | 02 May 2024 |
As per the report of the Technical Group by the National Commission, the population of West Bengal is projected to be 99,723,000, or 99.72 million, or 9.97 crore, as of July 1, 2024. West Bengal is the fourth-most populous state in India. West Bengal’s population is projected to reach 10.3 crore in 2036.
The size of the population of West Bengal is equivalent to that of Viet Nam, the 16th most populous country in the world. Only one country in South America and Europe, two in North America, and four in Africa have more people than West Bengal.
In 2024, the sex ratio of the total population in West Bengal will be 103.916 males per 100 females. There are 50,819,000, or 50.82 million, or 5.08 crore, males and 48,904,000, or 48.90 million, or 4.89 crore, females in West Bengal. West Bengal has 1,915,000, or 1.92 million, more males than females.
West Bengal accounts for 7.10 percent of the Indian population, 0.98% less than the peak level of 8.08% in 1971. The population growth rate in 2024 is projected at 0.48%, the 5th lowest among states. West Bengal will add 480k more people in 2024.
According to the Census of India 2011, the population of the state of West Bengal was 9.13 crore, increasing from 8.02 crore in 2001. There were 46,809,027 males and 44,467,088 females, with a sex ratio of 105.267 males per 100 females. The percentage of decadal growth during 2001–2011 was 13.84%, 3.93% lower than 1991–2001. The population of West Bengal increased by 11.01 million during the decade 2001–2011.
The population of West Bengal, which at the turn of the twentieth century was around 16.94 million, increased by approximately 5.89 times in 123 years to reach 99.7 million in 2024. West Bengal was the 5th most populous state, but as of 2024, it has overtaken Tamil Nadu.
- Population
- Growth rate
- Net change
| Year | Population | Growth | Share (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Male | Female | Net Change | rate (%) | India | |
| 2011 | 91,530,000 | 46,932,000 | 44,597,000 | - | - | 7.53 |
| 2012 | 92,290,000 | 47,301,000 | 44,989,000 | 760,000 | 0.830 | 7.49 |
| 2013 | 93,051,000 | 47,671,000 | 45,380,000 | 761,000 | 0.825 | 7.45 |
| 2014 | 93,811,000 | 48,040,000 | 45,771,000 | 760,000 | 0.817 | 7.42 |
| 2015 | 94,572,000 | 48,409,000 | 46,162,000 | 761,000 | 0.811 | 7.39 |
| 2016 | 95,282,000 | 48,752,000 | 46,530,000 | 710,000 | 0.751 | 7.35 |
| 2017 | 95,891,000 | 49,040,000 | 46,852,000 | 609,000 | 0.639 | 7.32 |
| 2018 | 96,500,000 | 49,328,000 | 47,173,000 | 609,000 | 0.635 | 7.29 |
| 2019 | 97,109,000 | 49,616,000 | 47,494,000 | 609,000 | 0.631 | 7.25 |
| 2020 | 97,719,000 | 49,903,000 | 47,815,000 | 610,000 | 0.628 | 7.22 |
| 2021 | 98,285,000 | 50,168,000 | 48,117,000 | 566,000 | 0.579 | 7.19 |
| 2022 | 98,764,000 | 50,385,000 | 48,379,000 | 479,000 | 0.487 | 7.16 |
| 2023 | 99,243,000 | 50,602,000 | 48,642,000 | 479,000 | 0.485 | 7.13 |
| 2024 | 99,723,000 | 50,819,000 | 48,904,000 | 480,000 | 0.484 | 7.10 |
| 2025 | 100,202,000 | 51,035,000 | 49,167,000 | 479,000 | 0.480 | 7.07 |
| 2026 | 100,631,000 | 51,225,000 | 49,406,000 | 429,000 | 0.428 | 7.04 |
| 2027 | 100,960,000 | 51,361,000 | 49,600,000 | 329,000 | 0.327 | 7.01 |
| 2028 | 101,290,000 | 51,497,000 | 49,793,000 | 330,000 | 0.327 | 6.98 |
| 2029 | 101,619,000 | 51,632,000 | 49,986,000 | 329,000 | 0.325 | 6.95 |
| 2030 | 101,948,000 | 51,768,000 | 50,180,000 | 329,000 | 0.324 | 6.93 |
| 2031 | 102,218,000 | 51,873,000 | 50,345,000 | 270,000 | 0.265 | 6.90 |
| 2032 | 102,371,000 | 51,917,000 | 50,453,000 | 153,000 | 0.150 | 6.87 |
| 2033 | 102,524,000 | 51,962,000 | 50,562,000 | 153,000 | 0.149 | 6.84 |
| 2034 | 102,676,000 | 52,006,000 | 50,670,000 | 152,000 | 0.148 | 6.81 |
| 2035 | 102,829,000 | 52,051,000 | 50,779,000 | 153,000 | 0.149 | 6.78 |
| 2036 | 102,982,000 | 52,095,000 | 50,887,000 | 153,000 | 0.149 | 6.75 |
| Year | Population | Growth | Share (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net Change | rate (%) | India | ||
| 1901 | 16,940,088 | - | - | 7.11 |
| 1911 | 17,998,769 | 1,058,681 | 6.25 | 7.14 |
| 1921 | 17,474,348 | -524,421 | -2.91 | 6.95 |
| 1931 | 18,897,036 | 1,422,688 | 8.14 | 6.77 |
| 1941 | 23,229,552 | 4,332,516 | 22.93 | 7.29 |
| 1951 | 26,299,980 | 3,070,428 | 13.22 | 7.28 |
| 1961 | 34,926,279 | 8,626,299 | 32.80 | 7.95 |
| 1971 | 44,312,011 | 9,385,732 | 26.87 | 8.08 |
| 1981 | 54,580,647 | 10,268,636 | 23.17 | 7.99 |
| 1991 | 68,077,965 | 13,497,318 | 24.73 | 8.04 |
| 2001 | 80,176,197 | 12,098,232 | 17.77 | 7.79 |
| 2011 | 91,276,115 | 11,099,918 | 13.84 | 7.54 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | M per 100 F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persons | Share (%) | ||||
| 00-04 | 3,743,862 | 3,589,281 | 7,333,143 | 8.03 | 104.307 |
| 05-09 | 4,216,763 | 4,031,046 | 8,247,809 | 9.04 | 104.607 |
| 10-14 | 4,677,506 | 4,479,017 | 9,156,523 | 10.03 | 104.432 |
| 15-19 | 4,702,325 | 4,355,706 | 9,058,031 | 9.92 | 107.958 |
| 20-24 | 4,422,630 | 4,335,692 | 8,758,322 | 9.60 | 102.005 |
| 25-29 | 4,044,904 | 3,953,005 | 7,997,909 | 8.76 | 102.325 |
| 30-34 | 3,464,659 | 3,376,931 | 6,841,590 | 7.50 | 102.598 |
| 35-39 | 3,523,361 | 3,489,285 | 7,012,646 | 7.68 | 100.977 |
| 40-44 | 3,219,604 | 2,933,456 | 6,153,060 | 6.74 | 109.755 |
| 45-49 | 2,814,212 | 2,521,507 | 5,335,719 | 5.85 | 111.608 |
| 50-54 | 2,317,232 | 1,940,648 | 4,257,880 | 4.66 | 119.405 |
| 55-59 | 1,746,903 | 1,521,747 | 3,268,650 | 3.58 | 114.796 |
| 60-64 | 1,406,401 | 1,339,053 | 2,745,454 | 3.01 | 105.030 |
| 65-69 | 991,280 | 991,713 | 1,982,993 | 2.17 | 99.956 |
| 70-74 | 686,881 | 703,726 | 1,390,607 | 1.52 | 97.606 |
| 75-79 | 360,216 | 379,551 | 739,767 | 0.81 | 94.906 |
| 80-84 | 207,192 | 238,611 | 445,803 | 0.49 | 86.833 |
| 85-89 | 92,037 | 105,008 | 197,045 | 0.22 | 87.648 |
| 90-94 | 53,823 | 70,239 | 124,062 | 0.14 | 76.628 |
| 95-99 | 25,628 | 31,837 | 57,465 | 0.06 | 80.498 |
| 100+ | 27,856 | 31,330 | 59,186 | 0.06 | 88.912 |
| Age not stated | 63,752 | 48,699 | 112,451 | 0.12 | 130.910 |
| Total | 46,809,027 | 44,467,088 | 91,276,115 | 105.267 | |
- Population pyramid
- Gender ratio
| Rank | District | Population | Rural (%) | Urban (%) | Sex ratio | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Total | Share (%) | F per 1000 M | M per 100 F | ||||
| 18 | Darjiling | 937,259 | 909,564 | 1,846,823 | 2.02 | 60.58 | 39.42 | 970 | 103.045 |
| 12 | Jalpaiguri | 1,983,064 | 1,889,782 | 3,872,846 | 4.24 | 72.62 | 27.38 | 953 | 104.936 |
| 17 | Koch Bihar | 1,451,542 | 1,367,544 | 2,819,086 | 3.09 | 89.73 | 10.27 | 942 | 106.142 |
| 15 | Uttar Dinajpur | 1,551,066 | 1,456,068 | 3,007,134 | 3.29 | 87.95 | 12.05 | 939 | 106.524 |
| 19 | Dakshin Dinajpur | 857,199 | 819,077 | 1,676,276 | 1.84 | 85.90 | 14.10 | 956 | 104.654 |
| 11 | Maldah | 2,051,541 | 1,937,304 | 3,988,845 | 4.37 | 86.42 | 13.58 | 944 | 105.897 |
| 4 | Murshidabad | 3,627,564 | 3,476,243 | 7,103,807 | 7.78 | 80.28 | 19.72 | 958 | 104.353 |
| 14 | Birbhum | 1,790,920 | 1,711,484 | 3,502,404 | 3.84 | 87.17 | 12.83 | 956 | 104.641 |
| 3 | Barddhaman | 3,966,889 | 3,750,674 | 7,717,563 | 8.46 | 60.11 | 39.89 | 945 | 105.765 |
| 7 | Nadia | 2,653,768 | 2,513,832 | 5,167,600 | 5.66 | 72.16 | 27.84 | 947 | 105.567 |
| 1 | North Twenty Four Parganas | 5,119,389 | 4,890,392 | 10,009,781 | 10.97 | 42.73 | 57.27 | 955 | 104.683 |
| 6 | Hugli | 2,814,653 | 2,704,492 | 5,519,145 | 6.05 | 61.43 | 38.57 | 961 | 104.073 |
| 13 | Bankura | 1,838,095 | 1,758,579 | 3,596,674 | 3.94 | 91.67 | 8.33 | 957 | 104.522 |
| 16 | Puruliya | 1,496,996 | 1,433,119 | 2,930,115 | 3.21 | 87.26 | 12.74 | 957 | 104.457 |
| 9 | Haora | 2,500,819 | 2,349,210 | 4,850,029 | 5.31 | 36.62 | 63.38 | 939 | 106.454 |
| 10 | Kolkata | 2,356,766 | 2,139,928 | 4,496,694 | 4.93 | 0.00 | 100.00 | 908 | 110.133 |
| 2 | South Twenty Four Parganas | 4,173,778 | 3,988,183 | 8,161,961 | 8.94 | 74.42 | 25.58 | 956 | 104.654 |
| 5 | Paschim Medinipur | 3,007,885 | 2,905,572 | 5,913,457 | 6.48 | 87.78 | 12.22 | 966 | 103.521 |
| 8 | Purba Medinipur | 2,629,834 | 2,466,041 | 5,095,875 | 5.58 | 88.37 | 11.63 | 938 | 106.642 |