Population of Punjab

According to 2011 census, the total Population of Punjab is 2,77,43,338. This is 2.30% of the total population of India and Punjab is at 16th rank amongst all 28 states of India. The decadal change i.e. increase in population from 2001 to 2011 is 13.89%. The decadal growth rate is lowest since 1961. The population of Punjab in 2001 was 2,43,58,999. As per estimates, the population of Punjab in 2021 is 3.18 crore.
As per figures of 2011, the male population is 1,46,34,819 and female population is 1,30,69,417. The male/female ratio in Punjab is 895 which is much lower than the national ratio of 940.
This page is divided into following sections:
Punjab Population 2021
Rural Vs Urban Population
Literacy Rate In Punjab
Sex ratio in Punjab
District Wise Population of Punjab
Punjab Population Religion Wise
SC Population in Punjab
The below table shows some important figures:

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Punjab Population 2021

The projected mid year population of Punjab in 2021 is 3.18 crore (31.8 million) and projected figure as on 1st March 2021 is 3.16 crore. This is according to the figures released by Director, Census Operations, Punjab. This is the official estimate, not an actual figure. Actual population survey is done after every 10 years and the last survey was done in 2011. Now the census will be done again in 2021, for which work has already started but the data becomes available only after 2-3 years.

Rural Vs Urban Population

In Punjab, majority of people live in rural areas. In terms of percentage of population, urban population constitutes only 37.5% whereas rural population is 62.5% of the total population. Total rural population is 1,73,44,192 i.e. 1.73 crore and the urban population is 1,03,99,146 i.e. 1.04 crore. The decadal change from 2001 figures for urban population is 25.9% whereas the rural population has increased only 7.8%.

Literacy Rate In Punjab

The literacy rate in Punjab is 75.84% which is better than the national average of 73.0%. The male literacy rate is 80.4% and female literacy rate is 70.7%. The male literacy rate is slightly less than national average of 80.9%. But the female literacy rate in Punjab is better than that of India. The female literacy rate in India is 64.6%. See complete details at : Literacy Rate In Punjab

Population Density In Punjab

Punjab is one of the densely populated states of India. The population density is 551, which is higher as compared to all India average of 382. Amongst all the districts of Punjab, Ludhiana has the highest population density of 978, followed by Amritsar with population density of 928.

Sex Ratio in Punjab

Sex ratio is measured as number of females per 1000 males and the sex ratio in Punjab is 895. The low sex ratio in the state has always been a matter of concern. With the effors of the state government and the public awareness, it has improved during the last decade but its still low. The figures are better in rural area than the urban area, having a value of 907 in rural population and 875 in urban population. The corresponding figures in 2001 were - 876 (Total), 890 (Rural), 849 (Urban).
Sex ratio in Punjab in the age group of 0 to 6 years is just 846, which will create a serious social problem in the coming times. The value is 844 is the rural folks and 852 in the urban people.
If we take a look at the district level figures, Hoshiarpur district has the highest sex ratio of 961 and district Bathinda has the lowest sex ratio in Punjab where it is just 868.

District Wise Population of Punjab

There are total 22 districts in Punjab. The below table shows the population of all districts in Punjab:

District	Population 2011	Population 2001
Ludhiana	3498739	3032831
Amritsar	2490656	2157020
Gurdaspur	1621725	2103455
Jalandhar	2193590	1962761
Firozpur	965337	1746107
Patiala	1895686	1584780
Sangrur	1655169	1473242
Hoshiarpur	1586625	1481292
Bathinda	1388525	1183295
Tarn Taran	1119627	939057
Moga	995746	894793
Mohali (S.A.S. Nagar)	994628	746987
Mukatsar (Shri Mukatsar Sahib)	901896	777493
Kapurthala	815168	754521
Mansa	769751	688758
Rupnagar	684627	628846
Faridkot	617508	550892
Nawan Shahr (S.B.S. Nagar)	612310	587468
Fatehgarh Sahib	600163	538470
Barnala	595527	526931
Pathankot	676598	0
Fazilka	1063737	0

Graphical view of population of Punjab

NOTE: In 2011, two new districts Pathankot and Fazilka were created. Pathankot district was created from Gurdaspur district and Fazilka district was created from Firozpur district. According to census held in 2011, the population of Gurdaspur before the creation of Pathankot was 2298323 and the population of Firozpur before the creation of Fazilka was 2029074.

Punjab Population Religion Wise

The government released the religion wise population of Punjab and other states in August 2015. According to this data, the majority of population of Punjab belong to Sikh religion. The percentage of Sikh population in Punjab is 57.69% of the total population of the state. This is the only state in India having majority of population belonging to Sikh community. At national level, Sikh population is 20833116 (2.08 Crore) which forms 1.7% of the total population of India. The next major religion in Punjab is Hindu religion, which is followed by the 38.49% of the total population. The Sikh and Hindu community forms more than 96% of the total population of state. The total muslim population in Punjab is around 5.35 lakh and the ratio of muslims in the state is only 1.93%. It is interesting to note that the muslims are in majority in the Malerkotla town, where this religious group constitue around 69% of the total persons in the town. The population of each religious community and their ratio in total popoulation of the state is given below:
For more details, check the following links:
Punjab Population By Religion

SC Population in Punjab

Amongst all the states of the country, proportion of scheduled caste population is highest in Punjab. SC population in Punjab is 88.6 lakh, which is 31.9% of the total population of state. At the all India level, this proportion is 16.6%. The percentage of scheduled castes is 22.7 in urban areas and 37.5 in rural areas. Following are some highlights:

• Nawan Shahr (SBS Nagar) district has the highest proportion of SC population, which is 42.5% of the total population of the district.
• The lowest proportion is recorded in Mohali (SAS Nagar) district, where 21.7% people belong to scheduled castes.
• If we consider the proportion in rural population only, Jalandhar district is at the top of the list, having a figure of 49.9%.
• Top 5 districts with highest proportion are Nawan Shahr (42.4%), Muktsar (42.3%), Firozpur (42.2%), Jalandhar (39.0%), Faridkot (38.9%).
• There are no notified scheduled tribes (ST) in Punjab.

Frequently asked questions:
How much is the total population of Punjab?
According to the latest census of India held in 2011, the total population of Punjab is 27743338.

Which district has the highest population?
The district of Punjab with highest population is Ludhiana. It is followed by Amritsar and Jalandhar respectively.

Which district of Punjab has the lowest population?
District Barnala has the lowest population amongst the districts in Punjab. It is followed by Fatehgarh Sahib as the second least populated district.

How much is the population density of Punjab?
The population density of Punjab is 551. It is higher than the national average.