| Source | 2011 - Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation |
| 2025-26 - Report Of The Technical Group On Population Proiecttons (page no 83) | |
| Date | 13 Feb 2026 |
Uttar Pradesh is India's most populous state, with an expected population of 24.35 crore by 2026. Uttar Pradesh accounts for over 17% of the country's total population. Bihar has surpassed Maharashtra as the second-largest state in terms of population, with about 133 million people residing there. Four states have populations of more than ten crore. More than 10 million people live in 19 states and two union territories. Delhi (2.23 crore) is India's largest union territory by population.
The five states with the largest populations—Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh—are home to about half of the nation's population. Seventy-four percent of India's population lives in the ten most populous states. Just 1% of India's population lives in 12 least populous states or union territories, while 10% of the country's population lives in 21 least populous states or union territories.
The largest state, Uttar Pradesh, has a population that is comparable to that of Nigeria, the sixth most populated nation in the world. The populations of 2nd-ranked Bihar and 3rd-ranked Maharashtra are equivalent to those of Mexico. Eight states have a population larger than the 20th-ranked in the world. 15 states are among the top 50 countries.
Sikkim (703,000) is the smallest state, and Lakshadweep (69,000) is India's smallest union territory in terms of population.
Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu will have the highest population growth rate in 2026, at 7.71%, followed by Puducherry and Delhi. Bihar has the greatest projected population growth rate in 2026, at 1.38%, followed by Jharkhand and Gujarat. Tamil Nadu has the slowest growth rate among the states.
| Code | Rank | State/UT | Population | Growth (2026) | Share (%) | Country | W rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2026 | Absolute | % | 2026 | |||||
| DL | UT1 | Delhi | 22,277,000 | 22,674,000 | 397,000 | 1.78 | 1.59 | Malawi | 63 |
| HR | 16 | Haryana | 31,057,000 | 31,409,000 | 352,000 | 1.13 | 2.20 | Cameroon | 51 |
| KL | 15 | Kerala | 36,111,000 | 36,239,000 | 128,000 | 0.35 | 2.54 | Malaysia | 46 |
| HP | 20 | Himachal Pradesh | 7,555,000 | 7,588,000 | 33,000 | 0.44 | 0.53 | Libya | 105 |
| PB | 17 | Punjab | 31,188,000 | 31,370,000 | 182,000 | 0.58 | 2.19 | Cameroon | 51 |
| TG | 13 | Telangana | 38,499,000 | 38,665,000 | 166,000 | 0.43 | 2.70 | Morocco | 42 |
| GA | 26 | Goa | 1,593,000 | 1,601,000 | 8,000 | 0.50 | 0.11 | Kosovo (under UNSC res. 1244) | 155 |
| UT | 19 | Uttarakhand | 11,913,000 | 12,028,000 | 115,000 | 0.97 | 0.84 | Haiti | 83 |
| CH | UT5 | Chandigarh | 1,259,000 | 1,270,000 | 11,000 | 0.87 | 0.09 | Eswatini | 159 |
| GJ | 8 | Gujarat | 73,513,000 | 74,343,000 | 830,000 | 1.13 | 5.20 | United Republic of Tanzania | 20 |
| LD | UT8 | Lakshadweep | 69,000 | 70,000 | 1,000 | 1.45 | 0.00 | Dominica | 206 |
| TN | 7 | Tamil Nadu | 77,394,000 | 77,582,000 | 188,000 | 0.24 | 5.43 | United Republic of Tanzania | 20 |
| DNDD | UT4 | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | 1,479,000 | 1,593,000 | 114,000 | 7.71 | 0.11 | Kosovo (under UNSC res. 1244) | 155 |
| CT | 18 | Chhattisgarh | 30,982,000 | 31,311,000 | 329,000 | 1.06 | 2.19 | Cameroon | 51 |
| AN | UT6 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 405,000 | 406,000 | 1,000 | 0.25 | 0.03 | Bahamas | 178 |
| MH | 3 | Maharashtra | 128,659,000 | 129,584,000 | 925,000 | 0.72 | 9.07 | Mexico | 12 |
| KA | 9 | Karnataka | 68,679,000 | 69,074,000 | 395,000 | 0.58 | 4.83 | United Kingdom | 23 |
| WB | 4 | West Bengal | 100,202,000 | 100,631,000 | 429,000 | 0.43 | 7.04 | Viet Nam | 17 |
| OR | 11 | Odisha | 46,953,000 | 47,221,000 | 268,000 | 0.57 | 3.30 | Spain | 35 |
| PY | UT3 | Puducherry | 1,732,000 | 1,771,000 | 39,000 | 2.25 | 0.12 | North Macedonia | 153 |
| AP | 10 | Andhra Pradesh | 53,586,000 | 53,740,000 | 154,000 | 0.29 | 3.76 | Colombia | 29 |
| JH | 12 | Jharkhand | 40,626,000 | 41,108,000 | 482,000 | 1.19 | 2.88 | Canada | 38 |
| MZ | 27 | Mizoram | 1,264,000 | 1,275,000 | 11,000 | 0.87 | 0.09 | Eswatini | 159 |
| TR | 21 | Tripura | 4,232,000 | 4,268,000 | 36,000 | 0.85 | 0.30 | Panama | 130 |
| MP | 5 | Madhya Pradesh | 88,985,000 | 89,965,000 | 980,000 | 1.10 | 6.29 | Türkiye | 18 |
| UP | 1 | Uttar Pradesh | 241,265,000 | 243,466,000 | 2,201,000 | 0.91 | 17.03 | Nigeria | 6 |
| RJ | 6 | Rajasthan | 83,060,000 | 83,879,000 | 819,000 | 0.99 | 5.87 | Germany | 19 |
| SK | 28 | Sikkim | 703,000 | 709,000 | 6,000 | 0.85 | 0.05 | China, Macao SAR | 169 |
| BR | 2 | Bihar | 131,041,000 | 132,850,000 | 1,809,000 | 1.38 | 9.29 | Mexico | 12 |
| MN | 23 | Manipur | 3,289,000 | 3,318,000 | 29,000 | 0.88 | 0.23 | Uruguay | 135 |
| AR | 25 | Arunachal Pradesh | 1,594,000 | 1,608,000 | 14,000 | 0.88 | 0.11 | Kosovo (under UNSC res. 1244) | 155 |
| JK | UT2 | Jammu & Kashmir | 13,831,000 | 13,927,000 | 96,000 | 0.69 | 0.97 | Burundi | 79 |
| LK | UT7 | Ladakh | 304,000 | 306,000 | 2,000 | 0.66 | 0.02 | New Caledonia | 185 |
| NL | 24 | Nagaland | 2,279,000 | 2,299,000 | 20,000 | 0.88 | 0.16 | Guinea-Bissau | 148 |
| ML | 22 | Meghalaya | 3,417,000 | 3,447,000 | 30,000 | 0.88 | 0.24 | Uruguay | 134 |
| AS | 14 | Assam | 36,493,000 | 36,815,000 | 322,000 | 0.88 | 2.58 | Mozambique | 44 |
| India | 1,417,492,000 | 1,429,404,000 | 11,912,000 | 0.84 | 100 | 2 | |||
| Code | State/UT | Population (1901) | Population (1951) | Population (2011) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Rank | Total | Rank | Total | Rank | ||
| AP | Andhra Pradesh | 13,071,874 | 7 | 20,216,637 | 6 | 49,386,799 | 10 |
| TG | Telangana | 5,972,448 | 15 | 10,898,622 | 13 | 35,193,978 | 12 |
| AS | Assam | 3,289,680 | 18 | 8,028,856 | 16 | 31,205,576 | 15 |
| BR | Bihar | 27,311,865 | 2 | 29,085,017 | 4 | 104,099,452 | 3 |
| CT | Chhattisgarh | 4,181,554 | 17 | 7,456,706 | 17 | 25,545,198 | 17 |
| GA | Goa | 475,513 | 21 | 547,448 | 24 | 1,458,545 | 25 |
| GJ | Gujarat | 9,094,748 | 11 | 16,262,657 | 9 | 60,439,692 | 9 |
| HR | Haryana | 4,623,064 | 16 | 5,673,597 | 18 | 25,351,462 | 18 |
| HP | Himachal Pradesh | 1,920,294 | 20 | 2,385,981 | 20 | 6,864,602 | 20 |
| JK | Jammu & Kashmir | 2,078,895 | UT1 | 3,171,512 | UT1 | 12,267,013 | UT2 |
| LK | Ladakh | 60,467 | UT4 | 82,340 | UT5 | 274,289 | UT7 |
| JH | Jharkhand | 6,068,233 | 14 | 9,697,254 | 14 | 32,988,134 | 14 |
| KA | Karnataka | 13,054,754 | 8 | 19,401,956 | 7 | 61,095,297 | 8 |
| KL | Kerala | 6,396,262 | 13 | 13,549,118 | 12 | 33,406,061 | 13 |
| MP | Madhya Pradesh | 16,860,768 | 6 | 18,614,931 | 8 | 72,626,809 | 5 |
| MH | Maharashtra | 19,391,643 | 3 | 32,002,564 | 2 | 112,374,333 | 2 |
| MN | Manipur | 284,465 | 23 | 577,635 | 23 | 2,855,794 | 23 |
| ML | Meghalaya | 340,524 | 22 | 605,674 | 22 | 2,966,889 | 22 |
| MZ | Mizoram | 82,434 | 26 | 196,202 | 26 | 1,097,206 | 27 |
| NL | Nagaland | 101,550 | 25 | 212,975 | 25 | 1,978,502 | 24 |
| OR | Odisha | 10,302,917 | 9 | 14,645,946 | 11 | 41,974,218 | 11 |
| PB | Punjab | 7,544,790 | 12 | 9,160,500 | 15 | 27,743,338 | 16 |
| RJ | Rajasthan | 10,294,090 | 10 | 15,970,774 | 10 | 68,548,437 | 7 |
| SK | Sikkim | 59,014 | 27 | 137,725 | 27 | 610,577 | 28 |
| TN | Tamil Nadu | 19,252,630 | 4 | 30,119,047 | 3 | 72,147,030 | 6 |
| TR | Tripura | 173,325 | 24 | 639,029 | 21 | 3,673,917 | 21 |
| UT | Uttarakhand | 1,979,866 | 19 | 2,945,929 | 19 | 10,086,292 | 19 |
| UP | Uttar Pradesh | 48,627,670 | 1 | 60,273,743 | 1 | 199,812,341 | 1 |
| WB | West Bengal | 16,940,088 | 5 | 26,299,980 | 5 | 91,276,115 | 4 |
| AN | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 24,649 | UT6 | 30,971 | UT6 | 380,581 | UT6 |
| CH | Chandigarh | 21,967 | UT7 | 24,261 | UT7 | 1,055,450 | UT4 |
| DNDD | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | 56,285 | UT5 | 90,143 | UT4 | 586,956 | UT5 |
| DL | Delhi | 405,819 | UT2 | 1,744,072 | UT2 | 16,787,941 | UT1 |
| LD | Lakshadweep | 13,882 | UT8 | 21,035 | UT8 | 64,473 | UT8 |
| PY | Puducherry | 246,354 | UT3 | 317,253 | UT3 | 1,247,953 | UT3 |
| AR | Arunachal Pradesh | - | - | - | - | 1,383,727 | 26 |