| Source | 2011 - Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation |
| 2024 - Report of The Technical Group On Population Proiecttons (page no 89) | |
| Date | 13 Apr 2024 |
As per the report of the Technical Group by the National Commission, the population of Kerala is projected to be 35,967,000, or 35.97 million, or 3.60 crore, as of July 1, 2024. 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 Uzbekistan, the 43rd most populous country in the world.
In 2024, the sex ratio of the total population in Kerala will be 92.426 males per 100 females. There are 17,277,000, or 17.3 million, or 1.73 crore, males and 18,690,000, or 18.69 million, or 1.87 crore, females in Kerala. Kerala has 1,410,000, or 1.41 million, more females than males.
Kerala accounts for 2.56 percent of the Indian population, which is 1.33% less than the peak level of 3.89% in 1971. The population growth rate for 2024 is projected at 0.40%, the 6th lowest among states. Kerala will add 143k people more people in 2024.
According to the Census of India 2011, the population of the state 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 period. Population of Kerala had 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 5.62 times in 123 years to reach 35.97 million in 2024. In 1901, Kerala was the 13th most populous state, but as of 2024, it has overtaken Punjab and been surpassed by three states: Telangana, Jharkhand, and Assam.
| 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 | |
| District | Rank | Population | Rural (%) | Urban (%) | Sex ratio | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Total | Share (%) | F per 1000 M | M per 100 F | ||||
| Kasaragod | 11 | 628,613 | 678,762 | 1,307,375 | 3.91 | 61.06 | 38.94 | 1,080 | 92.612 |
| Kannur | 8 | 1,181,446 | 1,341,557 | 2,523,003 | 7.55 | 34.96 | 65.04 | 1,136 | 88.065 |
| Wayanad | 14 | 401,684 | 415,736 | 817,420 | 2.45 | 96.14 | 3.86 | 1,035 | 96.620 |
| Kozhikode | 5 | 1,470,942 | 1,615,351 | 3,086,293 | 9.24 | 32.85 | 67.15 | 1,098 | 91.060 |
| Malappuram | 1 | 1,960,328 | 2,152,592 | 4,112,920 | 12.31 | 55.82 | 44.18 | 1,098 | 91.068 |
| Palakkad | 6 | 1,359,478 | 1,450,456 | 2,809,934 | 8.41 | 75.91 | 24.09 | 1,067 | 93.728 |
| Thrissur | 4 | 1,480,763 | 1,640,437 | 3,121,200 | 9.34 | 32.83 | 67.17 | 1,108 | 90.266 |
| Ernakulam | 3 | 1,619,557 | 1,662,831 | 3,282,388 | 9.83 | 31.93 | 68.07 | 1,027 | 97.398 |
| Idukki | 13 | 552,808 | 556,166 | 1,108,974 | 3.32 | 95.31 | 4.69 | 1,006 | 99.396 |
| Kottayam | 10 | 968,289 | 1,006,262 | 1,974,551 | 5.91 | 71.37 | 28.63 | 1,039 | 96.226 |
| Alappuzha | 9 | 1,013,142 | 1,114,647 | 2,127,789 | 6.37 | 46.04 | 53.96 | 1,100 | 90.894 |
| Pathanamthitta | 12 | 561,716 | 635,696 | 1,197,412 | 3.58 | 89.01 | 10.99 | 1,132 | 88.362 |
| Kollam | 7 | 1,246,968 | 1,388,407 | 2,635,375 | 7.89 | 54.95 | 45.05 | 1,113 | 89.813 |
| Thiruvananthapuram | 2 | 1,581,678 | 1,719,749 | 3,301,427 | 9.88 | 46.34 | 53.66 | 1,087 | 91.971 |