| Source | 2011 - Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation |
| 2011-36 - Report of The Technical Group On Population Proiecttons (page no 94) | |
| Date | 07 Nov 2026 |
As per the report of the Technical Group of the National Commission, the population of Puducherry is projected to be 1,771,000, or 1.77 million, or 17.71 lakh, as of July 1, 2026. Puducherry is the third-most populous UT in India and is in 27th position among all states and UTs. Puducherry’s population is projected to reach 26.73 lakh in 2036.
The size of the population of Puducherry is equivalent to that of North Macedonia, the 152nd most populous country in the world.
In 2026, the sex ratio of the total population in Puducherry will be 89.209 males per 100 females. There are 819,000, or 835K, or 8.35 lakh, or 8.35 lakh, males and 936,000, or 936K, or 9.36 lakh, females in Puducherry. Puducherry has 101,000, or 101K, more females than males.
Puducherry accounts for 0.12 percent of India's population, the highest since 1901. The population growth rate in 2026 is projected at 2.25%, which is the 2nd highest among all states and UTs. Puducherry will add 39K more people in 2026.
According to the Census of India 2011, the population of Puducherry was 12.48 lakh, increasing from 9.74 lakh in 2001. There were 612,511 males and 635,442 females, with a sex ratio of 96.391 males per 100 females. The percentage of decadal growth during 2001–2011 was 28.08%, 7.46% higher than the 1991–2001 period. The population of Puducherry increased by 274K during the decade 2001–2011.
The population of Puducherry, which at the turn of the twentieth century was around 246K, increased by approximately 7.19 times in 125 years to reach 1.77 million in 2026. In 1901, Puducherry was in 26th place among all states and UTs, but as of 2026, it has overtaken Goa and been surpassed by Tripura and Nagaland.
| Year | Population | Growth | Share (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Male | Female | Net Change | rate (%) | India | |
| 2011 | 1,258,000 | 617,000 | 641,000 | - | - | 0.10 |
| 2012 | 1,289,000 | 631,000 | 658,000 | 31,000 | 2.464 | 0.10 |
| 2013 | 1,320,000 | 644,000 | 676,000 | 31,000 | 2.405 | 0.11 |
| 2014 | 1,351,000 | 658,000 | 693,000 | 31,000 | 2.348 | 0.11 |
| 2015 | 1,381,000 | 671,000 | 710,000 | 30,000 | 2.221 | 0.11 |
| 2016 | 1,413,000 | 685,000 | 728,000 | 32,000 | 2.317 | 0.11 |
| 2017 | 1,447,000 | 700,000 | 747,000 | 34,000 | 2.406 | 0.11 |
| 2018 | 1,481,000 | 714,000 | 767,000 | 34,000 | 2.350 | 0.11 |
| 2019 | 1,515,000 | 729,000 | 786,000 | 34,000 | 2.296 | 0.11 |
| 2020 | 1,549,000 | 743,000 | 806,000 | 34,000 | 2.244 | 0.11 |
| 2021 | 1,584,000 | 758,000 | 826,000 | 35,000 | 2.260 | 0.12 |
| 2022 | 1,621,000 | 773,000 | 848,000 | 37,000 | 2.336 | 0.12 |
| 2023 | 1,658,000 | 788,000 | 870,000 | 37,000 | 2.283 | 0.12 |
| 2024 | 1,695,000 | 804,000 | 891,000 | 37,000 | 2.232 | 0.12 |
| 2025 | 1,732,000 | 819,000 | 913,000 | 37,000 | 2.183 | 0.12 |
| 2026 | 1,771,000 | 835,000 | 936,000 | 39,000 | 2.252 | 0.12 |
| 2027 | 1,811,000 | 851,000 | 961,000 | 40,000 | 2.259 | 0.13 |
| 2028 | 1,852,000 | 867,000 | 985,000 | 41,000 | 2.264 | 0.13 |
| 2029 | 1,893,000 | 883,000 | 1,010,000 | 41,000 | 2.214 | 0.13 |
| 2030 | 1,934,000 | 899,000 | 1,034,000 | 41,000 | 2.166 | 0.13 |
| 2031 | 1,976,000 | 916,000 | 1,060,000 | 42,000 | 2.172 | 0.13 |
| 2032 | 2,020,000 | 933,000 | 1,087,000 | 44,000 | 2.227 | 0.14 |
| 2033 | 2,065,000 | 950,000 | 1,115,000 | 45,000 | 2.228 | 0.14 |
| 2034 | 2,109,000 | 967,000 | 1,143,000 | 44,000 | 2.131 | 0.14 |
| 2035 | 2,154,000 | 984,000 | 1,170,000 | 45,000 | 2.134 | 0.14 |
| 2036 | 2,198,000 | 1,001,000 | 1,198,000 | 44,000 | 2.043 | 0.14 |
| Year | Population | Growth | Share (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net Change | rate (%) | to India | ||
| 1901 | 246,354 | - | - | 0.10 |
| 1911 | 257,179 | 10,825 | 4.39 | 0.10 |
| 1921 | 244,156 | -13,023 | -5.06 | 0.10 |
| 1931 | 258,628 | 14,472 | 5.93 | 0.09 |
| 1941 | 285,011 | 26,383 | 10.20 | 0.09 |
| 1951 | 317,253 | 32,242 | 11.31 | 0.09 |
| 1961 | 369,079 | 51,826 | 16.34 | 0.08 |
| 1971 | 471,707 | 102,628 | 27.81 | 0.09 |
| 1981 | 604,471 | 132,764 | 28.15 | 0.09 |
| 1991 | 807,785 | 203,314 | 33.64 | 0.10 |
| 2001 | 974,345 | 166,560 | 20.62 | 0.09 |
| 2011 | 1,247,953 | 273,608 | 28.08 | 0.10 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | M per 100 F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persons | Share (%) | ||||
| 00-04 | 47,703 | 46,246 | 93,949 | 7.53 | 103.151 |
| 05-09 | 50,327 | 48,390 | 98,717 | 7.91 | 104.003 |
| 10-14 | 53,936 | 51,790 | 105,726 | 8.47 | 104.144 |
| 15-19 | 52,231 | 50,085 | 102,316 | 8.20 | 104.285 |
| 20-24 | 51,287 | 57,532 | 108,819 | 8.72 | 89.145 |
| 25-29 | 55,052 | 63,192 | 118,244 | 9.48 | 87.119 |
| 30-34 | 53,761 | 57,309 | 111,070 | 8.90 | 93.809 |
| 35-39 | 52,655 | 54,804 | 107,459 | 8.61 | 96.079 |
| 40-44 | 45,482 | 44,297 | 89,779 | 7.19 | 102.675 |
| 45-49 | 40,625 | 38,680 | 79,305 | 6.35 | 105.028 |
| 50-54 | 30,858 | 30,065 | 60,923 | 4.88 | 102.638 |
| 55-59 | 24,615 | 25,494 | 50,109 | 4.02 | 96.552 |
| 60-64 | 20,498 | 23,330 | 43,828 | 3.51 | 87.861 |
| 65-69 | 12,154 | 15,829 | 27,983 | 2.24 | 76.783 |
| 70-74 | 9,861 | 12,660 | 22,521 | 1.80 | 77.891 |
| 75-79 | 5,494 | 7,295 | 12,789 | 1.02 | 75.312 |
| 80-84 | 3,151 | 4,787 | 7,938 | 0.64 | 65.824 |
| 85-89 | 1,416 | 1,967 | 3,383 | 0.27 | 71.988 |
| 90-94 | 577 | 808 | 1,385 | 0.11 | 71.411 |
| 95-99 | 193 | 244 | 437 | 0.04 | 79.098 |
| 100+ | 75 | 97 | 172 | 0.01 | 77.320 |
| Age not stated | 560 | 541 | 1,101 | 0.09 | 103.512 |
| Total | 612,511 | 635,442 | 1,247,953 | 96.391 | |
| District | Rank | Population | Rural (%) | Urban (%) | Sex ratio | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Total | Share (%) | F per 1000 M | M per 100 F | ||||
| Yanam | 3 | 27,301 | 28,325 | 55,626 | 4.46 | 0.00 | 100.00 | 1,038 | 96.385 |
| Puducherry | 1 | 468,258 | 482,031 | 950,289 | 76.15 | 30.84 | 69.16 | 1,029 | 97.143 |
| Mahe | 4 | 19,143 | 22,673 | 41,816 | 3.35 | 0.00 | 100.00 | 1,184 | 84.431 |
| Karaikal | 2 | 97,809 | 102,413 | 200,222 | 16.04 | 51.00 | 49.00 | 1,047 | 95.504 |