Useful information on States and Union territories of India

Andhra Pradesh

Date of formation: Oct. 1, 1953, Andhra Part A State created from part of Madras; Nov. 1, 1956 Andhra Pradesh State. Area: 275,069 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 75,727,541; growth rate (1991-2001) : 13.86%.

Density per sq. km.: 275.

Sex ratio (female per 1,000 males): 978

Literacy rate: 61.11% (males: 70.85%; females: 51.17%)

Capital: Hyderabad

Districts: 23

Principal Languages: Telugu and Urdu.

Neighbouring States: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Orissa, Chhattisgarh.

Main Towns: Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Vishakhapatnam, Karimnagar, Sirpur, Vijayawada, Kakinada, Cuddapah, Adilabad, Anantapur, Rajahmundry, Nellore, Warangal.

Arunachal Pradesh

Date of formation: Feb. 20, 1987 State; June 21, 1972 Union Territory created from part of Assam. Area: 83,743 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 1,091,117; growth rate (1991-2001): 26.21%.

Density per sq. km.: 13

Sex ratio (females per 1,000 males): 901

Literacy rate: 54.74% (males: 64.07%; females: 44.24%)

Capital: Itanagar

Districts: 13

Principal Languages: Nyishi, Dafla, Miji, Adi Gallong, Wancho, Tagin Hill Miri, Mishmi, Monpa, Nocte, Alka, Tangsa and Khampti. Neighbouring States: Nagaland, Assam. Neighbouring Countries: China, Myanmar, Bhutan. Main Towns: Itanagar, Pasighat, Tawang, Ziro, Along, Khonsa, “Walong, Seppa, Daporijo, Tezu, Anini, Bomdila.

Asom

Date of Formation: Jan. 26, 1950. Area: 78,438 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 26,638,407; growth rate (1991-2001) 18.85%.

Density per sq. km.: 340

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 932 -1

Literacy rate: 64.28% (males: 71.93%; females: 56.03%) Capital: Dispur

Districts: 23 |

Principal Language: Assamese, Bengali

Neighbouring States: West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya. 1

Main Towns: Guwahati, Tezpur, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Dispur, Jorhat, Sibsagar, Diphu, Dhemaji, Barpeta, Goalpara, Dhubri, Nagaon, Karimganj, Silchar, Nalbari, Bongaigaon.

Bihar

Date of Formation: Aug. 15, 1947 Province; Jan. 26, 1950 State (until 1956: Part (A)). Area: 94,163 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 82,878,796; growth rate (1991-2001): 28.43%.

Density per sq. km.: 880 Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 921 Literacy rate: 47.53% (males: 60.32%; females: 33.57%) Capital: Patna Districts: 37 \ Principal Language: Hindi.

Neighbouring States: Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal. Neighbouring Country: Nepal.

Main Towns: Patna, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Gaya, Bettah, Purnia, Buxar, Siwan, Sasaram, Mungher, Chhapra.

Chhattisgarh

Date of Formation: Nov. 1, 2000 State. Area: 1, 36, 034 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 20,795,956; growth rate (1991-2001): 18.06%.

Density per sq. km.: 154

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 990

Literacy rate: 65.18% (males: 77.86%; females: 52.40%)

Capital: Raipur

Districts: 16

Principal Language: Hindi.

Neighbouring States: Madhay Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, jharkhand, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh.

Main Towns: Raipur, Raigarh, Jagdalpur, Bilaspur, Ambikapur, Raj

fslandgaon, Dhamtari, Bhilai, Durg.

Goa

Date of Formation: May 30. 1987. Area: 3,702 sq. km. (Smallest State)

Population (2001 Census): 1,343,998; growth rate (1991-2001) :

14.89%.

Density per sq. km.: 363

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males) : 960

Literacy rate: 82.32% (males: 88.88%; females: 75.51%)

Capital: Panaji

Districts: 2

Principal Languages: Konkani and Marathi. Neighbouring States: Maharashtra, Karnataka and Arabian Sea. Main Towns: Panaji, Vasco, Margao, Ponda, Mapusa.

Guajarat

Date of formation: May 1, 1960. Area: 1, 96,024 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 50,596,992; growth rate (1991-2001): 22.48%

Density per sq. km.: 258

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 921

Literacy rate: 69.97% (males: 80.50%; females: 58.60%)

Capital: Gandhinagar

Districts: 25

Principal Language: Gujarati.

Neighbouring States: Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Daman-Diu and Arabian Sea.

Neighbouring Country: Pakistan

Main Towns: Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Bhuj, Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Mehsana, Kandla, Porbandar.

Haryana

Date of Formation: Nov. 1, 1966 State created from part of Punjab. Area: 44,212 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 21,082,989; growth rate (1991-2001) : 28.06%.

Density per sq. km.: 477

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 861

Literacy rate: 68.59% (males: 79.25%; females: 56.31%)

Capital: Chandigarh

Districts: 19 1

Principal Language: Hindi. |

Neighbouring States: Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh Uttaranchal, Rajasthan, Delhi.

Main Towns: Kamal, Rohtak, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Hisar, Yamunanagar Bhiwani, Sirsa, Ambala, Panipat, Kurukshetra.

Himachal Pradesh

Date of Formation: Jan. 25, 1971 State. Area: 55,673 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 6,077,248; growth rate (1991-2001): 17.53%.

Density per sq. km.: 109

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 970

Literacy rate: 77.13% (males: 86.02%; females: 68.08%)

Capital: Shimla

Districts: 12

Principal Languages: Hindi and Pahari.

Neighbouring States: Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Uttaranchal.

Neighbouring Country: China, Tibet (China) Main Towns : Shimla, Kullu, Manali, Bilaspur, Mandi, Dharamshala, Kangra, Chamba.

Jammu & Kashmir

Date of Formation: Oct. 26, 1947. Area: 2, 22,236 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 10,069,917; growth rate (1991-2001): 29.04%.

Density per sq. km.: 99

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 900

Literacy rate: 54.46% (males: 65.75%; females: 41.82%)

Capital: Srinagar (summer), Jammu (winter)

Districts: 14

Neighbouring States: Himachal Pradesh, Punjab. Neighbouring Country: Pakistan, Tibet (China), China. Main Towns: Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Anantnag, Doda, Pulwana, Udhampur, Baramula, Punch.

Jharkhand

Date of Formation: Nov. 15, 2000 (State created from part of Bihar). Area: 79,714 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 26,909,428; growth rate (1991-2001):

23.19%.

Density per sq. km.: 338

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 941

Literacy rate: 54.13% (males: 67.94%; females: 39.38%)

Capital: Ranchi

Districts: 18

Principal Language: Hindi.

Neighbouring States: Chhattisgarh, Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh.

Main Towns: Ranchi, Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, Dumka, Daltenganj, Bokaro, Gumla Hazaribagh. Chaibasa, Garhwa, Giridih.

Karnataka

Date of Formation: Aug. 15, 1947 Mysore State (1950-1956): part (B); Nov., 1973 Renamed Karnataka. Area: 191,791 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 52,733,958; growth rate (1991-2001): 17.25%.

Density per sq. km.: 275

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males) : 964

Literacy rate: 67.04%

Capital: Bangalore

Districts: 27

Principal Language: Kannada.

Neighbouring States: Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra.

Main Towns: Bangalore, Tumkur, Gulbarga, Bidar, Dharwad, Bellary, Mangalore, Tumkur, Hassan, Belgaum, Raichur, Devangere, Mysore.

Kerala

Date of Formation: Nov. 1, 1956. Area: 38,863 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 31,838,619; growth rate (1991-2001);

9.42%.

Density per sq. km.: 819

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 1,058

Literacy rate: 90.92% (males: 94.20%; females: 87.86%)

Capital: Thiruvananthapuram

Districts: 14

Principal Language: Malayalam.

Neighbouring States: Karanataka, Tamil Nadu, Lakshdweep Island Mahe.

Main Towns: Thiruvananthapuram, Trissure, Kochi, Allapuzha Kazhikode, Palakkad, Kollam, Kasargod.

Madhya Pradesh Date of Formation: Nov. 1, 1956. m

Area: 3, 08,144 sq. km. 1

Population (2001 Census): 60,385,118; growth rate (1991-2001): 24.34%. 1

Density per sq. km.: 196 Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 920 Literacy rate: 64.11% (males: 76.80%; females: 50.28%) Capital: Bhopal Districts: 45

Principal Language: Hindi.

Neighbouring States: Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra.

Main Towns : Bhopal, Sagar, Ratlam, Shivpuri, Katni, Shahdol, Vidisha, Rewa, Jabalpur, Ujjain, Guna, Itarsi, Morena, Bhind, Gwaltor, Chindwara, Satna, Indore, Damoh, Betul.

Maharashtra Date of Formation: May 1, 1960. Area: 307,713 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 96,752,247; growth rate (1991-2001): 22.57%.

Density per sq. km.: 314

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 922

Literacy rate: 77.27% (males: 86.27%; females: 67.51%)

Capital: Mumbai

Districts : 35

Principal Language: Marathi.

Neighbouring States: Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

Main Towns: Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Nanded, Kolhapur, Sangli, Akola, Jalgaon, Parbhani, Solapur, Wardha, Satara, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Dhule, Latur, Thane.

Manipur

Date of Formation: Jan. 21, 1972 State; Oct. 15, 1949 State (from 1950: Part C); Nov. 1, 1956 Union Territory.

Area: 22,327 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 2,388,634; growth rate (1991-2001):

Density per sq. km.: 107

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 978

Literacy rate: 68.87% (males: 77.87%; females: 59.70%)

Capita]: Imphal

Districts: 9

Principal Language: Manipuri.

Neighbouring States: Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland.

Neighbouring Country: Myanmar.

Main Towns: Imphal, Ukhrul, Senapati, Chandel, Thoubal, Churachandpur, Tamenglong, Bishnupur.

Meghalaya

Date of Formation: April 2, 1970 State within Assam; Jan. 21, 1972

Separate State.

Area: 22,429 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 2,306,069; growth rate (1991-2001 :

29.94%.

Density per sq. km.: 103

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 975

Literacy rate: 63.31% (males: 66.14%; females: 60.41%)

Capital: Shillong

Districts: 7

Principal Languages: Khasi, Garo and English. Neighbouring State: Assam. Neighbouring Country: Bangladesh.

Main Towns: Shillong, Tura, Nongpoh, Baghmara, Nongstoin, Willamnagar, Mawphlong, Jowai.

Mizoram

Date of Formation: Feb. 20, 1987. Area: 21,081 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 891,058; growth rate (1991-2001):

29.18%.

Density per sq. km.: 42

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males) : 938

Literacy rate: 88.49% (males: 90.69%; females : 86.13%)

Capital: Aizawl

Districts: 8

Principal Languages: Mizo and English. Neighbouring States: Assam, Tripura, Manipur.

Neighbouring Country: Myanmar.

Main Towns: Aizawl, Champhai, Saiha, Lawngtlai, Mamit, Lunglei,

Nagaland

Date of Formation: Dec. 1, 1963.

Area: 16,579 sq. km. I

Population (2001 Census): 1,988,636; growth rate (1991-2001): 64.41%. 9

Density per sq. km.: 120 1

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 909 Literacy rate: 67.11% (males: 71.77%; females: 61.92%) Capital: Kohima Districts: 8

Principal Languages: Ao, Chang, Chakhesang, Sangtam, Konyak, Angami, Sema and Lotha.

Neighbouring States: Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh. Neighbouring Country: Myanmar.

Main Towns: Kohima, Mon, Phek, Wokha, Zunheboto, Tuensang, Mokokchung, Dimapur.

Orissa

Date of Formation: Aug. 15, 1947 Province. Area: 1, 55,707 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 36,706,920; growth rate (1991-2001): 15.94%.

Density per sq. km.: 236

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 972

Literacy rate: 63.61% (males: 75.95%; females: 50.97%)

Capital: Bhubaneswar

Districts: 30

Principal Language: Oriya.

Neighbouring States: West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bay of Bengal (Sea).

Main Towns: Bhubaneshwar, Cuttack, Puri, Sambalpur, Bolangir, Berhampur, Bhadrak, Rourkela, Baragarh, Jhar Duguda, Koraput, Kendrapara, Balasore, Bhewanipatna.

Punjab

Date of Formation: Aug. 15, 1947 Province; Jan. 26, 1950 State (Until 1956: Part (A)). Area: 50,362 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 24,289,296; growth (rate (1991-2001): 19.76%.

Density per sq. km.: 482

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 874

Literacy rate: 69.95% (males: 75.63%; females: 63.55%)

Capital: Chandigarh

Districts: 17

Principal Language: Punjabi.

Neighbouring States: Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal

Pradesh, Rajasthan.

Neighbouring Country: Pakistan.

Main Towns: Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala, Amritsar, Moga, Gurudaspur, Ferozepur.

Rajasthan

Date of Formation: Nov. 1, 1956 Area: 3, 42,239 sq. km (Longest State)

Population (2001 Census): 56,473,122; growth rate (1991-2001):

28.33%

Density per sq. km.: 165

Sex. ratio: (females per 1,000 males) : 922

Literacy rate: 61.03% (males : 76.46%; females : 44.34%)

Capital: Jaipur

Districts: 32

Principal Languages: Hindi and Rajasthani.

Neighbouring States: Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar

Pradesh, Punjab.

Neighbouring Country: Pakistan.

Main Towns: Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Gandhinagar, Udaipur, Bilwara, Alwar, Ajmer, Chittorgarh, Tonk, Sikar, Kota, Jaisalmer, Bharatpur, Pali.

Sikkim

Date of Formation: May 16, 1975 State. Area: 7,096 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 540,493; growth rate (1991-2001): 32.98% (Least populous State). Density per sq. km.: 76 Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 875 Literacy rate: 69.68% (males: 76.73%; females: 61.46%) Capital: Gangtok Districts:

Principal Languages: Bhutia, Nepali, Lepcha and Limbu. Neighbouring States: West Bengal. Neighbouring Country: Nepal, China, Bhutan. Main Towns: Gangtok, Namchi, Lachen, Yunthang.

Tamil Nadu

Date of Formation: Aug. 15, 1947 Madras Province; Jan. 26, 195o State (until 1956: Part (A); Jan. 14, 1969 Renamed Tamil Nadu). Area: 130,058 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 62,110,839; growth rate (1991-2001) • 11.19%.

Density per sq. km.: 478

Sex ratio (females per 1,000 males): 986

Literacy rate: 73.47% (males: 82.33%, females: 64.55%)

Capital: Chennai

Districts: 30

Principal Language: Tamil.

Neighbouring States: Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Pondichery, Bay of Bengal & Indian Ocean.

Main Towns: Chennai, Madurai, Salem, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, Nagarcoil, Karur, Salem, Vellore, Erode, Kanya Kumari.

Tripura

Date of Formation: Jan. 21, 1972. Area: 10,492 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 3,191,168; growth rate (1991-2001): 15.74%.

Density per sq. km.: 304

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 950

Literacy rate: 73.66% (males: 81.47%; females: 65.41%)

Capital: Agartala

Districts: 4

Principal Languages: Bengali, Kakborak and Manipuri. Neighbouring States: Assam, Mizoram. Neighbouring Country: Bangladesh.

Main Towns: Agartala, Kumarghat, Belonia, Khowai and Kamalpur. Uttar Pradesh

Date of Formation: Aug. 15, 1947 United Province; Jan. 26, 1950, Uttar Pradesh State (until 1956: Part (A)). Area: 2, 38,566 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 166,052,859; growth rate (1991-2001): 25.80%

Density per sq. km.: 689

Sex ratio; (females per 1,000 males) : 898

Literacy rate: 57.36%

Capital: Lucknow

Districts: 70

Principal Language: Hindi.

Neighbouring States: Uttaranchal, Himchal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar. Neighbouring Country: Nepal.

Main Towns: Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Agra, Jhansi, Varanasi, Meerut, Noida, Faizabad, Rai Bareily, Mirzapur.

Uttar akhand

Date of Formation: Nov. 9, 2000. Area: 53,483 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 8,479,562; growth rate (1991-2001): 19.20%.

Density per sq. km.: 159

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 964

Literacy rate: 72.28% (males: 84.01%; females: 60.26%)

Capital: Dehradun

Districts: 13

Principal Language: Hindi.

Neighbouring States: Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh. Neighbouring Country: Nepal, China.

Main Towns: Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital, Almora, Chamoli, Pithoragarh.

West Bengal

Date of Formation: Aug. 15, 1947 Province; Jan. 26, 1950 State (until 1956: Part (A)). Area: 88,752 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 80,221,171; growth rate (1991-2001) : 17.84%.

Density per sq. km.: 904

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 934

Literacy rate: 69.22% (males: 77.58%; females: 60.22%)

Capital: Kolkata

Districts: 18

Principal Language: Bengali.

Neighbouring States: Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, Sikkim, Bay of Bengal.

Neighbouring Country: Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh. Union Territories

Chandigarh

Date of Formation: Union Territory since 1966. Area: 114 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 900,914; growth rate (1991-2001) 40.33%.

Density per sq. km.: 7,903

Sex ratio (females per 1,000 males): 773

Literacy rate: 81.76% (males: 85.65%; females: 76.65%)

Capital: Chandigarh

Districts: None

Principal Languages: Hindi, Punjabi and English. Neighbouring States: Punjab, Haryana.

Delhi

Date of Formation: December, 1991. Area: 1,483 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 13,782,976; growth rate (1991-2001): 46.31 %.

Density per sq. km.: 9,294

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 821

Literacy rate: 81.82% (males: 87.37%; females: 75%)

Capital: Delhi

Districts: None

Principal Languages: Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. Neighbouring States: Uttar Pradesh, Haryana.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli

Date of Formation: Aug. 11, 1961. Area: 491 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 220,451; growth rate (1991-2001): 59.20%.

Density per sq. km.: 449

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 811

Literacy rate: 60.03% (males: 73.32%; females: 42.99%)

Capital: Silvassa

District: None

Principal Languages: Gujarati and Hindi. Neighbouring States: Maharashtra, Gujarat.

Daman and Diu

Date of Formation: May 30, 1987. Area: 112 sq km.

Population (2001 Census): 158,059; growth rate (1991-2001): 55.59%.

Density per sq. km.: 1,411

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 709

Literacy rate: 81.09% (males: 88.40%; females: 70.37%) Capital: Daman Districts: 2

Principal Language: Gujarati. Neighbouring State: Gujarat.

Lakshadweep

Area: 32 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 60,595; growth rate (1991-2001) : 17.19%.

Density per sq. km.: 1,894

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 947

Literacy rate: 87.52% (males: 93.15; females: 81.56)

Capital: Kavaratti

Districts: None

Principal Language: Malayalam.

Neighbouring States: Karnataka, Kerela, Arabian Sea.

Puducherry

Date of Formation: Jan. 7, 1963. Area: 492 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 973,829; growth rate (1991-2001):

20.56%.

Density per sq. km.: 2,029

Sex ratio: (female per 1,000 males): 1,001

Literacy rate: 81.49% (males: 88.89; females: 74.13%)

Capital: Pondicherry

Districts: 4

Principal Languages: Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, English and French.

Neighbouring States: Tamil Nadu and Bay of Bengal.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands Area: 8,249 sq. km.

Population (2001 Census): 356,265; growth rate (1991-2001):

26.94%.

Density per sq. km.: 43

Sex ratio: (females per 1,000 males): 846

Literacy rate: 81.18% (males: 86.07%; females: 75.29%)

Capital: Port Blair

Districts: 2

Principal Languages: Bengali, Hindi, Nicobarese, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.