Punjab is a state in the North West of
India. 'Punj-ab' meaning the 'land of five rivers' derives its name on account
of the five rivers Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum flowing through the
state. The capital of Punjab is Chandigarh, which is a Union territory and is
also the capital of Haryana. The major religion followed in Punjab is Sikhism, it
is followed by Hinduism. Punjab is primarily an
agricultural state. The Golden Temple, the holiest of Sikh shrines is located in
the city of Amritsar.
As per the census carried out by the
government of India in 2011, key population statistics of Punjab are below.
The total population
of Punjab in 2011 is 2,77,04,236 compared to 2,43,58,999 in the 2001. The state
has registered a population growth of 13.73%
over the last decade. The population of Punjab constitutes 2.29% of the total
population of India, making it the 15th most populated state in India.
As per the 2011
census, the sex ratio of Punjab is 893
compared to 874 in the 2001 census. The total number of males recorded in 2011
were 1,46,34,819 and total number of females were 1,30,69,417. Decade on
decade the overall state sex ratio for Punjab has improved but the drop in
child sex ratio is steep and alarming.
|
Parameter
|
Year 2011
|
Year 2001
|
|
Sex Ratio of Punjab
|
893
|
874
|
|
Child sex ratio of
Punjab
|
846
|
961
|
|
Sex Ratio of India
|
940
|
933
|
The total area
of Punjab is 50,362 Km2 making
it the 19th largest state area wise in India. The population density is 550 per
Km2, which is higher
than national average of 382 per Km2
. Punjab has a
literacy rate of 76.7%. The male literacy is 81.5% and the female literacy is
71.3%. Hoshiarpur is most literate district in Punjab with a literacy rate of 85.4%.
The urban
population is 1,03,87,436 and the rural population is 1,73,16,800. The urban
population makes up 37.49 % whereas the
rural population makes up 62.51 % of the total population. The total
child population (0-6 years) in Punjab is 2,941,570. Ludhiana is the largest city of Punjab with a
population of 16,13,878,
followed by Amritsar with a population of 11,32,761. Please note, Chandigarh is a union territory is not considered
while calculating population of Punjab.
The population of
the top 5 districts of Punjab is given in the below table:
|
Distric
|
Total Population
|
Sex Ratio
|
Literacy (%)
|
|
Ludhiana
|
34,87,882
|
869
|
82.5
|
|
Amritsar
|
24,90,891
|
884
|
77.2
|
|
Gurdaspur
|
22,99,026
|
895
|
81.1
|
|
Jalandhar
|
21,81,753
|
913
|
82.4
|
|
Firozpur
|
20,26,831
|
893
|
69.8
|
Punjab has the most fertile lands in India and has benefited from the Green & White revolution programs that the government had initiated. Thus Punjab is able to produce food grains in large quantities and cater to food requirements all over India and the world.