Punjab is home to 2.3% of India's population; with a density of 551 persons per km2. According to the provisional results of the 2011 national census, Punjab has a population of 27,743,338, making it the 16th most populated state in India. Of which male and female are 14,639,465 and 13,103,873 respectively. 32% of Punjab's population consists of Dalits. In the state, the rate of population growth is 13.9% (2011), lower than national average. Out of total population, 37.5% people live in urban regions. The total figure of population living in urban areas is 10,399,146 of which 5,545,989 are males and while remaining 4,853,157 are females. The urban population in the last 10 years has increased by 37.5%. According to the 2011 Census of India, Punjab has a population of around 27.7 million.

Population density The table below gives the population density (population per square kilometre) of Punjab throughout the years.

+Year Density (/)2011551200148419914031981333

The table below shows the population density by district in Punjab, according to the 2011 census.

+Sr. No.DistrictDensity (/)DistrictDensity (/)1Ludhiana978Hoshiarpur4692Amritsar928Tarn Taran4643SAS Nagar909Sangrur4574Jalandhar836Moga4445Gurdaspur647Faridkot4246Patiala570Bathinda4147Fatehgarh Sahib509Barnala4028Rupnagar505Ferozepur3829Kapurthala499Mansa35010SBS Nagar478Sri Muktsar Sahib348Punjab551

Gender

The table below shows the sex ratio of Punjab through the years.

+ Decadal sex ratio of Punjab by census years 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 870 799 815 836 844 854 865 879 882 876 895

+Sex Ratio and Urban Population of Punjab by District – Census 2011 Sr. No. District Sex Ratio Urban Males Urban Females1Hoshiarpur9611,74,5871,60,3822SBS Nagar95475,17360,2433Rupnagar91593,39684,4114Jalandhar9156,16,4215,44,7505Kapurthala9121,50,3791,32,0836Gurdaspur9071,92,5901,68,5637Tarn Taran90075,04766,7488Sri Muktsar Sahib8961,33,4201,18,7719Fazilka8941,41,9961,25,09310Moga8931,20,2161,07,03011Ferozepur8931,53,4331,32,03412Patiala8914,03,7223,59,55813Faridkot8901,15,8891,01,16214Amritsar8897,11,1426,23,46915Sangrur8852,73,3762,42,58916Mansa88386,54877,05617SAS Nagar8792,88,2692,56,34218Barnala8761,02,31288,37319Ludhiana87311,14,3729,55,33620Fatehgarh Sahib8711,00,74584,73721Pathankot8691,64,2431,33,92322Bathinda8682,68,7132,30,504 Punjab (Total)89555,45,98948,53,157

Fertility rate The table below shows the birth rate per 1000 persons in Punjab through the years. +Birth rate per 1000 in Punjab through the yearsYear TotalUrbanRural201714.914.115.6201614.914.215.6201515.214.215.9201415.514.516.2201315.714.716.3201215.914.816.5201116.215.216.8201016.615.617.2200917.015.817.7200817.316.118200717.616.418.3200617.816.818.4200518.117.018.8200418.717.619.3

According to the National Family Health Survey of 2015–16, the percentage of women age 15-19 who have begun childbearing (teenage pregnancy) was 2.6%.

The table below shows the variation in fertility rate (children per woman) according to the education of a woman in Punjab, as of 2019–21.

+Fertility rate by number of years of schooling completed by women in Punjab as of year 2019–21, NFHS-5, page 8Years of schoolingFertility rateNo schooling2.5<5 years2.55–9 years2.010–11 years1.912 or more years1.5

Family planning According to the National Family Health Survey 2020–21, the unmet need for family planning increased from 6.2% in 2015–16 to 9.9% in 2020–21. In the same time period, the unmet need for child spacing increased from 2.4 to 3.7 percent.

+Current Use of Family Planning Methods (currently married women age 15–49 years)IndicatorUrban (2020–21)Rural (2020–21) Total (2020–21)Total (2015–16)Any methodAny modern methodFemale sterilizationMale sterilizationIUD/PPIUDPillCondomInjectables

Mortality Infant mortality The list below shows the infant mortality rate per 1000 in Punjab, through the years. +Infant mortality rate per 1000 live births per year, in Punjab through the yearsYear TotalUrbanRural20172119222016211823201523202420142421262013262328201230253320113025332010343137200938384220084133452007433547

Maternal mortality The table below shows the maternal mortality rate per one lakh (1,00,000) per year, through the years. +Maternal mortality rate per one lakh (1,00,000) per year, in Punjab through the yearsYearRate20171222016122201512220141222013141201214120111412006192

Literacy rate According to the 2011 census, the literacy rate of Punjab was 75.84%. The male literacy was 80.44% and the female literacy was 70.72%. The median number of years of schooling completed in the state was 6.5 for females and 7.8 for males, as of 2011. According to the NSC survey (2017), Punjab's literacy rate was 83.7% (88.5% for males and 78.5% for females). As per the PLFS report (2024), Punjab's literacy rate was 83.4% (87.0% for males and 79.8% for females).

Census data

District-wise Below is a combined table showing the total, rural, and urban literacy rates for each district of Punjab according to the 2011 Census of India.

+ Literacy Rate by District – Punjab (2011 Census) District Total Literacy (%) Rural Literacy (%) Urban Literacy (%) Hoshiarpur 84.59 74.77 78.77 Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (Mohali) 83.80 69.68 77.67 Jalandhar 82.48 70.53 77.03 Ludhiana 82.20 70.12 75.28 Rupnagar 82.19 72.00 77.50 Gurdaspur 79.95 68.12 78.59 Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar 79.78 70.98 74.04 Fatehgarh Sahib 79.35 69.53 74.24 Kapurthala 79.07 67.73 76.40 Amritsar 76.27 59.64 74.58 Patiala 75.28 60.83 75.72 Moga 70.68 60.90 70.36 Faridkot 69.55 57.38 69.79 Firozpur 68.92 56.95 69.98 Bathinda 68.28 55.46 70.45 Sangrur 67.99 57.83 66.52 Barnala 67.82 57.90 65.78 Tarn Taran 67.81 58.30 67.74 Muktsar 65.81 54.66 67.29 Mansa 61.83 51.68 67.43

Religion The table below shows the literacy rate by religion in Punjab, according to 2001 census. +Literacy rate by religion in Punjab - Census 2001Sr. No. Religion Percentage1Jains95.9%2Hindus74.6%3Buddhists72.7%4Sikhs67.3%5Christians54.6%6Muslims51.2% All religious groups69.7%

Caste The table below gives the literacy rate of Scheduled castes by district, according to the 2011 census.

+Scheduled caste (SC) literacy rate by districts - Census 2011Sr. No.DistrictSC Percentage District total1Hoshiarpur82.49%84.59%2Rupnagar78.4%82.19%3Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar77.72 %79.78%4SAS Nagar76.1%83.80%5Jalandhar76.68%82.48%6Gurdaspur72.89%79.95%7Ludhiana72.65%82.20%8Fatehgarh Sahib72.19%79.35%9Kapurthala71.29%79.07%10Patiala62.28%75.28%11Amritsar59.16%76.27%12Sangrur57.60%67.99%13Moga55.23%70.68%14Firozpur55.38%68.92%15Faridkot54.91%69.55%16Barnala54.91%67.82%17Bathinda53.09%68.28%18Tarn Taran51.37%67.81%19Muktsar50.46%65.81%20Mansa48.72%61.83% Punjab64.81%75.84%.

Human Development Index

According UNDP, Punjab's HDI for 2023 is 0.794. The table below shows the district wise human development index of Punjab through the years.

+Human Development index of Punjab by districtSr. No. District2017201120011991Percentage change 1991–20171Ludhiana0.7940.7470.7610.65022.1%2Moga0.6950.6790.683----3Sangrur0.6690.6660.6540.53425.2%4Bathinda0.6590.7400.53922.2%5Tarn Taran0.6540.646------6SAS Nagar0.6530.701------7Fatehgarh Sahib0.6480.690.74----8Kapurthala0.6460.7030.7070.6037.3%9Amritsar0.6350.6850.7000.6084.4%10Rupnagar0.6290.6750.7510.6230.9%11SBS Nagar0.6270.7070.707----12Jalandhar0.6180.7380.7080.6101.3%13Barnala0.6170.649------14Hoshiarpur0.6150.7210.7180.6061.4%15Patiala0.6070.6950.6970.5893.0%16Mansa0.6010.5950.633----17Faridkot0.5990.6420.6980.5734.5%18Muktsar0.5720.6330.651----19Firozpur0.5630.6060.6890.568-0.8%20Pathankot0.538--------21Fazilka0.505--------22Gurdaspur0.5030.6730.7230.612-17.6% Punjab0.6200.6430.6670.5914.9%

Caste population

As of September 2020, the caste population data foreach Forward caste citizen in Punjab collected in Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 has not been released to public by Government of India. Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes form 63.2% of the total population of Punjab.

Caste Population data of Punjab Constitutional categories Population (%) Castes General caste 33% includes 18% Jat Sikh, 15 % Ahir(in Patiala & Sangrur), Brahmin, Khatri, Arora, Rajput (includes Sikh Rajputs), Sood, Bania, Bhatia, Mahajan Other Backward Classes (OBC) 31.3% includes Sainis,Kamboj, Labana, Tarkhan/Ramgarhia, Kumhar/Prajapati, Arain, Gujjar, Teli, Banjara, Others Scheduled Castes (Dalits not including Rai Sikh statistics) 31.9%includes Mazhabi Sikh - 10%, (Ramdasia, Ravidassia, Ad-Dharmi-Chamar castes cluster - 13.1%), Balmiki/Bhanghi - 3.5%, Bazigar - 1.05% Others castes like Sansi, chimba, nai, julaha and many more - 4% religious minorities 3.8%includes Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jains

Below is the list of districts according to the percentage of their SC population, according to 2011 census.

+Scheduled Caste population by district (2011)Sr. No.District Percentage1Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar42.51%2Muktsar42.31%3Fazilka42.27%4Firozpur42.07%5Jalandhar38.95%6Faridkot38.92%7Moga36.50%8Hoshiarpur35.14%9Kapurthala33.94%10Tarn Taran33.71%11Mansa33.63%12Bathinda32.44%13Barnala32.24%14Fatehgarh Sahib32.07%15Amritsar30.95%16Pathankot30.60%17Sangrur27.89%18Ludhiana26.39%19Rupnagar25.42%20Patiala24.55%21Gurdaspur23.03%22SAS Nagar21.74%

Scheduled caste (SC) population among different religions in Punjab - Census 2011

Religion Total Population Scheduled Caste Population Scheduled Caste Population % Sikh 16,004,754 5,390,484 33.68% Hindu 10,678,138 3,442,305 32.23% Buddhist 33,237 27,390 82.40%

+District wise Scheduled Caste Percentage (For each caste separately) (2011)Sr. No.District Ravidassia/Addharmi Caste % Mazhabi/Valmiki Caste % Rai-Sikh Caste % Julaha Caste % Sansi Caste %1SBS Nagar34.88%2.72%0.02%0.2%0.32%2Hoshiarpur26.34%3.62%0.02%0.55%0.17%3Jalandhar21.43%11.07%0.87%2.03%0.45%4Fatehgarh Sahib19.2%7.61%0.01%0.16%0.34%5Rupnagar16.85%4.36%0%0.84%0.06%6Sangrur15.77%10.51%0.01%0.04%0.64%7Barnala15.18%13.22%0%0.05%0.36%8Ludhiana14.94%6.4%0.52%0.34%0.32%9SAS Nagar11.65%5.82%0.02%0.23%0.16%10Mansa11.33%16.1%1.48%0.04%0.15%11Kapurthala11.04%17.21%2.53%0.31%0.25%12Patiala10.18%7.56%0.15%0.08%0.3%13Bathinda7.83%17.84%0.23%0.19%0.16%14Gurdaspur5.79%6.6%0.1%2.11%0.79%15Muktsar5.54%25.9%0.75%1.57%0.33%16Faridkot4.35%26.57%0.02%0.05%0.27%17Moga3.14%25.39%1.43%0.04%0.14%18Firozpur1.56%14.5%18.44%2.33%0.51%19Amritsar1.28%22.84%1.72%1.28%0.77%20Tarn Taran0.32%28.17%0.03%0.01%1.57

Crimes against SC/STs The table below shows the number of recorded crimes against scheduled caste and scheduled tribe people from 2010 to 2018.

+Crimes against scheduled caste and scheduled tribe people in PunjabYearMurderRapePOA ActHurtKidnappingMiscellaneous201813 303264 8220177 1731325820167 1641136420158 142353942014 4191623792013 722133783920124 1282122420115 9242722220104185013030

Urbanization The table below shows the percentage of rural population in each district of Punjab in ascending order, according to the 2011 census.

+Percentage of rural population by district - Census 2011Sr. No.DistrictRural percentage1Ludhiana40.84%2SAS Nagar45.24%3Amritsar46.42%4Jalandhar47.07%5Pathankot55.93%6Patiala59.74%7Bathinda64.05%8Faridkot64.85%9Kapurthala65.35%10Barnala67.98%11Sangrur68.83%12Fatehgarh Sahib69.02%13Ferozepur71.54%14Sri Muktsar Sahib72.04%15Fazilka73.97%16Rupnagar74.03%17Moga77.18%18Gurdaspur77.73%19Mansa78.75%20Hoshiarpur78.89%21SBS Nagar79.52%22Tarn Taran87.34% Punjab (whole)62.52%

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