Urbanisation in TN is nearing 50%

According to the 2011 census, Tamil Nadu recorded a population of 72,147,030, growing by 97.4 lakh persons in the last decade, of which 80.1% are literates. The total population (as on March 1, 2011) included 36,137,975 males and 36,009,055 females, while the decadal growth rate was 15.6%. The population grew by 97.4 lakh persons, including 47.4 lakh males and over 50 lakh females, between 2001 and 2011 census.

The effective literacy rate in Tamil Nadu works out to 80.1% with male literacy rate of 86.8% and female literacy of 73.4%. Sex Ratio of Tamil Nadu increased from 987 (females per 1,000 males) in 2001 to 996 in 2011. Nilgris topped the sex ratio chart with 1,042, followed by Thanjavur (1,035) and Nagapattinam (1,025), while Dharmapuri (946), Salem (954) and Krishnagiri (958) were at the bottom.

Of the total population, there were 7,423,832 children between 0 and 6 years in the State, with 3,820,276 boys and 3,603,556 girls, marking a slight increase in the child sex ratio from 942 to 943 during 2001-2011.

Chennai tops the population density chart with 26,553 persons per sq. km, while Nilgiris with 287 persons per sq. km is at the bottom. The State’s population density works out to 555 persons per sq. km, showing an increase of 75 points since 2001.

The Scheduled Caste population stood at 14,438,445 showing an increase of 206 million and marked a decadal growth of 21.8%. The Scheduled Tribe population was 7.9 lakh, with 6.6 lakh of them in the rural areas. The Scheduled Tribes population increased by 104 lakh, constituting a decadal growth of 22%.

 A rapidly urbanising Tamil Nadu faces significant social and economic challenges, going by indicators in the 2011 census abstract report released. The ratio of rural to urban population has nearly reached parity and stands, in percentage terms, at 51.6 in villages and 48.4 in cities. Tamil Nadu’s population at the referral time – the stroke of midnight of March 1, 2011 – stood at 7.21 crore, including 3.61 crore men and 3.60 crore women. The population distribution in rural areas stood at 3.72 crore, while urban population was 3.49 crore.

Of the total increase of 9.7 million people in the last decade, the contribution of rural areas was 2.3 million, whereas the contribution of urban areas was 7.4 million. In what was fairly indicative of the urban population explosion, Chennai had the highest population density at 26,553 persons per sq km. The city’s adjoining districts Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur registered the highest population growth rates in the past decade.

 Sex ratio:- Despite being one of the States in the country to have an impressive track record in health and family welfare schemes, a comparison of the sex ratio of adults versus children shows a massive gap. The sex ratio (the number of females per 1,000 males) stood at 996, an increase of 9 points from 987 in the 2001 Census. Sixteen districts had a sex ratio in excess of 1,000. However the child sex ratio (age group of zero to six years) – a more thorough indicator of the welfare of the girl child – stood at 943 per 1,000, up just marginally from 942 in the 2001 Census.

Literacy rate:- The effective literacy rate in Tamil Nadu has been worked out to 80.1 per cent, with male literacy rate of 86.8 per cent and female literacy rate of 73.4 per cent. The top three districts for literacy rates were – Kanyakumari at 91.7 per cent, Chennai at 90.2 per cent and Thoothukudi at 86.2 per cent. The poorest performers were Dharmapuri at 68.5 per cent, Ariyalur at 71.3 per cent and Krishnagiri at 71.5 per cent.

SC/ST population:- The Scheduled Castes (SC) accounted for nearly 20 per cent of the State’s population. Of the 14.4 million SCs, 9.5 million lived in rural areas, while 5 million lived in urban areas.