Karnataka, with a total population of 61,100,000, is one of the major states in South India. Kannada is the official language of Karnataka.[1] Other linguistic minorities in the state are Tulu, Kodava, Konkani and Urdu.[2] Karnataka is also in the forefront of population control measures with the world's first two birth control clinics being set up in 1930 in the Mandya district.[3]

Population

According to the 2011 census of India, the total population of Karnataka is 6.25 crores. Of this, 50.9% are male and 49.1% are female. There is a decadal increase in population of 17.3% from 1991 to 2001. As per 2011 census, the Population density is 319 per km², the sex ratio is 973 females to 1000 males and 38.67% of the people in Karnataka live in urban areas. The literacy rate is 75.4% (as per the 2011 census). As per the 2001 census, the eight largest cities of Karnataka in order of their population are Bengaluru, Hubballi-Dharwad, Mysuru, Belagavi, Kalburgi, Mangaluru, Davanagere and Ballari.[4] The state has one of the largest populations of Anglo-Indians in India. Given below is a composite table of languages and religions of Karnataka at the census 2001 languages in karnataka

Bengaluru Urban and Belagavi are the most populous Districts, each of them having a population of more than three million. Gadaga, Chamarajanagara and Kodagu districts have a population of less than a million.

Religion

Religion in Karnataka[5]
Hindu
 
 84%
Muslim
 
 12.92%
Christian
 
 1.87%
Others
 
 1.2%

According to 2011 Census of India, 84.0% of the population are Hindu, 12.92% are Muslim, 1.87% are Christian, 0.7% are Jains, 0.2% are Buddhist, <0.1% are Sikhs, and remaining belong to other religions.[5] Karnataka is also the location of some of tribes like, Nayaka, Soliga, and Yerava. The joint family system is prevalent in the rural areas of Karnataka and there are extreme cases like the Narasinganavars who reside in the Dharwad district and are recognised as one of the largest undivided families in the world.

Religion in Karnataka
Religion 2001[6] 2011[7]
Hinduism 44,321,279 51,317,472
Islam 6,463,127 7,893,065
Christianity 1,009,164 1,142,647
Jainism 412,659 440,280
Buddhism 393,300 95,710
Sikhism 15,326 28,773
Other 115,460 11,263
Not stated n/a 166,087
Total 52,850,562 61,095,297
Religion in Karnataka (%)
Religion 2001[6] 2011[6]
Hinduism 83.86 84.00
Islam 12.23 12.92
Christianity 1.91 1.87
Jainism 0.78 0.72
Buddhism 0.74 0.16
Sikhism 0.03 0.05
Other 0.22 0.02
Not specified n/a 0.27

Caste and Communities

Just like other Ethnolinguistic groups in India, Kannada speaking people also form a number of distinct communities. The two single biggest communities numerically are the Lingayat and the Vokkaliga from North and South Karnataka respectively,[8] while Scheduled Castes make up the largest cohesive group of communities. There are also numerous OBC (other backward communities) including the former pastoralist community of Kuruba, Scheduled Tribes like the Boya/Valmiki, scheduled castes like Banjara and Adi Karnataka. Kannada Brahmins are divided into several communities.[9][10] Although historically Jainism in Karnataka had dominant presence, Kannada Jains today form a small minority.[11] In Karnataka, 5 communities — Brahmin, Jain, Aryavaishya, Nagarthas and Modaliars — are outside the existing reservation matrix.

Languages

Government Census (2001)[12] Kannada 68.5 %, Urdu 10.5 %, Telugu 6.2 %,Tamil 3.2 %, Tulu 2.1 %, Hindi 2.6%, Konkani 1.0 %, Beary 1.3 %, other 4.1 %.[13]

Districts

Population of districts of Karnataka
as per 2001 census
District Population Decadal %age growth 1991 -> 2001
Bangalore Urban 6,537,124 34.8
Bangalore Rural 1,881,514 12.2
Chitradurga 1,517,896 15.1
Davanagere 1,790,952 14.8
Kolar 2,536,069 13.8
Shimoga 1,642,545 12.9
Tumkur 2,584,711 11.9
Bagalkot 1,651,892 18.8
Belgaum 4,214,505 17.4
Bijapur 1,806,918 17.6
Dharwad 1,604,253 16.7
Gadag 971,835 13.1
Haveri 1,439,116 13.3
Uttara Kannada 1,353,644 10.9
Bellary 2,027,140 22.3
Bidar 1,502,373 19.6
Gulbarga 3,130,922 21.0
Koppal 1,196,089 24.6
Raichur 1,669,762 21.9
Chamarajanagar 965,462 9.2
Chikmagalur 1,140,905 12.0
Dakshina Kannada 1,897,730 14.5
Hassan 1,721,669 9.7
Kodagu 548,561 11.6
Mandya 1,763,705 7.1
Mysore 2,641,027 15.0
Udupi 1,112,243 6.9

See also

Footnotes

Official Census Portal of Mysore District [1]

  1. ^ "The Karnataka Official Language Act" (PDF). Official website of Department of Parliamentary Affairs and Legislation. Government of Karnataka. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
  2. ^ "Urdu in Karnataka". A. R. Fatihi, PhD on Language in India. Central Institute of Indian Languages. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
  3. ^ "Envisaging a healthy growth". Online Webpage of the Frontline. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2007-06-21.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ "Population of Corporation/CMC/TMC/TP, Population 2001 Census". Online Webpage of the Directorate of Municipal Administration. Government of Karnataka. Archived from the original on 2009-04-10. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
  5. ^ a b "Population by religion community – 2011". Census of India, 2011. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015.
  6. ^ a b c "Total population by religious communities". Censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on 19 January 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  7. ^ "Indian Census 2011". Census Department, Government of India. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  8. ^ "In Karnataka, five communities with 4% population will fall under EWS quota". The Hindu. 8 November 2022.
  9. ^ Harish Ramaswamy (2007). Karnataka Government and Politics. Concept Publishing Company. pp. 398–399. ISBN 978-81-8069-397-7.
  10. ^ Karnataka State Gazetteer: Mysore. Director of Print, Stationery and Publications at the Government Press. 1988. p. 157.
  11. ^ Jainism and Karnataka Culture by Shripad Rama Sharma|page 13|2017
  12. ^ Indischer Zensus 2001 Government Census (2011)
  13. ^ Government Census (2011)
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