Demographics of Punjab, India

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%, 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, India has a population of around 27.7 million.

Population density

The table below gives the population density of Punjab through the years.

Year	Density	Remark
2011	551	Population density of Punjab by year
2001	484	Population density of Punjab by year
1991	403	Population density of Punjab by year
1981	333	Population density of Punjab by year

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

Gender

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

1911	1921	1931	1941	1951	1961	1971	1981	1991	2001	2011
870	799	815	836	844	854	865	879	882	876	895

Sr. No.	District	Sex Ratio	Urban Males	Urban Females
1	Hoshiarpur	961	1,74,587	1,60,382
2	SBS Nagar	954	75,173	60,243
3	Rupnagar	915	93,396	84,411
4	Jalandhar	915	6,16,421	5,44,750
5	Kapurthala	912	1,50,379	1,32,083
6	Gurdaspur	907	1,92,590	1,68,563
7	Tarn Taran	900	75,047	66,748
8	Sri Muktsar Sahib	896	1,33,420	1,18,771
9	Fazilka	894	1,41,996	1,25,093
10	Moga	893	1,20,216	1,07,030
11	Ferozepur	893	1,53,433	1,32,034
12	Patiala	891	4,03,722	3,59,558
13	Faridkot	890	1,15,889	1,01,162
14	Amritsar	889	7,11,142	6,23,469
15	Sangrur	885	2,73,376	2,42,589
16	Mansa	883	86,548	77,056
17	SAS Nagar	879	2,88,269	2,56,342
18	Barnala	876	1,02,312	88,373
19	Ludhiana	873	11,14,372	9,55,336
20	Fatehgarh Sahib	871	1,00,745	84,737
21	Pathankot	869	1,64,243	1,33,923
22	Bathinda	868	2,68,713	2,30,504
	Punjab	895	55,45,989	48,53,157

Fertility rate

The table below shows the birth rate per 1000 persons in Punjab through the years.

Year	Total	Urban	Rural
2017	14.9	14.1	15.6
2016	14.9	14.2	15.6
2015	15.2	14.2	15.9
2014	15.5	14.5	16.2
2013	15.7	14.7	16.3
2012	15.9	14.8	16.5
2011	16.2	15.2	16.8
2010	16.6	15.6	17.2
2009	17.0	15.8	17.7
2008	17.3	16.1	18
2007	17.6	16.4	18.3
2006	17.8	16.8	18.4
2005	18.1	17.0	18.8
2004	18.7	17.6	19.3

According to the National Family Health Survey of 2015–16, the percentage of women age 15-19 who have begun childbearing was 2.6%.
The table below shows the variation in fertility rate according to the education of a woman in Punjab, as of 2019–21.

Years of schooling	Fertility rate
No schooling	2.5
<5 years	2.5
5–9 years	2.0
10–11 years	1.9
12 or more years	1.5

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.

Indicator	Urban	Rural	Total	Total
Any method
Any modern method
Female sterilization
Male sterilization
IUD/PPIUD
Pill
Condom
Injectables

Mortality

Infant mortality

The list below shows the infant mortality rate per 1000 in Punjab, through the years.

Year	Total	Urban	Rural
2017	21	19	22
2016	21	18	23
2015	23	20	24
2014	24	21	26
2013	26	23	28
2012	30	25	33
2011	30	25	33
2010	34	31	37
2009	38	38	42
2008	41	33	45
2007	43	35	47

Maternal mortality

The table below shows the maternal mortality rate per one lakh per year, through the years.

Year	Rate
2017	122
2016	122
2015	122
2014	122
2013	141
2012	141
2011	141
2006	192

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.

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.

District	Total Literacy	Rural Literacy	Urban Literacy
Hoshiarpur	84.59	74.77	78.77
Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar	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.

Sr. No.	Religion	Percentage
1	Jains	95.9%
2	Hindus	74.6%
3	Buddhists	72.7%
4	Sikhs	67.3%
5	Christians	54.6%
6	Muslims	51.2%
	All religious groups	69.7%

Caste

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

Sr. No.	District	SC Percentage	District total
1	Hoshiarpur	82.49%	84.59%
2	Rupnagar	78.4%	82.19%
3	Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar	77.72 %	79.78%
4	SAS Nagar	76.1%	83.80%
5	Jalandhar	76.68%	82.48%
6	Gurdaspur	72.89%	79.95%
7	Ludhiana	72.65%	82.20%
8	Fatehgarh Sahib	72.19%	79.35%
9	Kapurthala	71.29%	79.07%
10	Patiala	62.28%	75.28%
11	Amritsar	59.16%	76.27%
12	Sangrur	57.60%	67.99%
13	Moga	55.23%	70.68%
14	Firozpur	55.38%	68.92%
15	Faridkot	54.91%	69.55%
16	Barnala	54.91%	67.82%
17	Bathinda	53.09%	68.28%
18	Tarn Taran	51.37%	67.81%
19	Muktsar	50.46%	65.81%
20	Mansa	48.72%	61.83%
	Punjab	64.81%	75.84%.

Human Development Index

The table below shows the district wise human development index of Punjab through the years.

Sr. No.	District	2017	2011	2001	1991	Percentage change 1991–2017
1	Ludhiana	0.794	0.747	0.761	0.650	22.1%
2	Moga	0.695	0.679	0.683	--	--
3	Sangrur	0.669	0.666	0.654	0.534	25.2%
4	Bathinda	0.659	0.740	0.539	22.2%	-
5	Tarn Taran	0.654	0.646	--	--	--
6	SAS Nagar	0.653	0.701	--	--	--
7	Fatehgarh Sahib	0.648	0.69	0.74	--	--
8	Kapurthala	0.646	0.703	0.707	0.603	7.3%
9	Amritsar	0.635	0.685	0.700	0.608	4.4%
10	Rupnagar	0.629	0.675	0.751	0.623	0.9%
11	SBS Nagar	0.627	0.707	0.707	--	--
12	Jalandhar	0.618	0.738	0.708	0.610	1.3%
13	Barnala	0.617	0.649	--	--	--
14	Hoshiarpur	0.615	0.721	0.718	0.606	1.4%
15	Patiala	0.607	0.695	0.697	0.589	3.0%
16	Mansa	0.601	0.595	0.633	--	--
17	Faridkot	0.599	0.642	0.698	0.573	4.5%
18	Muktsar	0.572	0.633	0.651	--	--
19	Firozpur	0.563	0.606	0.689	0.568	-0.8%
20	Pathankot	0.538	--	--	--	--
21	Fazilka	0.505	--	--	--	--
22	Gurdaspur	0.503	0.673	0.723	0.612	-17.6%
	Punjab	0.620	0.643	0.667	0.591	4.9%

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

Sr. No.	District	Percentage
1	Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar	42.51%
2	Muktsar	42.31%
3	Fazilka	42.27%
4	Firozpur	42.07%
5	Jalandhar	38.95%
6	Faridkot	38.92%
7	Moga	36.50%
8	Hoshiarpur	35.14%
9	Kapurthala	33.94%
10	Tarn Taran	33.71%
11	Mansa	33.63%
12	Bathinda	32.44%
13	Barnala	32.24%
14	Fatehgarh Sahib	32.07%
15	Amritsar	30.95%
16	Pathankot	30.60%
17	Sangrur	27.89%
18	Ludhiana	26.39%
19	Rupnagar	25.42%
20	Patiala	24.55%
21	Gurdaspur	23.03%
22	SAS Nagar	21.74%

Scheduled caste 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%

Sr. No.	District	Ravidassia/Addharmi Caste %	Mazhabi/Valmiki Caste %	Rai-Sikh Caste %	Julaha Caste %	Sansi Caste %
1	SBS Nagar	34.88%	2.72%	0.02%	0.2%	0.32%
2	Hoshiarpur	26.34%	3.62%	0.02%	0.55%	0.17%
3	Jalandhar	21.43%	11.07%	0.87%	2.03%	0.45%
4	Fatehgarh Sahib	19.2%	7.61%	0.01%	0.16%	0.34%
5	Rupnagar	16.85%	4.36%	0%	0.84%	0.06%
6	Sangrur	15.77%	10.51%	0.01%	0.04%	0.64%
7	Barnala	15.18%	13.22%	0%	0.05%	0.36%
8	Ludhiana	14.94%	6.4%	0.52%	0.34%	0.32%
9	SAS Nagar	11.65%	5.82%	0.02%	0.23%	0.16%
10	Mansa	11.33%	16.1%	1.48%	0.04%	0.15%
11	Kapurthala	11.04%	17.21%	2.53%	0.31%	0.25%
12	Patiala	10.18%	7.56%	0.15%	0.08%	0.3%
13	Bathinda	7.83%	17.84%	0.23%	0.19%	0.16%
14	Gurdaspur	5.79%	6.6%	0.1%	2.11%	0.79%
15	Muktsar	5.54%	25.9%	0.75%	1.57%	0.33%
16	Faridkot	4.35%	26.57%	0.02%	0.05%	0.27%
17	Moga	3.14%	25.39%	1.43%	0.04%	0.14%
18	Firozpur	1.56%	14.5%	18.44%	2.33%	0.51%
19	Amritsar	1.28%	22.84%	1.72%	1.28%	0.77%
20	Tarn Taran	0.32%	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.

Year	Murder	Rape	POA Act	Hurt	Kidnapping	Miscellaneous
2018	13	30	32	6	4	82
2017	7	17	31	3	2	58
2016	7	16	41	1	3	64
2015	8	14	23	5	3	94
2014	4	19	16	2	3	79
2013	7	22	13	37	8	39
2012	4	12	8	21	2	24
2011	5	9	24	27	2	22
2010	4	18	50	13	0	30

Urbanization

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

Sr. No.	District	Rural percentage
1	Ludhiana	40.84%
2	SAS Nagar	45.24%
3	Amritsar	46.42%
4	Jalandhar	47.07%
5	Pathankot	55.93%
6	Patiala	59.74%
7	Bathinda	64.05%
8	Faridkot	64.85%
9	Kapurthala	65.35%
10	Barnala	67.98%
11	Sangrur	68.83%
12	Fatehgarh Sahib	69.02%
13	Ferozepur	71.54%
14	Sri Muktsar Sahib	72.04%
15	Fazilka	73.97%
16	Rupnagar	74.03%
17	Moga	77.18%
18	Gurdaspur	77.73%
19	Mansa	78.75%
20	Hoshiarpur	78.89%
21	SBS Nagar	79.52%
22	Tarn Taran	87.34%
	Punjab	62.52%

Languages spoken

The Punjabi language written in the Gurmukhi script is the official language of the state. Muslims form a slight majority in the Malerkotla town and use Shahmukhi for communication. Punjabi is the sole official language of Punjab and is spoken by the majority of the population numbering around 24,919,067 constituting of the population as of 2011 census report. Hindi is the second largest language, spoken by 2,177,853 constituting 7.85% of the population. And the remaining 646,418 spoke other Indian languages, comprising 2.83% in the Others category.

Religion in Punjab

2001 and 2011 census

Sikhism is the most common faith in Punjab, numbering over 16 million people representing 57.69% of the population, making it the only Sikh-majority state in India. Around 38.49% of the population follow Hinduism, while Islam is followed by 1.93% of the population and Christianity 1.26%. Other faiths include Buddhism and Jainism which are followed in smaller numbers. There were also nearly 90,000 people that did not state their religion.

Urban and rural areas

The table given below shows the religion in the urban areas of Punjab, according to 2011 census.
The table below shows the population of different religions in absolute numbers in the urban and rural areas of Punjab.

1971 census

Following the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966, the borders of the East Punjab region were finalized and delineated. The states that form this region at present include Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
The religious demography according to the 1971 census for the contemporary state of Punjab, India is shown below, broken down by district with an overall total.

1961 census

The 1961 Census data reflects the post-reorganization administrative boundaries. By this time, the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) had been fully merged into Punjab on 1 November 1956 under the States Reorganisation Act. Additionally, the former princely state of Bilaspur, a Part-C state, was merged into Himachal Pradesh in 1954. Therefore, the 1961 census tables include populations from the territories of both Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, as per their reorganized state boundaries.
The religious demography of the East Punjab region including the contemporary subdivisions of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh is broken down below by district with an overall total as per the 1961 census of India.

Contemporary Punjab state

The religious demography according to the 1961 census for the region that comprises the contemporary state of Punjab, India is also shown below, broken down by district with an overall total.

1951 census

After Partition, East Punjab underwent significant restructuring, particularly in its Punjab States Agency. Several princely states in the region were merged in 1948 to form the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU), while a number of hill states in the north were integrated to form Himachal Pradesh. Bilaspur Princely state remained a separate entity as Bilaspur State. In the 1951 census, these regions — Punjab, PEPSU, Himachal Pradesh, Bilaspur, and Delhi — were grouped together in a single volume titled Census of India, 1951: Punjab, Pepsu, Himachal Pradesh, Bilaspur & Delhi. Although Delhi was included in this volume, it had become a separate province in 1911 and is not considered part of East Punjab for statistical purposes. Below is the religious demographics of this region broken down by district with an overall total as per the 1951 census of India.
In the following tables, 268,602 people from the Jullundur Division were not classified by religion due to missing records caused by a fire in the Jullundur Census Tabulation Office. As a result, their religious affiliation could not be included at the district level. These unclassified populations were distributed across Amritsar district, Gurdaspur district, Jullundur district, Ferozepur district, Kangra district, Hoshiarpur district, and Ludhiana district. While their district level religious details were omitted, the number was included on the overall provincial tabulation. According to consolidated data, out of the 268,602 individuals, 149,758 persons were Sikhs, 1,658 persons were Muslims and 117,186 persons were Hindus and others, Therefore, the actual total population of the province/state was not 16,975,754 as shown in the tables below, but 17,244,356 after including these 268,602 individuals.

Contemporary Punjab state

The religious demography according to the 1951 census for the region that comprises the contemporary state of Punjab, India is also shown below, broken down by district with an overall total.

1941 census

East Punjab region

Prior to partition, the eastern portion of Punjab that was ultimately awarded to India following the demarcation of the Radcliffe Line was made into a new province – East Punjab. The area includes the contemporary states of Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Below is the religious demographics of this region broken down by district and princely state with an overall total as per the 1941 Indian census.

Contemporary Punjab state

The religious demography according to the 1941 census for the region that comprises the contemporary state of Punjab, India is also shown below, broken down by district and princely state with an overall total.

1931 census

East Punjab region

Contemporary Punjab state

The religious demography according to the 1931 census for the region that comprises the contemporary state of Punjab, India is also shown below, broken down by district and princely state with an overall total.

1921 census

East Punjab region

Contemporary Punjab state

The religious demography according to the 1921 census for the region that comprises the contemporary state of Punjab, India is also shown below, broken down by district and princely state with an overall total.

1911 census

East Punjab region

Contemporary Punjab state

The religious demography according to the 1911 census for the region that comprises the contemporary state of Punjab, India is also shown below, broken down by district and princely state with an overall total.

1901 census

East Punjab region

Contemporary Punjab state

The religious demography according to the 1901 census for the region that comprises the contemporary state of Punjab, India is also shown below, broken down by district and princely state with an overall total.

Sikhism in Punjab

Sikhism was born in the Punjab area of South Asia, which now falls into the present day states of India and Pakistan. The main religions of the area at the time were Hinduism and Islam.The Sikh faith began around 1500 CE, when Guru Nanak began teaching a faith that was quite distinct from Hinduism and Islam. Nine Gurus followed Nanak and developed the Sikh faith and community over the next centuries.
After the 1947 Partition of Punjab, Sikhs became the majority religious group in Indian Punjab mainly due to the immigration of 2 million Sikhs from Pakistan into Indian Punjab, which have ultimately resulted in an increase in Sikh percentage from 33.70% in 1941 to 60.62% in 1951.
While population that adheres to Sikh faith has increased, the percentage of Sikhs has declined from 60.62% in 1951 to 57.69%.
The Sikh population in India's Punjab have grown from 5.53 million in 1951 to 16 million in 2011 census. Sikhs in Punjab have the lowest fertility rate of 1.6 children per women as per census 2011.
Whilst Punjab, India has had a majority Sikh population for decades, recent statistics point toward a demographic decline of Sikhs in the state. School data from the Civil Registration System shows that Sikh children are now a plurality at the foundational-level. The causes for the demographic decline of Sikhs in Indian Punjab has been attributed to low fertility-rates, outbound migration of Sikhs abroad, and internal migration within India of persons from other states, oftentimes Uttar Pradesh or Bihar, settling in Indian Punjab.

Hinduism in Punjab

Hinduism is the second largest and fastest growing religion in the Indian state of Punjab with around 38.5% followers as of 2011 census. Hinduism is the 2nd largest religion of Punjabi peoples. It was the largest religion in Punjab before the advent of Islam from the West and birth of Sikhism in Punjab region from the east. The Hindu population has increased drastically in the Indian Punjab from 1941 to 1951 mainly due to the immigration of 1 million Punjabi Hindu refugees from Pakistan's Punjab.
The Hindu percentage remained stable for decades. The Hindu percentage have increased from 37.66% in 1951 to 38.49% in 2011.
The Hindu population have increased from 3.44 million in 1951 to 10.67 million in 2011. Hindus in Punjab have a fertility rate of 1.9 children per women as per as census 2011.

Islam in Punjab

The Muslim population in the region that comprises the contemporary state of Punjab, India reduced from approximately 38.4% according to the 1941 census to 0.5% in 1947 as a result of Partition of Punjab riots which were caused during 1947 mainly in the various parts of East Punjab.
Prior to partition, according to the 1941 census, approximately 3.75 million Muslims resided in the region that forms the contemporary state of Punjab in India. At the time, Muslims formed the largest religious community in the region, comprising a narrow plurality at approximately 38.4 percent of the total population. Following the partition of India, the vast majority departed the region en masse, migrating westward to the Punjab region that fell on the western side of the Radcliffe Line, in the contemporary state of Punjab, Pakistan.
Most native Punjabi Muslims now live in Malerkotla, and it is the only district where communal violence haven't occurred during partition because Guru Gobind Singh Ji have promised the Nawab of Malerkotla, Sher Mohammad Khan that the Muslim community in Malerkotla would never be harmed in the future times to come and as a result of Guru ji's blessing words, most of the Muslims were able to stayed back there. Apart from Malerkotla, most of the Muslims living in other parts of Punjab are non-native and have came from neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir on temporary basis as immigrants workers and students.
Muslims in Punjab have a fertility rate of 2.4 children per women as per 2011 census. Islam is the fastest-growing religion in Punjab.