India is a vast and diverse country with 28 states and 8 union territories. The population of each state and union territory varies significantly, with some having millions of inhabitants and others having only a few hundred thousand. As of the 2021 estimates, the population of India is approximately 1.39 (139 crore) billion people.
The most populated state in India is Uttar Pradesh with a population of over 240 million (24 crore) people as of the 2021 estimates. The least populated state in India is Sikkim with a population of around 6,90,000 people as of the 2021 estimates.
Among the Union Territories, the most populated one is Delhi with a population of over 18 million (1.8 crore) people as of the 2021 estimates, while the least populated one is Lakshadweep with a population of around 71,000 people as of the 2021 estimates.
Population of States and Union Territories in India
Here’s a table of all the Indian states and union territories in descending order of population.
| Rank | State/Union Territory | Population 2021 | Population 2011 | Population 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uttar Pradesh | 240,928,000 | 199,812,341 | 166,197,921 |
| 2 | Maharashtra | 123,144,000 | 112,374,333 | 96,878,627 |
| 3 | Bihar | 124,799,000 | 104,099,452 | 82,878,796 |
| 4 | West Bengal | 103,947,000 | 91,276,115 | 80,176,197 |
| 5 | Madhya Pradesh | 85,566,000 | 72,626,809 | 60,348,023 |
| 6 | Tamil Nadu | 80,463,000 | 72,147,030 | 62,110,839 |
| 7 | Rajasthan | 81,032,000 | 68,548,437 | 56,507,188 |
| 8 | Karnataka | 70,462,000 | 61,095,297 | 52,850,562 |
| 9 | Gujarat | 68,882,000 | 60,439,692 | 50,671,017 |
| 10 | Andhra Pradesh | 54,546,000 | 49,577,103 | 76,210,007 |
| 11 | Odisha | 46,638,000 | 41,974,218 | 36,706,920 |
| 12 | Telangana | 39,364,000 | 35,193,978 | – |
| 13 | Kerala | 34,315,000 | 33,406,061 | 31,841,374 |
| 14 | Jharkhand | 36,385,000 | 32,988,134 | 26,909,428 |
| 15 | Assam | 35,600,000 | 31,205,576 | 26,655,528 |
| 16 | Punjab | 30,958,000 | 27,743,338 | 24,358,999 |
| 17 | Chhattisgarh | 28,894,000 | 25,545,198 | – |
| 18 | Haryana | 28,207,000 | 25,351,462 | 21,082,989 |
| 19 | Delhi | 19,691,000 | 16,787,941 | 13,782,976 |
| 20 | Jammu and Kashmir | 14,485,000 | 12,541,302 | 10,143,700 |
| 21 | Uttarakhand | 11,054,000 | 10,086,292 | 8,479,562 |
| 22 | Himachal Pradesh | 7,752,000 | 6,864,602 | 6,077,900 |
| 23 | Tripura | 4,322,000 | 3,673,917 | 3,191,168 |
| 24 | Meghalaya | 3,214,000 | 2,966,889 | 2,318,822 |
| 25 | Manipur | 3,009,000 | 2,855,794 | 2,293,896 |
| 26 | Nagaland | 2,449,000 | 1,978,502 | 1,990,036 |
| 27 | Goa | 1,694,000 | 1,458,545 | 1,343,998 |
| 28 | Arunachal Pradesh | 1,657,000 | 1,383,727 | 1,091,117 |
| 36 | Puducherry | 1,253,000 | 1,244,464 | 974,345 |
| 29 | Mizoram | 1,296,000 | 1,097,206 | 888,573 |
| 35 | Chandigarh | 1,179,000 | 1,055,450 | 900,914 |
| 30 | Sikkim | 690,251 | 610,577 | 540,851 |
| 31 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | 634,500 | – | – |
| 34 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 420,849 | 380,581 | 356,152 |
| 32 | Ladakh | 293,000 | 274,289 | – |
| 33 | Lakshadweep | 71,000 | 64,473 | 60,650 |
Note: The population figures for Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, and Lakshadweep in 2001 are not available because they were either not formed as separate entities at the time or the census did not cover them separately.
