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Districts ranked by literacy rate

District literacy spreads far wider than state literacy, because state averages hide the gap between a state's best and worst districts. That gap is often larger than the gap between two states.

Districts ranked by literacy rate according to the Census of India 2011
# District State Districts ranked by lit… Population
1 Serchhip Mizoram 97.91% 64,937
2 Aizawl Mizoram 97.89% 400,309
3 Mahe Puducherry 97.87% 41,816
4 Kottayam Kerala 97.21% 1,974,551
5 Pathanamthitta Kerala 96.55% 1,197,412
6 Champhai Mizoram 95.91% 125,745
7 Ernakulam Kerala 95.89% 3,282,388
8 Alappuzha Kerala 95.72% 2,127,789
9 Kannur Kerala 95.10% 2,523,003
10 Kozhikode Kerala 95.08% 3,086,293
11 Thrissur Kerala 95.08% 3,121,200
12 Kollam Kerala 94.09% 2,635,375
13 Malappuram Kerala 93.57% 4,112,920
14 Kolasib Mizoram 93.50% 83,955
15 Thiruvananthapuram Kerala 93.02% 3,301,427
16 Idukki Kerala 91.99% 1,108,974
17 Lakshadweep Lakshadweep 91.85% 64,473
18 Kanniyakumari Tamil Nadu 91.75% 1,870,374
19 Mokokchung Nagaland 91.62% 194,622
20 Chennai Tamil Nadu 90.18% 4,646,732
21 Kasaragod Kerala 90.09% 1,307,375
22 Saiha Mizoram 90.01% 56,574
23 Mumbai Suburban Maharashtra 89.91% 9,356,962
24 North Goa Goa 89.57% 818,008
25 East Delhi Delhi 89.31% 1,709,346
26 North East Delhi Delhi 89.31% 1,709,346
27 Palakkad Kerala 89.31% 2,809,934
28 South Andaman Andaman and Nicobar Islands 89.13% 238,142
29 Wayanad Kerala 89.03% 817,420
30 Lunglei Mizoram 88.86% 161,428
31 Kamrup Metropolitan Assam 88.71% 1,253,938
32 West Tripura Tripura 88.69% 1,725,739
33 Dakshina Kannada Karnataka 88.57% 2,089,649
34 Nagpur Maharashtra 88.39% 4,653,570
35 New Delhi Delhi 88.34% 142,004
36 South West Delhi Delhi 88.28% 2,292,958
37 Hamirpur Himachal Pradesh 88.15% 454,768
38 Daman Daman and Diu 88.07% 191,173
39 Akola Maharashtra 88.05% 1,813,906
40 Wokha Nagaland 87.69% 166,343
41 Bangalore Karnataka 87.67% 9,621,551
42 South Goa Goa 87.59% 640,537
43 North Tripura Tripura 87.50% 693,947
44 Amravati Maharashtra 87.38% 2,888,445
45 Karaikal Puducherry 87.05% 200,222
46 Purba Medinipur West Bengal 87.02% 5,095,875
47 Wardha Maharashtra 86.99% 1,300,774
48 North West Delhi Delhi 86.98% 2,543,243
49 West Delhi Delhi 86.98% 2,543,243
50 Khordha Odisha 86.88% 2,251,673

Questions about this ranking

Serchhip in Mizoram, at 97.91 per cent according to the Census of India 2011.

Aizawl in Mizoram, at 97.89 per cent.

All figures come from the Census of India 2011, the most recent completed census. Nothing here is estimated or projected forward.

India had well over six hundred districts at the 2011 census, so a full table would be unreadable. The top 50 are listed here, and every district has its own page reachable from its state.

They describe 2011. Populations have grown since, unevenly, and many states have created new districts by splitting old ones, so a district in this table may no longer exist with the same boundary.

Union territories range from single cities to island groups, so they sit at both extremes of most of these tables. The census counts them alongside states, which is why they appear here.

Source: Census of India 2011. Figures are reproduced as published. Read more on our about the data page, and see the glossary for what these measures mean.