Most populated districts
District populations vary by more than two orders of magnitude. The largest districts hold more people than several states, which is why district level planning figures can be misleading when compared across the country.
| # | District | State | Most populated districts | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thane | Maharashtra | 11,060,148 | 11,060,148 |
| 2 | North Twenty Four Parganas | West Bengal | 10,009,781 | 10,009,781 |
| 3 | Bangalore | Karnataka | 9,621,551 | 9,621,551 |
| 4 | Pune | Maharashtra | 9,429,408 | 9,429,408 |
| 5 | Mumbai Suburban | Maharashtra | 9,356,962 | 9,356,962 |
| 6 | South Twenty Four Parganas | West Bengal | 8,161,961 | 8,161,961 |
| 7 | Barddhaman | West Bengal | 7,717,563 | 7,717,563 |
| 8 | Ahmadabad | Gujarat | 7,214,225 | 7,214,225 |
| 9 | Murshidabad | West Bengal | 7,103,807 | 7,103,807 |
| 10 | Jaipur | Rajasthan | 6,626,178 | 6,626,178 |
| 11 | Nashik | Maharashtra | 6,107,187 | 6,107,187 |
| 12 | Surat | Gujarat | 6,081,322 | 6,081,322 |
| 13 | Allahabad | Uttar Pradesh | 5,954,391 | 5,954,391 |
| 14 | Paschim Medinipur | West Bengal | 5,913,457 | 5,913,457 |
| 15 | Patna | Bihar | 5,838,465 | 5,838,465 |
| 16 | Hugli | West Bengal | 5,519,145 | 5,519,145 |
| 17 | Rangareddy | Telangana | 5,296,741 | 5,296,741 |
| 18 | Nadia | West Bengal | 5,167,600 | 5,167,600 |
| 19 | East Godavari | Andhra Pradesh | 5,154,296 | 5,154,296 |
| 20 | Purba Champaran | Bihar | 5,099,371 | 5,099,371 |
| 21 | Purba Medinipur | West Bengal | 5,095,875 | 5,095,875 |
| 22 | Guntur | Andhra Pradesh | 4,887,813 | 4,887,813 |
| 23 | Haora | West Bengal | 4,850,029 | 4,850,029 |
| 24 | Muzaffarpur | Bihar | 4,801,062 | 4,801,062 |
| 25 | Belgaum | Karnataka | 4,779,661 | 4,779,661 |
| 26 | Moradabad | Uttar Pradesh | 4,772,006 | 4,772,006 |
| 27 | Ghaziabad | Uttar Pradesh | 4,681,645 | 4,681,645 |
| 28 | Nagpur | Maharashtra | 4,653,570 | 4,653,570 |
| 29 | Chennai | Tamil Nadu | 4,646,732 | 4,646,732 |
| 30 | Azamgarh | Uttar Pradesh | 4,613,913 | 4,613,913 |
| 31 | Lucknow | Uttar Pradesh | 4,589,838 | 4,589,838 |
| 32 | Kanpur Nagar | Uttar Pradesh | 4,581,268 | 4,581,268 |
| 33 | Ahmadnagar | Maharashtra | 4,543,159 | 4,543,159 |
| 34 | Krishna | Andhra Pradesh | 4,517,398 | 4,517,398 |
| 35 | Kolkata | West Bengal | 4,496,694 | 4,496,694 |
| 36 | Jaunpur | Uttar Pradesh | 4,494,204 | 4,494,204 |
| 37 | Madhubani | Bihar | 4,487,379 | 4,487,379 |
| 38 | Sitapur | Uttar Pradesh | 4,483,992 | 4,483,992 |
| 39 | Bareilly | Uttar Pradesh | 4,448,359 | 4,448,359 |
| 40 | Gorakhpur | Uttar Pradesh | 4,440,895 | 4,440,895 |
| 41 | Agra | Uttar Pradesh | 4,418,797 | 4,418,797 |
| 42 | Gaya | Bihar | 4,391,418 | 4,391,418 |
| 43 | Solapur | Maharashtra | 4,317,756 | 4,317,756 |
| 44 | Visakhapatnam | Andhra Pradesh | 4,290,589 | 4,290,589 |
| 45 | Samastipur | Bihar | 4,261,566 | 4,261,566 |
| 46 | Jalgaon | Maharashtra | 4,229,917 | 4,229,917 |
| 47 | Chittoor | Andhra Pradesh | 4,174,064 | 4,174,064 |
| 48 | Vadodara | Gujarat | 4,165,626 | 4,165,626 |
| 49 | Muzaffarnagar | Uttar Pradesh | 4,143,512 | 4,143,512 |
| 50 | Malappuram | Kerala | 4,112,920 | 4,112,920 |
Questions about this ranking
Thane in Maharashtra, at 11,060,148 people according to the Census of India 2011.
North Twenty Four Parganas in West Bengal, at 10,009,781 people.
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.