States ranked by share of rural population
Rural share is simply what urban share leaves behind: everyone the census did not classify as living in a town or city. States at the top of this table are still overwhelmingly agrarian by population, whatever their economic output.
| # | State or UT | States ranked by share … | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Himachal Pradesh | 89.97% | 6,864,602 |
| 2 | Bihar | 88.71% | 104,099,452 |
| 3 | Assam | 85.90% | 31,205,576 |
| 4 | Odisha | 83.31% | 41,974,218 |
| 5 | Meghalaya | 79.93% | 2,966,889 |
| 6 | Uttar Pradesh | 77.73% | 199,812,341 |
| 7 | Arunachal Pradesh | 77.06% | 1,383,727 |
| 8 | Chhattisgarh | 76.76% | 25,545,198 |
| 9 | Jharkhand | 75.95% | 32,988,134 |
| 10 | Rajasthan | 75.13% | 68,548,437 |
| 11 | Sikkim | 74.85% | 610,577 |
| 12 | Tripura | 73.83% | 3,673,917 |
| 13 | Jammu and Kashmir | 72.62% | 12,541,302 |
| 14 | Madhya Pradesh | 72.37% | 72,626,809 |
| 15 | Nagaland | 71.14% | 1,978,502 |
| 16 | Manipur | 70.79% | 2,855,794 |
| 17 | Uttarakhand | 69.77% | 10,086,292 |
| 18 | West Bengal | 68.13% | 91,276,115 |
| 19 | Andhra Pradesh | 66.64% | 84,580,777 |
| 20 | Haryana | 65.12% | 25,351,462 |
| 21 | Punjab | 62.52% | 27,743,338 |
| 22 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 62.30% | 380,581 |
| 23 | Karnataka | 61.33% | 61,095,297 |
| 24 | Telangana | 61.33% | 35,193,978 |
| 25 | Gujarat | 57.40% | 60,439,692 |
| 26 | Maharashtra | 54.78% | 112,374,333 |
| 27 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli | 53.28% | 343,709 |
| 28 | Kerala | 52.30% | 33,406,061 |
| 29 | Tamil Nadu | 51.60% | 72,147,030 |
| 30 | Mizoram | 47.89% | 1,097,206 |
| 31 | Goa | 37.83% | 1,458,545 |
| 32 | Puducherry | 31.67% | 1,247,953 |
| 33 | Daman and Diu | 24.83% | 243,247 |
| 34 | Lakshadweep | 21.93% | 64,473 |
| 35 | Chandigarh | 2.75% | 1,055,450 |
| 36 | Delhi | 2.50% | 16,787,941 |
Questions about this ranking
Himachal Pradesh, at 89.97 per cent rural according to the Census of India 2011.
Bihar, at 88.71 per cent rural.
All figures come from the Census of India 2011, the most recent completed census. Nothing here is estimated or projected forward.
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.