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% (2011), 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 (persons per square kilometre) of Punjab through the years.^[4]

The table below shows the population density by district in Punjab, according to the 2011 census.^[4]

Gender

The table below shows the sex ratio of Punjab through the years.^[5]

The table below shows the sex ratio of Punjab by district, according to the 2011 census.

Fertility rate

The table below shows the birth rate per 1000 persons in Punjab through the years.^[9]

According to the National Family Health Survey of 2015-16, the percentage of women age 15-19 who have begun childbearing (teenage pregnancy) was 2.6%.^[10]

The table below shows the variation the fertility rate (children per woman) according to the education of a woman in Punjab, as of 2019-21.

Mortality

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 70.73%.^[15] The median number of years of schooling completed in the state was 6.5 for females and 7.8 for males, as of 2011.^[16]

Human Development Index

The table below shows the district wise human development index of Punjab through the years.^[25]

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.^[26][27] Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes form 63.2% of the total population of Punjab.^[28]

Below is the list of districts according to the percentage of their SC population, according to 2011 census.^{[15][20][38][39]}

Urbanization

The table below shows the percentage of rural population in each district of Punjab in ascending order, according to the 2011 census.^[41]

Languages spoken

The Punjabi language written in the Gurmukhi script is the official language of the state.^[44] Muslims form a slight majority in the Malerkotla town and use Shahmukhi for communication.^[45] Punjabi is the sole official language of Punjab and is spoken by the majority of the population numbering around 24,919,067 constituting (89.82%) 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.^[42]

Religion in Punjab

1941 census

East Punjab province

Religions in East Punjab, India region (1941)^{[1]: 42 [lower-alpha 2]}

  Hinduism^{[lower-alpha 3]} (46.95%)

  Islam (30.88%)

  Sikhism (21.14%)

  Christianity (0.69%)

  Jainism (0.21%)

  Others^{[lower-alpha 4]} (0.12%)

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.

Religion in the Districts & Princely States of East Punjab, India region (1941)^{[1]: 42 [lower-alpha 2]}

District/ Princely State	Hinduism [lower-alpha 3]		Islam		Sikhism		Christianity		Jainism		Others[lower-alpha 4]		Total
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Patiala State	597,488	30.86%	436,539	22.55%	896,021	46.28%	1,592	0.08%	3,101	0.16%	1,518	0.08%	1,936,259	100%
Firozpur District	287,733	20.22%	641,448	45.07%	479,486	33.69%	12,607	0.89%	1,674	0.12%	128	0.01%	1,423,076	100%
Amritsar District	217,431	15.38%	657,695	46.52%	510,845	36.13%	25,973	1.84%	1,911	0.14%	21	0%	1,413,876	100%
Hoshiarpur District	584,080	49.91%	380,759	32.53%	198,194	16.93%	6,165	0.53%	1,125	0.1%	0	0%	1,170,323	100%
Jalandhar District	311,010	27.59%	509,804	45.23%	298,741	26.5%	6,233	0.55%	1,395	0.12%	7	0%	1,127,190	100%
Hisar District	652,842	64.85%	285,208	28.33%	60,731	6.03%	1,292	0.13%	6,126	0.61%	510	0.05%	1,006,709	100%
Karnal District	666,301	66.99%	304,346	30.6%	19,887	2%	1,249	0.13%	2,789	0.28%	3	0%	994,575	100%
Rohtak District	780,474	81.61%	166,569	17.42%	1,466	0.15%	1,043	0.11%	6,847	0.72%	0	0%	956,399	100%
Kangra District	846,531	94.12%	43,249	4.81%	4,809	0.53%	788	0.09%	101	0.01%	3,899	0.43%	899,377	100%
Gurdaspur District[lower-alpha 5]	174,221	20.21%	440,323	51.08%	200,688	23.28%	46,743	5.42%	25	0%	6	0%	862,006	100%
Gurgaon District	560,537	65.83%	285,992	33.59%	637	0.07%	1,673	0.2%	2,613	0.31%	6	0%	851,458	100%
Ambala District	412,658	48.68%	268,999	31.73%	156,543	18.47%	6,065	0.72%	3,065	0.36%	415	0.05%	847,745	100%
Ludhiana District	171,715	20.98%	302,482	36.95%	341,175	41.68%	1,913	0.23%	1,279	0.16%	51	0.01%	818,615	100%
Kapurthala State	61,546	16.27%	213,754	56.49%	88,350	23.35%	1,667	0.44%	380	0.1%	12,683	3.35%	378,380	100%
Jind State	268,355	74.17%	50,972	14.09%	40,981	11.33%	161	0.04%	1,294	0.36%	49	0.01%	361,812	100%
Simla Hill States	345,716	96.16%	10,812	3.01%	2,693	0.75%	161	0.04%	126	0.04%	12	0%	359,520	100%
Nabha State	146,518	42.59%	70,373	20.45%	122,451	35.59%	221	0.06%	480	0.14%	1	0%	344,044	100%
Mandi State	227,463	97.79%	4,328	1.86%	583	0.25%	11	0%	0	0%	208	0.09%	232,593	100%
Faridkot State	21,814	10.95%	61,352	30.79%	115,070	57.74%	247	0.12%	800	0.4%	0	0%	199,283	100%
Chamba State	155,910	92.3%	12,318	7.29%	107	0.06%	190	0.11%	0	0%	383	0.23%	168,908	100%
Sirmoor State	146,199	93.7%	7,374	4.73%	2,334	1.5%	38	0.02%	81	0.05%	0	0%	156,026	100%
Bilaspur State	108,375	98.22%	1,498	1.36%	453	0.41%	7	0.01%	3	0%	0	0%	110,336	100%
Malerkotla State	23,482	26.65%	33,881	38.45%	30,320	34.41%	116	0.13%	310	0.35%	0	0%	88,109	100%
Suket State	69,974	98.43%	884	1.24%	234	0.33%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	71,092	100%
Kalsia State	29,866	44.32%	25,049	37.17%	12,235	18.15%	55	0.08%	188	0.28%	0	0%	67,393	100%
Simla District	29,466	76.38%	7,022	18.2%	1,032	2.68%	934	2.42%	114	0.3%	8	0.02%	38,576	100%
Dujana State	23,727	77.37%	6,939	22.63%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	30,666	100%
Loharu State	23,923	85.77%	3,960	14.2%	7	0.03%	2	0.01%	0	0%	0	0%	27,892	100%
Pataudi State	17,728	82.38%	3,655	16.98%	0	0%	9	0.04%	128	0.59%	0	0%	21,520	100%
Total	7,963,083	46.95%	5,237,584	30.88%	3,586,073	21.14%	117,155	0.69%	35,955	0.21%	19,908	0.12%	16,959,758	100%
Note: Territory comprises the contemporary subdivisions of Punjab, India, Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh.

Contemporary Punjab state

Religions in contemporary Punjab State, India region (1941)^{[1]: 42 [lower-alpha 1]}

  Islam (37.55%)

  Sikhism (32.83%)

  Hinduism^{[lower-alpha 3]} (28.32%)

  Christianity (1.02%)

  Jainism (0.14%)

  Others^{[lower-alpha 4]} (0.14%)

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.

Religion in the Districts & Princely States that comprise contemporary Punjab State, India region (1941)^{[1]: 42 [lower-alpha 1]}

District/ Princely State	Islam		Sikhism		Hinduism [lower-alpha 3]		Christianity		Jainism		Others[lower-alpha 4]		Total
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Patiala State	436,539	22.55%	896,021	46.28%	597,488	30.86%	1,592	0.08%	3,101	0.16%	1,518	0.08%	1,936,259	100%
Firozpur District	641,448	45.07%	479,486	33.69%	287,733	20.22%	12,607	0.89%	1,674	0.12%	128	0.01%	1,423,076	100%
Amritsar District	657,695	46.52%	510,845	36.13%	217,431	15.38%	25,973	1.84%	1,911	0.14%	21	0%	1,413,876	100%
Hoshiarpur District	380,759	32.53%	198,194	16.93%	584,080	49.91%	6,165	0.53%	1,125	0.1%	0	0%	1,170,323	100%
Jalandhar District	509,804	45.23%	298,741	26.5%	311,010	27.59%	6,233	0.55%	1,395	0.12%	7	0%	1,127,190	100%
Gurdaspur District[lower-alpha 5]	440,323	51.08%	200,688	23.28%	174,221	20.21%	46,743	5.42%	25	0%	6	0%	862,006	100%
Ludhiana District	302,482	36.95%	341,175	41.68%	171,715	20.98%	1,913	0.23%	1,279	0.16%	51	0.01%	818,615	100%
Kapurthala State	213,754	56.49%	88,350	23.35%	61,546	16.27%	1,667	0.44%	380	0.1%	12,683	3.35%	378,380	100%
Jind State	50,972	14.09%	40,981	11.33%	268,355	74.17%	161	0.04%	1,294	0.36%	49	0.01%	361,812	100%
Nabha State	70,373	20.45%	122,451	35.59%	146,518	42.59%	221	0.06%	480	0.14%	1	0%	344,044	100%
Faridkot State	61,352	30.79%	115,070	57.74%	21,814	10.95%	247	0.12%	800	0.4%	0	0%	199,283	100%
Malerkotla State	33,881	38.45%	30,320	34.41%	23,482	26.65%	116	0.13%	310	0.35%	0	0%	88,109	100%
Total	3,799,382	37.55%	3,322,322	32.83%	2,865,393	28.32%	103,638	1.02%	13,774	0.14%	14,464	0.14%	10,118,973	100%
Note: Territory comprises the contemporary state of Punjab, India.

Sikhism in Punjab

Sikh pilgrims at the causeway to the sanctum of the Harmandir Sahib, the holiest Sikh Gurdwara

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.^[54]

The Sikh population in India's Punjab have grown from 5.53 million in 1951 to 16 million in 2011 census (an increase of 10.47 million in last 60 years). Sikhs in Punjab have the lowest fertility rate of 1.6 children per women as per census 2011.^[55]

Decadal percentage of Sikhs in Punjab, India^[52][53]

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 32.83% in 1941 to 60.62% in 1951.^[52][53][56] While population that adheres to Sikh faith has increased, the percentage of Sikhs has declined from 60.62% in 1951 to 57.69% (a decline of 2.93% in last 60 years).

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.^[58]

Decadal percentage of Hindus in Punjab, India^[52][53][57]

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 (a growth of 7.23 million in 6 decades). Hindus in Punjab have a fertility rate of 1.9 children per women as per as census 2011.^[59]

Islam in Punjab

A photo of a mosque in Punjab, India

The Muslim population in the region that comprises the contemporary state of Punjab, India reduced from approximately 37.5% 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 3.8 million Muslims resided in the region that forms the contemporary state of Punjab in India.^{[lower-alpha 1]} At the time, Muslims formed the largest religious community in the region, comprising a narrow plurality at approximately 37.5 percent of the total population.^{[lower-alpha 1]} Following the partition of India, the vast majority numbering around 3.71 million 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.^[60][61] 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 (small scale) and students.

Muslims in Punjab have a fertility rate of 2.4 children per women as per 2011 census.^[59] Islam is the fastest-growing religion in Punjab.^[62]

Decadal percentage of Muslims in Punjab, India^{[63][64][57] [65]}

Religious population by districts

See also

• Punjabis
• Sikhs
• Punjabi Hindus
• Punjabi Muslims
• Health in Punjab, India

Notes

References