Chennai, India Population 2024

Chennai's 2024 population is now estimated at 12,053,700In 1950, the population of Chennai was 1,491,290Chennai has grown by 277,600 in the last year, which represents a 2.36% annual change.These population estimates and projections come from the latest revision of the UN World Urbanization Prospects. These estimates represent the Urban agglomeration of Chennai, which typically includes Chennai's population in addition to adjacent suburban areas.

Chennai, formerly Madras, is the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the Coromandel Coast near the Bay of Bengal, Chennai is the largest commercial and industrial center of South India as well as a cultural, economic and educational center. It is also known as the "Detroit of India" with a thriving automotive industry.

Chennai has an estimated population of 4.9 million people, which ranks 6th in India.

City Size and Population Density

Chennai has an estimated population of 4.9 million, with an area that has grown from 176 square kilometers to 426 square kilometers after a 2011 expansion. The urban agglomeration, which includes the city and suburbs, has a population estimated at 9 million. This makes it the 4th most populous metropolitan area in India and the 31st largest urban area in the world.

Chennai is by far the most densely populated city in Tamil Nadu, with a density of 26,553 people per square kilometers, very far ahead of the next city, Kanyakumari with 1,111 people per square kilometer.

Chennai Demographics

In 2001, the census from Chennai, India showed the city to have 4,343,645 citizens. This massive number was divided into 26,721 people per square kilometer. In 2011, the updated census showed that the city’s population had grown by 337,442 people – leading to a new citizen count of 4,681,087. Such massive numbers were sure to bring diversity among the people – and it did.

There are many spoken languages within this one city. The most common language is Tamil, spoken by about 75% of residents, followed by Telugu and English. There are several other languages spoken by migrant populations from other states who comprise very little of the population.

Chennai has the third largest expatriate population in the country behind Mumbai and Delhi, estimated at almost 90,000. Most residents of Chennai are Tamils. 62% of migrants to the city were from other parts of the state, 34% were from other parts of India, and 4% were from outside of India.

Chennai History

Chennai, which was once known as Madras, is India’s 4th largest city – and the 6th most populated region in the country. Located off of the Coromandel Coast, this city was first discovered a whopping 400 years ago. Chennai sports the impressive title of being the 31st largest city in the entire world.

What is now the modern-day bustling city of Chennai also used to be known as Fort St. George, which was an English settlement. People known as Vijayanagars were in charge of the region when the settlement was first established – a status given to them by the Nayaks – who had control over much of India 400 years ago. One person was appointed as the man in charge of this past Chennai, who went by the name of Damarla Venkatadri Nayaka. Nayaka was also a Telugu King and a chieftain for King Peda Venkata Raya.

Chennai got its name from a small town called Chennapattanam. This village was named after Nayaka’s father, Damerla Chennappa Nayaka – who controlled many regions along the coast of India.

Chennai Population Growth

Chennai has a continued pattern of steady growth. Chennai has the fourth highest population of people lviing in poverty in India, estimated at 820,000, or 19% of the city's total population, according to the census conducted in 2001. The city does well with its female to male ratio, with 1000 males for every 951 females. The density of this populous city continues to tighten every year, though the growth is much slower compared to other major cities. Ever since India’s 1947 independence, the population’s growth slowed by 3-4 percent. This does not stop the country in general from a healthy population growth rate, which is predicted to reach 50 million people by 2025. However, with birth rates continuously falling, the growth is not like the massive spikes seen in previous eras. Despite these drops, Chennai and the rest of India is expected to match China’s overall population by 2020.

Country
India
Growth Rate
2.36%

86 Rows

Year
Population
203515,375,800
203415,059,200
203314,744,200
203214,431,400
203114,121,400
203013,814,400
202913,510,700
202813,210,700
202712,914,800
202612,623,100
202512,336,000
202412,053,700
202311,776,100
202211,503,300
202111,235,000
202010,971,100
201910,711,200
201810,455,600
201710,189,400
20169,929,920
20159,677,070
20149,430,660
20139,190,530
20128,956,510
20118,728,450
20108,506,190
20098,289,600
20088,078,810
20077,872,820
20067,672,350
20057,476,990
20047,286,860
20037,101,060
20026,920,240
20016,744,030
20006,593,280
19996,455,750
19986,321,260
19976,189,580
19966,060,820
19955,934,400
19945,810,780
19935,689,730
19925,571,370
19915,455,150
19905,332,060
19895,207,100
19885,085,250
19874,965,920
19864,849,540
19854,735,900
19844,625,070
19834,516,540
19824,410,700
19814,307,330
19804,187,410
19794,061,170
19783,938,900
19773,820,300
19763,705,440
19753,593,730
19743,485,530
19733,380,590
19723,278,940
19713,180,090
19703,044,200
19692,901,480
19682,765,620
19672,635,780
19662,512,200
19652,394,410
19642,282,300
19632,175,150
19622,073,170
19611,975,960
19601,914,800
19591,870,880
19581,828,030
19571,786,160
19561,745,300
19551,705,270
19541,666,210
19531,628,050
19521,590,810
19511,554,320
19501,491,290

86 Rows

Year
Population
Change
Growth
19501,491,2900%0
19511,554,3204.23%63,030
19521,590,8102.35%36,490
19531,628,0502.34%37,240
19541,666,2102.34%38,160
19551,705,2702.34%39,060
19561,745,3002.35%40,030
19571,786,1602.34%40,860
19581,828,0302.34%41,870
19591,870,8802.34%42,850
19601,914,8002.35%43,920
19611,975,9603.19%61,160
19622,073,1704.92%97,210
19632,175,1504.92%101,980
19642,282,3004.93%107,150
19652,394,4104.91%112,110
19662,512,2004.92%117,790
19672,635,7804.92%123,580
19682,765,6204.93%129,840
19692,901,4804.91%135,860
19703,044,2004.92%142,720
19713,180,0904.46%135,890
19723,278,9403.11%98,850
19733,380,5903.1%101,650
19743,485,5303.1%104,940
19753,593,7303.1%108,200
19763,705,4403.11%111,710
19773,820,3003.1%114,860
19783,938,9003.1%118,600
19794,061,1703.1%122,270
19804,187,4103.11%126,240
19814,307,3302.86%119,920
19824,410,7002.4%103,370
19834,516,5402.4%105,840
19844,625,0702.4%108,530
19854,735,9002.4%110,830
19864,849,5402.4%113,640
19874,965,9202.4%116,380
19885,085,2502.4%119,330
19895,207,1002.4%121,850
19905,332,0602.4%124,960
19915,455,1502.31%123,090
19925,571,3702.13%116,220
19935,689,7302.12%118,360
19945,810,7802.13%121,050
19955,934,4002.13%123,620
19966,060,8202.13%126,420
19976,189,5802.12%128,760
19986,321,2602.13%131,680
19996,455,7502.13%134,490
20006,593,2802.13%137,530
20016,744,0302.29%150,750
20026,920,2402.61%176,210
20037,101,0602.61%180,820
20047,286,8602.62%185,800
20057,476,9902.61%190,130
20067,672,3502.61%195,360
20077,872,8202.61%200,470
20088,078,8102.62%205,990
20098,289,6002.61%210,790
20108,506,1902.61%216,590
20118,728,4502.61%222,260
20128,956,5102.61%228,060
20139,190,5302.61%234,020
20149,430,6602.61%240,130
20159,677,0702.61%246,410
20169,929,9202.61%252,850
201710,189,4002.61%259,480
201810,455,6002.61%266,200
201910,711,2002.44%255,600
202010,971,1002.43%259,900
202111,235,0002.41%263,900
202211,503,3002.39%268,300
202311,776,1002.37%272,800
202412,053,7002.36%277,600
202512,336,0002.34%282,300
202612,623,1002.33%287,100
202712,914,8002.31%291,700
202813,210,7002.29%295,900
202913,510,7002.27%300,000
203013,814,4002.25%303,700
203114,121,4002.22%307,000
203214,431,4002.2%310,000
203314,744,2002.17%312,800
203415,059,2002.14%315,000
203515,375,8002.1%316,600

Chennai Population Data (Urban Area)

Name
2024 Pop.
2024 Growth
Delhi33,807,4002.63%
Mumbai21,673,1001.77%
Kolkata15,570,8001.55%
Bangalore14,008,3002.94%
Chennai12,053,7002.36%
Hyderabad11,068,9002.48%
Ahmedabad8,854,4402.36%
Surat8,330,5303.29%
Pune7,345,8502.5%
Jaipur4,308,5102.41%
Kozhikode4,243,9603.8%
Malappuram4,184,9204.39%
Lucknow4,038,2102.35%
Thrissur3,605,2403.53%
Kochi3,507,0502.97%
Indore3,393,3802.76%
Kanpur3,286,1401.61%
Nagpur3,106,3401.96%
Coimbatore3,083,7202.48%
Thiruvananthapuram2,984,1503.22%

Other Cities in India

  1. India Census 2011 - Chennai - Chennai district census 2011 data
  2. India Census 2011 - Chennai City - Chennai city census 2011 data

Sources