Tamil Nadu is a well-developed state in South India known for its Hindu temples. Tamil Nadu borders Andhra Pradesh to its south, Karnataka to its southeast, and Kerala to its east.
Tamil Nadu has a total population of 81.5 million, making it the seventh most populous state in India. The population density is 550 people per square kilometer. From 2001 to 2011, Tamil Nadu’s population grew 15.6%, and currently adds about 1.2 million people to its population every year.
Tamil Nadu was ruled by several empires, including the Chera, Chola, and Pandyan empires, which helped shape the state’s cuisine, culture, and architecture.
British colonial rule led to the emergence of Chennai, the capital and largest city in Tamil Nadu. The population of Chennai is 10.64 million people. Chennai is known as the Detroit of South Asia for its vehicle industry and is known for some of the best hospitals. The city is both a populous urban area and a beach city.
The second-largest city in Tami Nadu by population is Coimbatore with approximately 2.7 million people and a population density of 601 people per square kilometer. Coimbatore is well known for its engineering firms, textile industries, educational institutes, and automobile parts manufacturing. The city is known for being entrepreneurial and is one of the quickest developing urban zones in India.
Madurai is Tamil Nadu’s third-largest city with a population of 1.7 million people. Of the three cities, Madurai has the highest population density of 823 people per square kilometer. The city has a rapid growth rate of approximately 17.8%. Madurai is one of the oldest urban regions in the world and currently serves as one of the centers for industry and education in South Tamil Nadu.
The majority of the Tamil Nadu population is comprised of Tamils, speakers of the traditional Dravidian language. The population is also comprised of various indigenous communities. Expats comprise over 20% of the Tamil Nadu population, with the most coming from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Myanmar.
Tamil Nadu has a sex ratio of 996 females to 1000 males. 48.4% of the state’s population lives in urban areas. Tamil Nadu has the lowest fertility rate in India of 1.7%, which is below the rate required for population sustainability.
Tamil is the official state language, spoken by the majority of people, along with a number of smaller languages Kannada, Malayalam, and Telugu. English is used as an additional official language for communication purposes.
In terms of religion, an overwhelming majority of Tamil Nadu’s population are Hindus. There are also significant numbers of Muslims and Christians in the state. According to the 2011 census, Tamil Nadu has 87.6% Hindus, 6.1% Christians, and 5.9% Muslims, 0.1% Jains, and 0.3% other religions or no religion.
Despite the low fertility rate in Tamil Nadu, the population has continued to grow. Between 2001 and 2011, the population grew 15.61%. From 1991 to 2001, growth was 11.7% and from 1981 to 1991, growth was 15.4%. The decade that saw the largest amount of growth was from 1971 to 1981 with a population growth rate of 22.3%.