The child population in Kerala has shown a declining trend. The final population totals of Census 2011 issued by the Directorate of Census Operations reveal a negative growth rate of the child population in the State (- 8.44%).
The census figures show that the child (0-6 years) population is declining in all districts except Malappuram.
The total number of children in Kerala is 34,72,955, with the highest number (5,74,041) in Malappuram and the lowest (92,324) in Wayanad. Malappuram also has the highest growth rate of child population (4.08%) while Pathanamthitta has the lowest (-23.76%).
The census assesses the child sex ratio in Kerala as 964. Pathanamthitta district with 976 has the highest and Thrissur with 950 has the lowest child sex ratio.
The urban population in Kerala has grown to 47.7 per cent of the total, representing a decadal increase of 21.74 per cent since 2001. As many as 1,59,34,926 persons in the State are living in urban areas while the rural population is 1,74,71,135, representing 52.3 per cent of the total.
The highest percentage of urban population (68.07) is reported from Ernakulam district and the lowest (3.86) is in Wayanad.
Population density
The density of population in Kerala has gone up to 860 persons per sq. km from a figure of 819 in 2001. The highest density of 1,508 persons per sq. km is reported from Thiruvananthapuram district while Idukki with 255 has the lowest density.
The sex ratio (number of females per 1,000 males), according to the census, has improved by 26 points to reach 1,084. The highest sex ratio is in Kannur district (1,136) while the lowest is in Idukki (1,006). All districts show positive sex ratio (more females than males).
Malappuram with a population of 41,12,920, is the most populated district in the State while Wayanad with 8,17,420 is the least populated.
The decadal growth of population in Kerala from 2001 to 2011 has been worked out as 4.91 per cent, almost half the growth of 9.43 per cent during the previous decade. Malappuram district has reported the highest growth rate of 13.45 per cent while the lowest as well as negative growth rate is reported in Pathanamthitta district (-2.97%). Idukki also has a negative growth rate (-1.79%).
As many as 12 taluks spanning four districts in the central Travancore area have shown a fall in population.
The total number of households in Kerala as per the census is 78,53,754, with the average household size put at 4.3. In 2001, the household size was 4.7. Malappuram district with 5.2 as average household size, is at the top while Pathanamthitta district with 3.7 has the lowest household size.
Literacy rate
The census shows that Kerala has a literacy rate of 94 per cent. Kottayam district has recorded the highest literacy rate of 97.21% while Wayanad has the lowest (89.03%). Kottayam also has the lowest gender gap in literacy (1.49%) and Kasaragod has the highest (7.56).
The share of cultivators, agricultural labourers, and household industry workers show a declining trend while the share of other workers show an increasing trend compared to Census 2001.
