This boundary matters. The source spans Chennai, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts and lists Avadi separately beneath Chennai UA. Preserve these census boundaries when comparing this total with corporation-level statistics or later administrative maps.
The original urban-unit count by sex
Census 2011 unit
People
Males
Females
Chennai U.A. $ · Urban agglomeration
86,53,521
43,58,612
42,94,909
Official A-04(I) table ↗ · Census 2011 A-04(I), sheet 'CLASS I', source rank 4; main-unit heading row 1520; 2011 row 1531, G1531 (Persons), J1531 (Males), K1531 (Females).. Published source sex classifications are retained.
Explore the related PCA urban unit
Chennai (M Corp.) has a separate Primary Census Abstract profile, including households, children, literacy, social categories and worker details. Its count is 4,646,732 people in 2011. Use its source-defined boundary; it is not a replacement for the urban unit displayed above.
The official Class I urban table records 86,53,521 people for Chennai U.A. $ in 2011. It ranks 4 among the main urban agglomeration and standalone-city totals in that table. We keep the main total and do not add its constituent places again.
The source classifies this unit as urban agglomeration. The figure belongs to the 2011 boundary and reference year. It should not be relabelled as Chennai’s population today.
Use this count to understand the scale of the historical urban unit. An outlet, delivery service or local campaign may serve only part of it. Define the catchment, eligible customers and buying unit before attaching a spending assumption.
A state’s 2026 projection does not provide a verified current projection for this city. Updating the city count requires a documented city-specific method or an applicable official release. Our calculator keeps the Census 2011 label when you select this city.
A resident population count does not measure the number of visitors, daily commuters or people present in a neighbourhood on a given day. Tourist visits can repeat, while migration statistics depend on a usual-residence definition and a reference period.
For Chennai, begin with the geographic unit printed in the source. A statistic for the surrounding district, a metropolitan planning region or the whole state cannot be substituted without an explicit boundary comparison.
Census 2011 A-04(I), sheet 'CLASS I', source rank 4; main-unit heading row 1520; 2011 row 1531, G1531 (Persons), J1531 (Males), K1531 (Females).. Source checked 11 October 2026. PopulationIndia independently presents the original government figure, with its geography and year.