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State · population & research profile

Kerala population.
2026 projection and research context.

A dated population baseline for researchers, market planners and curious readers, with links to the original evidence.

Government projection · 1 March 20263.62 crore3,62,07,000 projected peopleOfficial Table 8 · published July 2020 ↗
Geography note. State geography used by the July 2020 projection report.

Newer evidence about daily life and work

These survey indicators describe different groups. A household percentage and a percentage of women aged 15+ cannot be combined as if they measured the same population.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Measure and population groupEstimatePeriod and source
Household internet access by state and union territoryAll households represented by CMS Telecom 202591.7%January–March 2025; access at survey date
Source table ↗ RSE: 1.12% of the estimated rate.
Personal mobile ownership among women aged 15+ by state and union territoryWomen aged 15 and above represented by CMS Telecom 202585.3%January–March 2025; ownership at survey date
Source table ↗
Female labour force participation in 22 selected states and UTsFemale population aged 15+, represented by PLFS; preceding-seven-day status35.1%April–June 2026; Current Weekly Status
Source table ↗ RSE: 2.96% of the estimated rate.

CMS Telecom was designed for national estimates; published state/UT estimates need care with sample sizes and uncertainty. RSE is relative standard error, not a percentage-point confidence interval. The PLFS quarter publishes only a selected-state table; absent places are not imputed.

Population projection by sex

ReferencePeopleMalesFemales
1 March 2026 · government projection3,62,07,0001,73,95,0001,88,12,000

Official Table 8 · Table 8, Kerala, 2026 row, Persons/Male/Female; printed page 50 / PDF page 56. Values retain the source’s rounding.

Reading this population figure

Kerala has a projected population of 3,62,07,000 for 1 March 2026 in the government’s 2011–2036 series. This is a modelled figure published in July 2020, not a new enumeration or a live count.

Its projection ranks 15 among the 36 current state/UT units in this collection. Its share of the published national projection is 2.54%, calculated from the source values.

The 2026 projection shows 18,812,000 females and 17,395,000 males in Kerala. These are the report’s projected sex-specific population columns; they are different measures from a fertility rate or a sex ratio at birth.

Aadhaar coverage · 30 June 2026

105.02% reported penetration; 3,80,24,123 estimated living holders. UIDAI uses recorded addresses and an estimated-deaths adjustment, with its own projection denominator.

Read the Aadhaar table and definitions

Using it to size a market

Define the people or households relevant to the product before estimating demand. A population total does not establish category adoption, purchasing power or the area that a business can actually serve.

For Kerala, keep the projection’s date in your working sheet, document the eligible share and spending assumptions, and test how the answer changes. For a local outlet, define a city, district or travel-time catchment instead of using the whole state or union territory.

Start a scenario for Kerala

The Census 2011 reference

The historical Kerala profile records 3,34,06,061 people in Census 2011. Read it on its original boundaries; do not assume the old and new geographic units are identical.

Open the detailed Census 2011 profile

Migration, visitors and household context

Resident population, migrants, commuters and tourist visits describe different populations or activities. Use migration evidence to examine usual residence; use tourism releases for visits. Neither should simply be added to this projected population.