Maharashtra - Demographics

Demographics

As per the 2001 census, Maharashtra has a population of 96,752,247 inhabitants making it the second most populous state in India, and the second most populous country subdivision in existence, and third ever after the Russian SFSR of the former Soviet Union. The Marathi-speaking population of Maharashtra numbers 72,481,681 according to the 2011 census. Only eleven countries of the world have a population greater than Maharashtra. Its density is 322.5 inhabitants per square kilometre. Males constitute 50.3 million and females, 46.4 million. Maharashtra's urban population stands at 42.4%. Its sex ratio is 922 females to 1000 males. 77.27% of its population is literate, broken into 86.2% males and 67.5% females. Its growth rate between 1991–2001 was pegged at 22.57%

Marathi is the official state language. In Mumbai and suburban areas, apart from the native Marathi and English, Gujarati is also spoken. In the northwest portion of Maharashtra, a dialect Ahirani is spoken by 2.5 million people. In south Konkan, a dialect known as Malvani is spoken by most of the people. In the Desh (inland) region of the Deccan, a dialect called Deshi is spoken, while in Vidarbha, a dialect known as Varhadi is spoken by most of the people.

The Economic Survey of Maharashtra 2008-09 says the percentage of the state’s population that names Marathi as its mother tongue has declined to 68.8% from 76.5% over the past three decades.

Outlining migratory trends in the state, the survey highlights the sharp rise in the Hindi-speaking population in the same period. The number of people citing Hindi as their mother tongue rose to 11% from 5% in the same period

The total fertility rate in 2001 was 2.23. Hindus - 2.09, Muslims - 4.09, Christians - 1.41, Jains - 1.41, Sikh - 1.57, Buddhist - 2.24, others -2.25, Tribals - 3.14. In this state, 36.7% of children are underweight, 27.0% of the population is undernourished and 4.7% of children who die under the age of 5 die from hunger.