India's population up by 181 million in the last 10 years

India's population increased by 181 million in the past decade and now stands at 1.21 billion according to the initial 2011 census report released yesterday.

The provisional population report makes India trail closely behind China's 1.34 billion (est. Dec 2010).

The 623.7 million males and 586.5 million females can easily match the combined population of Bangladesh, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan and the United States, said The Hindu.

India occupies 17.5 percent of the world's population while China occupies 19.4 percent.

In other words, there are 175 Indians for every 1,000 people in the world.

The report said that the growth rate declined. In 2001, the population increased by 21.15 percent whereas in 2011, it grew by only 17.64 percent.

Except for 1911-1921, the 2001-2011 decade is the first time that the population added a lesser number of people, according to Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner of India C. Chandramauli.

The most and least populated states are Uttar Pradesh (199 million) and Lakshadweep (64,429).

Delhi's northeast district has the highest density at 37,346 people per sq km while Dibang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh has the lowest density with just one person per sq km.

In Delhi, the density of population increased from 325 people per sq km in 2001 to 382 in 2011.

The capital Delhi has the highest density at 11,297 people per sq km, followed by Union Territory Chandigarh at 9,252.

There are approximately 914 female for every 1,000 male, which may reflect the preference for boys.

The data showed a literacy rate of 74.04 percent, which has increased from 64.83 percent in 2001.

India surpassed the one billion mark in the year 2000. China crossed the mark in 1980.

After China and India, the next most populated countries are the US (311 million, March 2011 est.), Indonesia (237.5 million, May 2010 est.), Brazil (190.7 million, August 2010 est.), Pakistan (175.6 million, March 2011 est.) and Nigeria (158.3 million, 2010 est.)

The Philippines ranks 12th at 94 million (Mid-2010 est.)

Details of this report here.