According to the census 2011, the population of Himachal Pradesh was 68,64,602. It constitutes 0.57% of India’s population and ranks 21st position amongst all states and union territories of the country.
| Category | Population | %age |
| Male | 34,81,873 | 50.67 |
| Female | 33,82,729 | 49.29 |
| Decade growth | – | 12.94 |
| Total fertility rate | – | 1.9 |
Population-
About half of the population was concentrated in district Kangra, Mandi, and Shimla. Kangra district ranks first among the districts and accounts for 22% of the total population of the state.
| Rank in 2011 | District | Population | Population %age |
| 01 | Kangra | 15,10,075 | 21.98 |
| 02 | Mandi | 9,99,777 | 14.58 |
| 03 | Shimla | 8,14,010 | 11.86 |
| 09 | Kullu | 4,37,903 | 6.38 |
| 10 | Bilaspur | 3,81,956 | 5.57 |
| 11 | Kinnaur | 84,121 | 1.23 |
| 12 | Lahaul & Spiti | 31,564 | 0.46 |
Literacy rate
HP literacy rate was 82.8% as per census 2011. The male literacy rate was 89.53% however the female literacy rate was 75.93%. In 2011, the total number of literates in HP stood at 50,39,736 out of which the males were 27,52,590 however the females were 22,87,146.
| District | Rank | Literacy %age |
| Hamirpur | 01 | 88.15 |
| Una | 02 | 86.53 |
| Kangra | 03 | 85.67 |
| Sirmaur | 10 | 78.80 |
| Lahaul & Spiti | 11 | 76.81 |
| Chamba | 12 | 72.17 |
Sex Ratio-
- In HP, the sex ratio as per census 2011 is 972 females out of 1000 males.
- In HP, the child sex ratio (0-6 yrs) as per census 2011 is 909 females out of 1000 males.
- Child sex ratio is highest in Lahaul Spiti (1013)
- Child sex ratio is lowest in Kinnaur (853)
| RANK in 2011 | DISTRICT | SEX-RATIO |
| 01 | Hamirpur | 1095 |
| 02 | Kangra | 1012 |
| 03 | Mandi | 1007 |
| 10 | Sirmaur | 918 |
| 11 | Solan | 880 |
| 12 | Kinnaur | 819 |
Population Density-
- The density of population reflects the ratio between population and land. The population density in the state 123 persons per km2 in 2011 census against 109 persons per km2 in 2011 census.
| RANK in 2011 | District | Population Density |
| 01 | Hamirpur | 407 |
| 02 | Una | 338 |
| 03 | Bilaspur | 327 |
| 10 | Kullu | 80 |
| 11 | Kinnaur | 13 |
| 12 | Lahaul & Spiti | 02 |
Religion-
- Hindus constitute the majority in the state with nearly 58 lakh Hindus.
- Kangra has the maximum number of Hindus followed by Mandi and Shimla.
- Una district has the highest Sikh community
- Lahaul & Spiti has the highest Buddhist population.
| RANK | RELIGION | POPULATION |
| 01 | Hindus | 59,01,460 |
| 02 | Muslims | 1,20,431 |
| 03 | Buddhists | 80,476 |
| 04 | Sikhs | 74,563 |
S.C and S.T Population-
- The Scheduled caste population in the state is around 24.91% of the total population as per census 2011.
- The Scheduled Tribe population of the HP are concentrated in the district of Kinnaur, Lahaul & Spiti and part of Chamba which is 5.71% of the population.
- Almost 60% of the state-tribal population falls under the tribal sub-plan.
Urban and Rural Population-
- There are 61 urban local bodies viz. 5 municipal cooperations at Shimla, Solan, Mandi, Palampur, Dharamshala, and 7 cantonment boards in HP.
- HP is the only state in the country where 89.96% of the population lives in rural areas while 10.04% population lives in urban areas as per census 2011.
- The largest urban population lives in the Shimla district.
- The main source of income in the state comes from agriculture.
- Agriculture/horticulture provides direct employment to about 70% of the total workers of the state.
Sectoral distribution of Gross State Domestic Product-
- Sectoral composition of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) gives an idea of the relative position of the sectors in the economy over a period of time, which not only indicates structural changes taking place in the country but also facilitates the formulation of plans for overall economic development.
- Average annual growth rate was +4.9% during the period of 2019-20, it is expected annual growth rate will be -6.2% during the period of 2020-21.
Sectoral distribution-
- The economy is classified into three board sectors.
Primary sector–
- Primary sector comprises of agriculture, horticulture, livestock, forestry & logging, fishing, mining and quarrying sub-sectors.
- Primary sector has registered a positive growth of 18.3% in 2019-20 at constant prices with a gross value added (GVA) .
- Primary sector has contributed 14.5% to state GDP.
- Agriculture & allied sectors as a key sector, supporting about 60% of the population.
- The livestock sector has emerged as an alternative and dependable source of income generation as production of milk increased by 4.86%.
| Sr.no | Sector | Growth rate (2019-20) |
| 01 | Agriculture & allied | 18.3% |
| 02 | Forestry & logging | 10.6% |
| 03 | Mining & Quarrying | 4.3% |
| 04 | Fishing | 4.7% |
- The highest fall under primary sectors is Mining & Quarrying (-18.4) due to the nationwide lockdown for Corona-19 outbreak.
Secondary sector-
- Secondary sector comprises manufacturing, electricity, gas & water supply and construction.
- Secondary sector has registered growth rate of 0.1% in 2019-20 at constant prices with a gross value added (GVA).
- Secondary sector has contributed 41.9% to state GDP.
| Sr.no | Sector | Growth rate(2019-20) |
| 01 | Manufacturing | 0.3% |
| 02 | Construction | 3.1% |
| 03 | Electricity & gas & water supply | -4.6% |
- The unavailability of manpower due to lockdown is the main reason for fall in the growth rate of manufacturing and construction in the state.
Tertiary sector-
- It comprises trade, hotels, restaurants, transport, storage, communication, banking, insurances, real estate, social & personal services.
- Tertiary sector has registered growth rate of 7.7% in 2019-20 at constant prices with a gross value added (GVA).
- Tertiary sector has contributed 43.4% to state GDP.
| Sr.no | Sector | Growth rate(2019-20) |
| 01 | Public administration | 12.6% |
| 02 | Trade & Hotel | 4.6% |
| 03 | Transport & communication | 4.5% |
| 04 | Financial services | 1.1% |
| 05 | Real estate & Professional services | 2.9% |
| 06 | Other services | 17.6% |
- Transportation by other means has the highest fall of (-)28% due to covid-19 outrage.
Public Finance-
- Financial resources through direct and indirect taxes, non-tax revenue, share of central taxes and grant-in-aid from central govt to meet the expenditure on administration and development activities.
- According to budget estimates of 2020-21 the tax revenue (including central taxes) was estimated at 15,356 crore as against 12,682 crore in 2019-20.
- Non-tax revenue consists mainly of interest receipts on loans, dividends and profits from public sector undertaking and receipts from services provided by the govt.
- The non-tax revenue is likely to increase to Rs 2410 crore in 2021-21 as against Rs 2,372 crore in 2019-20 .
Read also:
- Hazard Vulnerability and Risk Profile of Himachal Pradesh – HPAS Mains
- Caste system in Himachal Pradesh
- Schedule Tribe Population in Himachal Pradesh
- Ancient and Modern Tribes of Himachal Pradesh
- Agro Climate Zones of Himachal Pradesh
- Types of Soils found in Himachal Pradesh
- Himachal Pradesh State Forest Report 2019