The Indian state of Tamil Nadu is divided into 38 districts. Districts are the major administrative divisions of a state and are further sub-divided into smaller taluks.

Quick Facts Districts of Tamil Nadu, Category ...
Districts of Tamil Nadu
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Districts of Tamil Nadu
CategoryDistricts
LocationTamil Nadu
Number38 districts
PopulationsPerambalur – 565,223 (lowest); Chennai – 7,139,630 (highest)
AreasChennai – 426 km2 (164 sq mi) (smallest); Dindigul – 6,266.64 km2 (2,419.56 sq mi) (largest)
Government
Subdivisions
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During the British Raj, 12 districts of the erstwhile Madras Presidency had their boundaries within the present-day Tamil Nadu. Post the Indian Independence in 1947 and the political integration, the Madras Province inherited parts of the earlier Madras Presidency. Following the adoption of the Constitution of India in 1950, the Madras State was formed, which was further reorganized in 1953 and 1956. After the reorganization of Indian states in 1956, the state had 13 re-organized districts, which were further divided later over the years.

Between 1960 and 1980, three additional districts were formed. In the late eighties, five more districts were bifurcated from existing districts. Ten more districts were formed in the nineties, taking the total count to 30. Three new districts were bifurcated in the 2000s. In 2019–20, five more districts were formed for a total of 38 districts.

History

Summarize

Before 1947

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Districts of Madras in 1956 with 2009 boundaries in gray

During the British Raj, the Madras Presidency was made up of 26 districts, 12 of which were part of the boundaries of the present-day Tamil Nadu, namely, Chingleput, Coimbatore, Nilgiris, North Arcot, Madras, Madura, Ramnad, Salem, South Arcot, Tanjore, Tinnevely, and Trichinopoly.[1]

1947–56

After the Indian Independence on 15 August 1947, the Madras Presidency became the Madras Province of the Dominion of India. The princely state of Pudukottai acceded to the Indian Union on 4 March 1948 and was made as a part of the Trichinopoly district.[2] When the new Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950, the Madras Province became the Madras State of the Republic of India.[3] The Madras State included most of the present-day Tamil Nadu, Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of the present-day Andhra Pradesh, the Malabar region of the present-day Kerala, Bellary and South Canara districts of the present-day Karnataka.[4] The Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions were separated to form the new Andhra State in 1953.[5]

As a result of the re-organization of states in 1956, South Canara and Bellary districts were merged with Mysore State, which became Karnataka and the Malabar district was added to the State of Travancore-Cochin to form Kerala. The Tamil speaking regions of Kanyakumari, which were earlier part of Travancore-Cochin, were merged to the Madras State.[6] After the reorganisation, the Madras state had 13 districts namely: Chingleput, Coimbatore, Kanyakumari, Madras, Madurai, Nilgiris, North Arcot, Ramanathapuram, Salem, South Arcot, Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli and Tirunelveli.[7]

1957–89

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Animation showing the division of districts in Tamil Nadu from 1956 to 2009.

1990–99

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The 32 districts of the state in 2011.

2000–present

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Map showing the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu

List of districts

Active districts

More information No., District ...
No. District Code Headquarters Estd. Predecessor Area (km2)[35] Population[35] Pop.
density
(/km2)
Divisions[36] Taluks[36] Assembly constituencies Lok sabha constituencies Map
1 Ariyalur ARI Ariyalur 23 November 2007 Perambalur 2,027.6 754,894 372 Thumb
2 Chengalpattu CHG Chengalpattu 29 November 2019 Kanchipuram 2,802.6 2,556,244 912 Thumb
3 Chennai
(formerly Madras)
CHN Chennai 1 November 1956 None 462.3 6,748,026 10,052
  • Chennai Central
  • Chennai North
  • Chennai South
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4 Coimbatore COI Coimbatore 1 November 1956 None 4,950.7 3,458,045 699
  • Coimbatore North
  • Coimbatore South
  • Pollachi
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5 Cuddalore CUD Cuddalore 30 September 1993 South Arcot District 3,870 2,605,914 673 Thumb
6 Dharmapuri DHA Dharmapuri 2 October 1965 Salem 4,735.7 1,506,843 318 Thumb
7 Dindigul DIN Dindigul 15 September 1985 Madurai 6,289.1 2,159,775 343 Thumb
8 Erode ERO Erode 31 August 1979 Coimbatore 6,036 2,251,744 373 Thumb
9 Kallakurichi KAL Kallakurichi 26 November 2019 Viluppuram 3,440.8 1,370,281 398 Thumb
10 Kancheepuram KAC Kancheepuram 1 July 1997 Chingleput 1,800.2 1,166,401 648 Thumb
11 Kanyakumari KAY Nagercoil 1 November 1956 None 1,729.2 1,870,374 1,082 Thumb
12 Karur KAR Karur 30 September 1995 Tiruchirappalli 3,022.3 1,064,493 352 Thumb
13 Krishnagiri KRI Krishnagiri 9 February 2004 Dharmapuri 5,414.4 1,883,731 348 Thumb
14 Madurai MAD Madurai 1 November 1956 None 3,846.4 3,038,252 790 Thumb
15 Mayiladuthurai MAY Mayiladuthurai 28 December 2020 Nagapattinam 1,237.1 918,356 742 Thumb
16 Nagapattinam NAG Nagapattinam 18 October 1991 Thanjavur 1,459 697,069 478 Thumb
17 Namakkal NAM Namakkal 1 January 1997 Salem 3,573.4 1,726,601 483 Thumb
18 Nilgiris NIL Ooty 1 November 1956 None 2,452.5 735,394 300 Thumb
19 Perambalur PER Perambalur 30 September 1995 Tiruchirappalli 1,836.6 565,223 308 Thumb
20 Pudukkottai PUD Pudukkottai 14 January 1974 Thanjavur and Tiruchirappalli 4,847.8 1,618,345 334 Thumb
21 Ramanathapuram RAM Ramanathapuram 1 November 1956 None 4,243.1 1,353,445 319 Thumb
22 Ranipet RAN Ranipet 28 November 2019 Vellore 2,234.3 1,210,277 542 Thumb
23 Salem SAL Salem 1 November 1956 None 5,245 3,482,056 669 Thumb
24 Sivaganga SIV Sivaganga 15 March 1985 Ramanathapuram 4,086 1,339,101 328 Thumb
25 Tenkasi TEN Tenkasi 22 November 2019 Tirunelveli 2,916.1 1,407,627 483 Thumb
26 Thanjavur THA Thanjavur 1 November 1956 None 3,396.6 2,405,890 708 Thumb
27 Theni THE Theni 25 July 1996 Madurai 3,066 1,245,899 406 Thumb
28 Thoothukudi THO Thoothukudi 20 October 1986 Tirunelveli 4,621 1,750,176 379 Thumb
29 Tiruchirappalli TIC Tiruchirappalli 1 November 1956 None 4,407 2,722,290 618 Thumb
30 Tirunelveli TIN Tirunelveli 1 November 1956 None 3842.4 1,665,253 433 Thumb
31 Tirupathur TIA Tirupattur 28 November 2019 Vellore 1,792.9 1,111,812 620 Thumb
32 Tiruppur TIP Tiruppur 22 February 2009 Coimbatore and Erode 5,186.3 2,479,052 478 Thumb
33 Tiruvallur TAL Tiruvallur 1 July 1997 Chingleput 3,444.2 3,728,104 1,082 Thumb
34 Tiruvannamalai TAN Tiruvannamalai 30 September 1989 North Arcot 6,191 2,464,875 398 Thumb
35 Tiruvarur TAR Thiruvarur 1 January 1997 Nagapattinam and Thanjavur 2,161 1,264,277 585 Thumb
36 Vellore VEL Vellore 30 September 1989 North Arcot 2,222.1 1,614,242 726 Thumb
37 Viluppuram VIL Viluppuram 30 September 1993 South Arcot 3,725.5 2,093,003 562 Thumb
38 Virudhunagar VIR Virudhunagar 15 March 1985 Ramanathapuram 4,288.0 1,942,288 453 Thumb
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Former districts

More information District, Span ...
District Span Successor districts Map
Chingleput 1956–98 Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu and Tiruvallur Thumb
North Arcot 1956–89 Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Ranipet and Tirupattur Thumb
South Arcot 1956–93 Cuddalore, Villupuram and Kallakurichi Thumb
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See also

References

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