List of million-plus urban agglomerations in India

See also: List of urban agglomerations in India

India is a country in South Asia and is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the most-populous country with more than 1.4 billion people, home to nearly 17.5 percent of the world's population.^[1] India consists of twenty-eight states and eight union territories.^[2]

Census

The first official population census of India was conducted in 1872 and every ten years since 1951 by the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner under the Ministry of Home Affairs.^[3][4] The last official census was conducted in 2011.^[5] The next census due in 2021 was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is scheduled for 2024.^[6]

As per Government of India, an urban agglomeration (U.A.) is a continuous urban spread constituting a town and its adjoining outgrowths (OGs), or two or more physically contiguous towns together with or without outgrowths of such towns. An Urban Agglomeration must consist of at least a statutory town and its total population should not be less than 20,000 as per the 2001 Census. In varying local conditions, there were similar other combinations that have been treated as urban agglomerations satisfying the basic condition of contiguity.^[7]

Following is the list of urban agglomerations in India with a population of more than one million as per the 2011 census. As per the 2011 census, there were 52 (according to provisional census results, 53^[8]) urban agglomerations or cities with population of one million and above.^[9][a][8]

23

7

41

44

39

43

5

50

20

51

4

16

2

42

34

14

49

6

15

37

10

36

45

27

11

17

3

48

52

19

12

28

31

25

33

1

13

29

18

8

47

35

46

38

9

26

21

51

22

32

40

30

24

Urban agglomerations in India with a population of over one million

List of million-plus urban agglomerations/ towns (Don't be confused with towns only)(Census 2011. Don't be confused with provisional census list) ^[9]

Town/UA[b]	Level (2011)	State/UT	Area (km2) (2011)	Pop. (2011)	Area (km2) (2001)	Pop. (2001)	Area (km2) (1991)	Pop. (1991)
Mumbai	U.A.	Maharashtra	1,063.49	18,394,912	1,135.11	16,434,386	1,040.9	12,596,243
Delhi	U.A.	Delhi	1,139.48	16,349,831	912.52	12,895,547	685.34	8,471,625
Kolkata	U.A.	West Bengal	1,056.13	14,057,991	1,046.46	13,251,339	920.65	11,110,314
Chennai	U.A.	Tamil Nadu	932.47	8,653,521	788.69	6,686,140	580.06	5,416,903
Bengaluru	U.A.	Karnataka	748.42	8,520,435	539.85	5,701,446	449.7	4,137,314
Hyderabad	U.A.	Telangana	1,225.59	7,677,018	838.03	5,756,729	838.03	4,344,437
Ahmedabad	U.A.	Gujarat	1,060.95	6,357,693	613.81	4,912,912	425.17	3,631,233
Pune	U.A.	Maharashtra	502.78	5,057,709	675.66	3,768,612	423.42	2,493,987
Surat	U.A.	Gujarat	431.01	4,591,246	289.83	2,820,373	114.07	1,514,545
Jaipur	Town	Rajasthan	484.64	3,046,163	484.64	2,322,575	218.26	1,518,235
Kanpur	U.A.	Uttar Pradesh	301.16	2,920,496	301.02	2,715,555	298.98	2,029,889
Lucknow	U.A.	Uttar Pradesh	393.6	2,902,920	337.5	2,245,509	337.5	1,669,204
Nagpur	U.A.	Maharashtra	229.2	2,497,870	229.2	2,129,500	228.81	1,664,006
Ghaziabad	U.A.	Uttar Pradesh	263.29	2,375,820	161.21	1,217,543	79.89	578,680
Indore	U.A.	Madhya Pradesh	233.6	2,170,295	165.17	1,516,918	165.17	1,109,056
Coimbatore	U.A.	Tamil Nadu	696.25	2,136,916	598.12	1,601,194	317.23	1,100,746
Kochi	U.A.	Kerala	843.84	2,119,724	477.08	1,410,666	426.67	1,242,115
Patna	U.A.	Bihar	142.46	2,049,156	135.19	1,697,976	132.27	1,140,100
Kozhikode	U.A.	Kerala	909.79	2,028,399	334.94	1,101,157	339.67	945,802
Bhopal	U.A.	Madhya Pradesh	336.06	1,886,100	298.48	1,458,416	284.9	1,062,771
Thrissur	U.A.	Kerala	990.91	1,861,269	310.49	773,598	252.65	627,063
Vadodara	U.A.	Gujarat	310.35	1,822,221	213.88	1,491,045	132.54	1,127,903
Agra	U.A.	Uttar Pradesh	166.21	1,760,285	149.37	1,374,493	145.36	961,420
Visakhapatnam	Town	Andhra Pradesh	513.61	1,728,128	325.83	1,345,938	310.97	1,044,119
Malappuram	U.A.	Kerala	819.39	1,699,060	152.67	311,558	137.11	243,427
Thiruvananthapuram	U.A.	Kerala	542.57	1,679,754	256.22	1,050,933	242.07	959,256
Kannur	U.A.	Kerala	1,003.66	1,640,986	638.95	1,212,898	647.14	1,145,476
Ludhiana	Town	Punjab	159.37	1,618,879	159.37	1,398,467	134.67	1,042,740
Nashik	U.A.	Maharashtra	321.98	1,561,809	321.98	1,152,326	321.94	725,341
Vijayawada	U.A.	Andhra Pradesh	283.58	1,476,931	101.2	1,039,518	104.71	845,756
Madurai	U.A.	Tamil Nadu	151.34	1,465,625	143.43	1,220,898	110.21	1,077,158
Varanasi	U.A.	Uttar Pradesh	118.68	1,432,280	114.31	1,216,392	106.82	1,039,939
Meerut	U.A.	Uttar Pradesh	186.61	1,420,902	183.64	1,172,106	177.58	849,799
Faridabad	Town	Haryana	204.00	1,414,050	198.75	1,055,938	178.24	617,717
Rajkot	U.A.	Gujarat	185.38	1,390,640	163.14	1,003,015	69	654,490
Jamshedpur	U.A.	Jharkhand	184.07	1,339,438	159.55	1,104,713	159.55	829,171
Jabalpur	U.A.	Madhya Pradesh	237.16	1,268,848	205.15	1,098,000	224.45	888,916
Srinagar	U.A.	Jammu and Kashmir	304.27	1,264,202	242.6	988,210	NA	NA
Asansol	U.A.	West Bengal	369.34	1,243,414	351.93	1,067,369	280.74	938,067
Vasai-Virar	Town	Maharashtra	319.39	1,222,390	74.55	518,601	50.69	215,762
Allahabad	U.A.	Uttar Pradesh	115.46	1,212,395	85.69	1,042,229	82.18	844,546
Dhanbad	U.A.	Jharkhand	240.66	1,196,214	223.06	1,065,327	207.99	828,301
Aurangabad	U.A.	Maharashtra	148.12	1,193,167	148.12	892,483	148.12	592,709
Amritsar	U.A.	Punjab	136	1,183,549	136	1,003,917	114.95	708,835
Jodhpur	U.A.	Rajasthan	132.97	1,138,300	90.34	860,818	78.6	666,279
Ranchi	U.A.	Jharkhand	197.36	1,126,720	182.09	863,495	182.09	614,795
Raipur	U.A.	Chhattisgarh	192.55	1,123,558	128.05	743,494	64.29	462,694
Kollam	U.A.	Kerala	364.51	1,110,668	78.55	418,743	77.24	365,130
Gwalior	U.A.	Madhya Pradesh	183.71	1,102,884	180.16	865,548	303.18	717,780
Durg-Bhilainagar	U.A.	Chhattisgarh	335.63	1,064,222	340.75	927,864	202.3	705,076
Tiruchirappalli	U.A.	Tamil Nadu	211.51	1,022,518	198.55	887,865	170.57	729,127
Kota	Town	Rajasthan	527.03	1,001,694	225.87	703,150	221.36	537,371

Notes:

• Chandigarh U.A. was included in the list of million plus populous Towns/U.A.s as per provisional census^[8] having 51st rank but in the final population totals, its population fell short of one million ranking 55th after two less than million populous Towns/U.A.s - Mysore U.A., Bareilly U.A.^[9] and as a result of it, the number of million plus populous Towns/U.A.s in India is 52 though as per the provisional census it was 53. As a result, the rank of Tiruchirappalli changed from 52 to 51 and that of Kota 53 to 52.

• Town is written in the "Level" column for an independent town which is not a part of any urban agglomeration (U.A.).

• Bold represents the capital of the respective state or union territory or the capital is part of the respective urban agglomeration - example - Gandhinagar, a state capital is a part of the Ahmedadbad U.A. ^[9]

• The mentioned final figures are slightly different from provisional figures.

Demographia

As per Demographia, an urban built-up area consists of all continuous and non-continuous urban areas within a metropolitan area. As per the 2023 report, there were 65 urban areas with more than one million inhabitants in India.^[11]

Town/UA	State/UT	Pop. (2023)
Delhi	Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh	31,190,000
Mumbai	Maharashtra	25,189,000
Kolkata	West Bengal	21,747,000
Bengaluru	Karnataka	15,257,000
Chennai	Tamil Nadu	11,570,000
Hyderabad	Telangana	9,797,000
Ahmedabad	Gujarat	8,006,000
Pune	Maharashtra	6,819,000
Surat	Gujarat	6,601,000
Lucknow	Uttar Pradesh	4,661,000
Jaipur	Rajasthan	4,360,000
Kanpur	Uttar Pradesh	4,350,000
Indore	Madhya Pradesh	3,765,000
Nagpur	Maharashtra	3,493,000
Patna	Bihar	3,331,000
Varanasi	Uttar Pradesh	3,229,000
Kozhikode	Kerala	3,049,000
Thiruvananthapuram	Kerala	2,851,000
Agra	Uttar Pradesh	2,737,000
Bhopal	Madhya Pradesh	2,562,000
Coimbatore	Tamil Nadu	2,551,000
Prayagraj	Uttar Pradesh	2,438,000
Kochi	Kerala	2,381,000
Ludhiana	Punjab	2,205,000
Vadodara	Gujarat	2,182,000
Chandigarh	Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana	2,168,000
Madurai	Tamil Nadu	2,048,000
Meerut	Uttar Pradesh	2,011,000
Visakhapatnam	Andhra Pradesh	2,005,000
Jamshedpur	Jharkhand	1,925,000
Malappuram	Kerala	1,868,000
Nashik	Maharashtra	1,810,000
Asansol	West Bengal	1,720,000
Aligarh	Uttar Pradesh	1,660,000
Ranchi	Jharkhand	1,638,000
Thrissur	Kerala	1,578,000
Kollam	Kerala	1,576,000
Jabalpur	Madhya Pradesh	1,533,000
Dhanbad	Jharkhand	1,503,000
Jodhpur	Rajasthan	1,497,000
Aurangabad	Maharashtra	1,490,000
Rajkot	Gujarat	1,487,000
Gwalior	Madhya Pradesh	1,477,000
Raipur	Chhattisgarh	1,429,000
Gorakhpur	Uttar Pradesh	1,410,000
Kannur	Kerala	1,360,000
Bareilly	Uttar Pradesh	1,355,000
Guwahati	Assam	1,355,000
Moradabad	Uttar Pradesh	1,345,000
Amritsar	Punjab	1,313,000
Mysore	Karnataka	1,296,000
Durg-Bhilainagar	Chhattisgarh	1,293,000
Vijayawada	Andhra Pradesh	1,232,000
Srinagar	Jammu and Kashmir	1,212,000
Salem	Tamil Nadu	1,189,000
Kota	Rajasthan	1,172,000
Jalandhar	Punjab	1,165,000
Saharanpur	Uttar Pradesh	1,152,000
Dehradun	Uttarakhand	1,136,000
Tiruchirappalli	Tamil Nadu	1,131,000
Bhubaneswar	Odisha	1,112,000
Jammu	Jammu and Kashmir	1,103,000
Solapur	Maharashtra	1,082,000
Hubli-Dharwad	Karnataka	1,062,000
Puducherry	Puducherry	1,024,000

See also

• List of cities in India by population
• List of metropolitan areas in India
• List of states and union territories of India by population
• Demographics of India

Notes

1. The population figures of cities in Kerala are inflated as the definition of urban agglomeration was revised in the 2011 census. The population of urban agglomerations in Kerala is not comparable with other cities in the country.
2. The population figures of cities in Kerala are inflated as the definition of urban agglomeration was revised in the 2011 census. The population of urban agglomerations in Kerala is not comparable with other cities in the country.^[10]

References

1. "World Population Prospects 2022". Population Division. United Nations. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
2. "States and union territories". Census of India. Government of India. Archived from the original on 27 January 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
3. "Census Organisation of India". Government of India. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
4. "Brief history of census". Government of India. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
5. "Census 2011 Provisional Population Totals" (PDF). The Hindu. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2013.
6. Hrishikesh, Sharanya (18 January 2023). "Census in India: Baffling lack of data is hurting Indians". BBC News. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
7. Circular, census catalog (PDF) (Report). Government of India. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
8. Urban Agglomerations and Cities having population 1 lakh and above (PDF). Provisional Population Totals, Census of India 2011 (Report). The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 March 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
9. "A-04 (I): Towns and urban agglomerations classified by population size class in 2011 with variation between 1901 and 2011 - Class I (population of 100,000 and above)". Census of India. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
10. "INDIA STATS : Million plus cities in India as per Census 2011". Press Information Bureau, Mumbai. National Informatics Centre (NIC). Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
11. World Urban Areas 13th Annual Edition (PDF) (Report). Demographia. August 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.

External links

• Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India