Demographic Profile of Bihar
Bihar is an important state in terms of human resources. As per census 2011, Bihar state ranks third in terms of population in India. The birth rate is 27.7 per 1000 persons and death rate is 6.7 per 1000 persons in Bihar. Bihar has around 8.6% of the total population in India.
Population of Bihar
➤ As per census 2011, the total population of Bihar is 10,40,99,452 persons. Out of this, male population is 5,42,78,157 (52.14%) and female population is 4,98,21,295 (47.86%).
➤ The rural population of Bihar is 9,23,41,436 and urban population is 1,17,58,016.
➤ Bihar ranks third in terms of population after Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
➤ The total child population (0-6, years age group) in Bihar is 1,91,33,964 (second in India).
➤ Only two districts of Bihar, namely Patna and East Champaran, have a population more than 50 lakh whereas only three districts of Bihar have a population less than 10 lakh namely, Arwal, Sheohar and Sheikhpura.
Population Growth Rate of Bihar
➤ As per census 2011, the total population growth rate of Bihar is 25.42%.
➤ The pattern of population growth has been changing from the last decades.
➤ It was very slow during the period between 1901 to 1921 but gradually increased during 1921 to 1951.
Three Districts of Bihar with Highest
Population
| Districts | Total Population |
| East Champaran | 50,99,371 |
| Muzaffarpur | 48,01,062 |
| Patna | 58,38,465 |
Three Districts of Bihar with Lowest
Population
| Districts | Total Population |
| Arwal | 7,00,843 |
| Sheikhpura | 6,36,342 |
| Sheohar | 6,56,246 |
Population Density of Bihar
➤ As per census 2011, the total population density of Bihar is 1106 Persons per sq km which is highest in India. The population growth has been increased by 225 from 2001.
➤ In terms of population density, Bihar ranks sixth among all States and Union Territories, while it ranks first among all states of the country.
➤ The population density of Bihar is 1106 Persons per sq km which is 724 Persons per sq km higher than the national average i.e. 382 Persons per sq km.
➤ All the districts of Bihar have higher population density than the national average.
Rural-Urban Population
As per census 2011, the percentage of total rural population is 88.70% and urban population is 11.30%.
Three Districts of Bihar with Highest Population Density
| Districts | Population Density (Persons in per sqkm) |
| Darbhanga | 1728 |
| Patna | 1823 |
| Sheohar | 1880 |
Three Districts of Bihar with Lowest Population Density
| Districts | Population Density (Person in per sqkm) |
| Banka | 674 |
| Jamui | 568 |
| Kaimur | 488 |
Three Districts with Highest Rural Population
| Districts | Rural Population (in %) |
| Banka | 96.50 |
| Madhubani | 96.40 |
| Samastipur | 96.53 |
Three Districts with Lowest Rural Population
| Districts | Rural Population (in %) |
| Bhagalpur | 80.17 |
| Munger | 72.21 |
| Patna | 56.93 |
Three Districts with Highest Urban Population
| Districts | Urban Population |
| Bhagalpur | 6,02,532 |
| Gaya | 5,81,601 |
| Patna | 25,14,590 |
There Districts with Lowest Urban Population
| Districts | Urban Population |
| Arwal | 51,849 |
| Kaimur | 65,571 |
| Sheohar | 28,116 |
Three Districts with Highest Population Growth
| Districts | Population Growth (in %) |
| Araria | 30.25 |
| Kishanganj | 30.40 |
| Madhepura | 31.12 |
Three Districts with Lowest Population Growth
| Districts | Population Growth (in%) |
| Arwal | 18.89 |
| Darbhanga | 19.47 |
| Gopalganj | 19.02 |
Sex-Ratio of Bihar
➤ As per census 2011, the sex ratio of Bihar is 918 females per 1000 males. Bihar ranks 25th in terms of sex-ratio in the country. The child sex-ratio in Bihar is 935.
➤ Four districts of Bihar have higher sex-ratio than the national average i.e. 943 females per 1000 males. These districts are Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran and Kishanganj.
➤ Gopalganj is the only district in Bihar which has positive sex-ratio i.e. 1021 females per 1000 males, where number of females is 21 higher over 1000 males.
➤ Munger district records the lowest sex-ratio in the state i.e. 876 females per 1000 males.
➤ The urban sex-ratio of Bihar is lower at 896 than the rural sex-ratio i.e. 921 females per 1000 males.
Literary Rate of Bihar
As per Census 2011, the literary rate of Bihar is 61.80% (lowest literary rate in the country).The male literacy in the state is 71.2%,whereas female literacy rate is 51.5%.
Three Districts with Highest Literacy Rate
| Districts | Literacy Rate (in %) | Districts | Literacy Rate (in %) |
| Bhojpur | 70.47 | Katihar | 52.24 |
| Rohtas | 73.37 | Purnea | 51.08 |
| Patna | 70.68 | Sitamarhi | 52.05 |
| Three Districts with Highest Male Literacy Rate | Three Districts with Lowest Male Literacy Rate | ||
| Districts | Literacy Rate (in %) | Districts | Literacy Rate (in %) |
| Bhojpur | 81.74 | Katihar | 59.36 |
| Rohtas | 82.88 | Purnea | 59.06 |
| Buxar | 80.72 | Sitamarhi | 60.64 |
Three Districts with Highest Sex-ratio
| Districts | Sex-ratio (females/1000 males) | Districts | Sex-ratio (females/1000 males) |
| Siwan | 988 | Bhagalpur | 880 |
| Saran | 954 | Khagaria | 886 |
| Gopalganj | 1021 | Munger | 876 |
Scheduled Tribe Population
➤ As per census 2011, the percentage of Scheduled Tribe (ST) population in Bihar is 1.3%.
➤ The sex-ratio of Scheduled Tribe (ST) is 958 females per 1000 males and the literacy rate is 28.2%. The highest ST sex-ratio is found in Gopalganj and the lowest ST sex-ratio is in Patna.
Three Districts with Highest ST
Three Districts with Highest SC Population
| Population | Population | |
| Districts | SC Population | Districts Sex-ratio (females/1000 males) |
| Patna | 9,20,918 | Kishanganj 1,13,118 |
| Samastipur | 8,03,128 | Sheikhpura 1,31,115 |
| Gaya | 13,34,351 | Sheohar 96,655 |
Population
| Districts | ST Population | Districts | ST Population |
| Purnea | 1,39,490 | Arwal | 590 |
| West Champaran | 2,50,046 | Nawada | 245 |
| Katihar | 1,79,971 | Sheohar | 318 |
Three Districts with Highest Female
| Districts | Literacy Rate (in %) | Districts | Literacy Rate (in %) |
| Munger | 62.08 | Madhepura | 41.74 |
| Patna | 61.96 | Purnea | 42.34 |
| Rohtas | 62.97 | Saharsa | 41.68 |
Demographic Profile of Bihar Census 2011 (In Brief)
| State Districts | Total Population | Males | Females | Sex Ratio | Population Density | Literacy Rate |
| Araria | 28,11,569 | 14,63,333 | 13,48,236 | 921 | 993 | 53.53 |
| Arwal | 7,00,843 | 3,63,497 | 3,37,346 | 928 | 1,098 | 67.43 |
| Aurangabad | 25,40,073 | 13,18,684 | 12,21,389 | 926 | 769 | 70.32 |
| Banka | 20,34,763 | 10,67,140 | 9,67,623 | 907 | 674 | 58.17 |
| Begusarai | 29,70,541 | 15,67,660 | 14,02,881 | 895 | 1,549 | 63.87 |
| Bhagalpur | 30,37,766 | 16,15,663 | 14,22,103 | 880 | 1,182 | 63.14 |
| Bhojpur | 27,28,407 | 14,30,380 | 12,98,027 | 907 | 1,139 | 70.47 |
| Buxar | 17,06,352 | 8,87,977 | 8,18,375 | 922 | 1,002 | 70.14 |
| Darbhanga | 39,37,385 | 20,59,949 | 18,77,436 | 911 | 1,728 | 56.56 |
| East Champaran | 50,99,371 | 26,81,209 | 24,18,162 | 902 | 1,285 | 55.79 |
| Gaya | 43,91,418 | 22,66,566 | 21,24,852 | 937 | 883 | 63.67 |
| Gopalganj | 25,62,012 | 12,67,666 | 12,94,346 | 1,021 | 1,260 | 65.47 |
| Jamui | 17,60,405 | 9,16,064 | 8,44,341 | 922 | 568 | 59.79 |
| Jehanabad | 11,25,313 | 5,85,582 | 5,39,831 | 922 | 1,209 | 66.80 |
| Kaimur | 16,26,384 | 8,47,006 | 7,79,378 | 920 | 488 | 69.34 |
| Katihar | 30,71,029 | 16,00,430 | 14,70,599 | 919 | 1,005 | 52.24 |
| Khagaria | 16,66,886 | 8,83,786 | 7,83,100 | 886 | 1,122 | 57.92 |
| Kishanganj | 16,90,400 | 8,66,970 | 8,23,430 | 950 | 897 | 55.46 |
| Lakhisarai | 10,00,912 | 5,26,345 | 4,74,567 | 902 | 815 | 62.42 |
| Madhepura | 20,01,762 | 10,47,559 | 9,54,203 | 911 | 1,120 | 52.25 |
| Madhubani | 44,87,379 | 23,29,313 | 21,58,066 | 926 | 1,282 | 58.62 |
| Munger | 13,67,765 | 7,29,041 | 6,38,724 | 876 | 964 | 70.46 |
| Muzaffarpur | 48,01,062 | 25,27,497 | 22,73,565 | 900 | 1,514 | 63.43 |
| Nalanda | 28,77,653 | 14,97,060 | 13,80,593 | 922 | 1,222 | 64.43 |
| Nawada | 22,19,146 | 11,44,668 | 10,74,478 | 939 | 890 | 59.76 |
| Patna | 58,38,465 | 30,78,512 | 27,59,953 | 897 | 1,823 | 70.68 |
| Purnea | 32,64,619 | 16,99,370 | 15,65,249 | 921 | 1,011 | 51.08 |
| Rohtas | 29,59,918 | 15,43,546 | 14,16,372 | 918 | 763 | 73.37 |
| Saharsa | 19,00,661 | 9,97,174 | 9,03,487 | 906 | 1,127 | 53.20 |
| Samastipur | 42,61,566 | 22,30,003 | 20,31,563 | 911 | 1,467 | 61.86 |
| Saran | 39,51,862 | 20,22,821 | 19,29,041 | 954 | 1,496 | 65.96 |
| Sheikhpura | 6,36,342 | 3,29,743 | 3,06,599 | 930 | 924 | 63.86 |
| Sheohar | 6,56,246 | 3,46,673 | 3,09,573 | 893 | 1,880 | 53.78 |
| Sitamarhi | 34,23,574 | 18,03,252 | 16,20,322 | 899 | 1,492 | 52.05 |
| Siwan | 33,30,464 | 16,75,090 | 16,55,374 | 988 | 1,501 | 69.45 |
| Supaul | 22,29,076 | 11,55,283 | 10,73,793 | 929 | 919 | 57.67 |
| Vaishali | 34,95,021 | 18,44,535 | 16,50,486 | 895 | 1,717 | 66.60 |
| West Champaran | 39,35,042 | 20,61,110 | 18,73,932 | 906 | 753 | 55.70 |
| Total | 10,40,99,452 | 5,42,78,157 | 4,98,21,295 | 918 | 1,106 | 61.8 |
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Population in Bihar
Scheduled Caste Population
➤ As per census 2011, the percentage of Scheduled Caste (SC) population in Bihar is
15.91%.
➤ The sex-ratio of Scheduled Caste is 925 females per 1000 males and the literary rate is 28.5%. The highest SC sex-ratio is found in Siwan district and Lowest SC sex-ratio is found in Bhagalpur district.
➤ The highest SC literacy rate in Bihar is found in Munger district, whereas lowest SC literacy rate is in Sheohar district.
