At the 2011 Census, Bihar was the third most populous state of India with total population of 104,099,452, nearly 89% of it is rural. It was also India's most densely populated state, with 1,106 persons per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 918 females per 1000 males. [1] Almost 58% of Bihar's population was below 25 years age, which is the highest in India. At 11.3%, Bihar has the second-lowest urbanisation rate in India after Himachal Pradesh. [2]
Most of Bihar's population belongs to a collection of ethnic groups speaking indic languages. It also attracted Punjabi Hindu refugees during the Partition of British India in 1947. [3] Bihar has a total literacy rate of 63.82% (73.39% for males and 53.33% for females), recording a growth of 20% in female literacy over the preceding decade. According to the 2011 census, 82.7% of Bihar's population practised Hinduism, while 16.9% followed Islam. [4] Bihar has highest fertility rate of 3.41 in comparison to the other states of India. [5]
| Population by Age group (2001) [6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Age Group | Total | Male | Female |
| 0–4 | 11006072 | 5623280 | 5382792 |
| 5–9 | 12804302 | 6705263 | 6099039 |
| 10–14 | 11063777 | 5970201 | 5093576 |
| 15–19 | 7190188 | 4028643 | 3161545 |
| 20–24 | 6323193 | 3180063 | 3143130 |
| 25–29 | 5908308 | 2894706 | 3013602 |
| 30–34 | 5549787 | 2713871 | 2835916 |
| 35–39 | 5077935 | 2576089 | 2501846 |
| 40–44 | 4153203 | 2213770 | 1939433 |
| 45–49 | 3461664 | 1778368 | 1683296 |
| 50–54 | 2711041 | 1543620 | 1167421 |
| 55–59 | 2069940 | 990011 | 1079929 |
| 60–64 | 2103909 | 1120743 | 983166 |
| 65–69 | 1354937 | 683656 | 671281 |
| 70–74 | 1029921 | 571438 | 458483 |
| 75–79 | 446860 | 233961 | 212899 |
| 80+ | 565647 | 312207 | 253440 |
| Age not stated | 177825 | 103905 | 73920 |
| All ages | 82998509 | 43243795 | 39754714 |
| Religion | 2001 [7] | 2011 [8] |
|---|---|---|
| Hinduism | 69,076,919 | 86,078,686 |
| Islam | 13,722,048 | 17,557,809 |
| Christianity | 53,137 | 129,247 |
| Buddhism | 18,818 | 25,453 |
| Sikhism | 20,780 | 23,779 |
| Jainism | 16,085 | 18,914 |
| Other | 52,905 | 13,437 |
| Not stated | n/a [lower-alpha 1] | 252,127 |
| Total | 82,998,509 | 104,099,452 |
| Religion | 2001 [7] | 2011 [8] |
|---|---|---|
| Hinduism | 83.22 | 82.69 |
| Islam | 16.53 | 16.87 |
| Christianity | 0.06 | 0.12 |
| Buddhism | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Sikhism | 0.03 | 0.02 |
| Jainism | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Other | 0.06 | 0.01 |
| Not stated | n/a [lower-alpha 2] | 0.24 |
As per recently released Bihar caste-based survey 2022, Hinduism is practised by 81.99% and Islam is followed by 17.70%. [9]
As per Bihar government’s Bihar caste-based survey 2022 report, released on 2 October 2023, showed that extremely backward classes (EBCs) account for 36.01 percent of the 13.07 crore population of the state. [10] [11] OBCs (BCs and
EBCs toget)her account for 63% of total population of Bihar. [12] [13]
| Caste Groups of Bihar [14] [15] | |
|---|---|
| Caste Groups | Population [16] (%) |
| BC (OBC - EBC) | 27.12% |
| EBC (OBC - BC) | 36.01% |
| Scheduled Castes(SCs) | 19.65% |
| Forward caste (EWS) | 15.52% |
| Adivasis(STs) | 1.68% |
| Caste | Population | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Yadav | 18,650,119 | 14.2666% |
| Kushwaha (Koeri) | 5,506,113 | 4.212% |
| Brahmin | 4,781,280 | 3.6575% |
| Kurmi | 3,762,969 | 2.8785% |
| Teli | 3,677,491 | 2.8131% |
| Mallah (Nishad) | 3,410,093 | 2.6086% |
| chandravanshi | 2,155,644 | 1.649% |
| Nonia | 2,498,474 | 1.9112% |
| Bind | 1,285,358 | 0.9833% |
| Kanu | 2,892,761 | 2.2129% |
| Bania | 3,026,912 | 2.3155% |
| Bhumihar | 3,750,886 | 2.8693% |
| Rajput | 4,510,733 | 3.4505% |
| Dushadh | 6,943,000 | 5.3111% |
| Musahar | 4,035,787 | 3.0872% |
| Kayastha | 785,771 | 0.6011% |
| Ravidas | 6,869,664 | 5.255% |
Hindi and Urdu are the official languages of the state, whilst the majority of the people speak one of the Bihari languages – Bhojpuri, Magadhi, Maithili or Angika. Maithili is also one of the recognised regional languages of India as per the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India. Proponents have called Bhojpuri, Magahi, Bajjika and Angika to receive the same status. [31] [32] [33]
| Level | Persons | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|
| Literate without educational | 1,715,049 | 1,109,731 | 605,318 |
| Below Primary | 7,890,329 | 4,754,137 | 3,136,192 |
| Primary | 8,334,709 | 5,130,917 | 3,203,792 |
| Middle | 4,390,226 | 3,012,151 | 1,378,075 |
| Secondary | 4,751,560 | 3,439,918 | 1,311,642 |
| Higher Secondary | 1,826,093 | 1,385,282 | 440,811 |
| Technical Diploma | 24,989 | 20,088 | 4,901 |
| Non-technical Diploma | 48,532 | 40,458 | 8,074 |
| Graduate & above | 2,109,415 | 1,737,651 | 371,764 |
| Unclassified | 18,675 | 14,043 | 4,632 |
Bihar has a total literacy rate of 69.83%. Overall Male and Female literacy rate is 70.32% and 53.57% respectively. [35] Total Rural literacy rate is 43.9%. In rural areas of Bihar, Male and Female literacy rate is 57.1 and 29.6 respectively. Total Urban literacy rate is 71.9. In urban areas of Bihar, Male and Female literacy rate is 79.9 and 62.6 respectively. . [36] Total number of literates in Bihar is 3,16,75,607 which consists 2,09,78,955 Male and 1,06,96,652 Female. Patna has highest Literacy Rate of 63.82% followed by Rohtas (62.36%) and Munger (60.11%). Kishanganj has lowest Literacy Rate of 31.02% followed by Araria (34.94%) and Katihar (35.29%).
| Districts of Bihar | Total Population 2001 | Male Population 2001 | Female Population 2001 | Growth Rate 1981–91 | Growth Rate 1991-01 | Sex Ratio 1991 | Sex Ratio 2001 | Population density 1991 | Population density 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Champaran | 3,043,044 | 1,600,853 | 1,442,191 | 18.30 | 30.40 | 877 | 901 | 446 | 582 |
| East Champaran | 3,933,636 | 2,072,350 | 1,861,286 | 25.46 | 29.27 | 883 | 898 | 767 | 991 |
| Sheohar | 514,288 | 271,261 | 243,027 | 27.34 | 36.16 | 876 | 896 | 853 | 1,161 |
| Sitamarhi | 2,669,887 | 1,410,149 | 1,259,738 | 23.13 | 32.58 | 884 | 893 | 915 | 1,214 |
| Madhubani | 3,570,651 | 1,837,361 | 1,733,290 | 21.76 | 26.08 | 932 | 943 | 809 | 1,020 |
| Supaul | 1,745,069 | 908,855 | 836,214 | 23.45 | 29.95 | 904 | 920 | 557 | 724 |
| Araria | 2,124,831 | 1,108,924 | 1,015,907 | 26.69 | 31.84 | 907 | 916 | 569 | 751 |
| Kishanganj | 1,294,063 | 666,910 | 627,153 | 22.20 | 31.50 | 933 | 940 | 522 | 687 |
| Purnia | 2,540,788 | 1,325,794 | 1,214,994 | 23.76 | 35.23 | 903 | 916 | 582 | 787 |
| Katihar | 2,389,533 | 1,244,943 | 1,144,590 | 27.77 | 30.91 | 909 | 919 | 597 | 782 |
| Madhepura | 1,524,596 | 796,272 | 728,324 | 22.16 | 29.45 | 885 | 915 | 659 | 853 |
| Saharsa | 1,506,418 | 788,585 | 717,833 | 25.54 | 33.03 | 884 | 910 | 665 | 885 |
| Darbhanga | 3,285,473 | 1,716,640 | 1,568,833 | 25.04 | 30.85 | 911 | 914 | 1,102 | 1,442 |
| Muzaffarpur | 3,743,836 | 1,941,480 | 1,802,356 | 25.30 | 26.74 | 904 | 928 | 931 | 1,180 |
| Gopalganj | 2,149,343 | 1,072,151 | 1,077,192 | 25.12 | 26.11 | 968 | 1,005 | 838 | 1,057 |
| Siwan district | 2,708,840 | 1,332,218 | 1,376,622 | 22.04 | 24.78 | 1,017 | 1,033 | 978 | 1,221 |
| Saran | 3,251,474 | 1,654,428 | 1,597,046 | 23.44 | 26.37 | 963 | 965 | 974 | 1,231 |
| Vaishali | 2,712,389 | 1,412,276 | 1,300,113 | 29.08 | 26.39 | 921 | 921 | 1,054 | 1,332 |
| Samastipur | 3,413,413 | 1,771,249 | 1,642,164 | 28.35 | 25.63 | 926 | 927 | 936 | 1,175 |
| Begusarai | 2,342,989 | 1,226,057 | 1,116,932 | 24.61 | 29.11 | 898 | 911 | 946 | 1,222 |
| Khagaria | 1,276,677 | 675,501 | 601,176 | 28.44 | 29.32 | 868 | 890 | 664 | 859 |
| Bhagalpur | 2,430,331 | 1,294,192 | 1,136,139 | 20.67 | 27.24 | 864 | 878 | 743 | 946 |
| Banka | 1,608,778 | 843,061 | 765,717 | 24.44 | 24.47 | 893 | 908 | 428 | 533 |
| Munger | 1,135,499 | 604,662 | 530,837 | 17.79 | 20.34 | 856 | 878 | 665 | 800 |
| Lakhisarai | 801,173 | 416,727 | 384,446 | 21.08 | 23.94 | 880 | 923 | 526 | 652 |
| Sheikhpura | 525,137 | 273,468 | 251,669 | 19.84 | 24.96 | 896 | 920 | 610 | 762 |
| Nalanda | 2,368,327 | 1,236,467 | 1,131,860 | 21.73 | 18.64 | 898 | 915 | 848 | 1,006 |
| Patna | 4,709,851 | 2,514,949 | 2,194,902 | 19.84 | 30.17 | 867 | 873 | 1,130 | 1,471 |
| Bhojpur | 2,233,415 | 1,175,333 | 1,058,082 | 20.26 | 24.58 | 904 | 900 | 725 | 903 |
| Buxar | 1,403,462 | 738,239 | 665,223 | 18.63 | 29.03 | 884 | 901 | 670 | 864 |
| Kaimur | 1,284,575 | 673,556 | 611,019 | 24.20 | 30.64 | 884 | 907 | 292 | 382 |
| Rohtas | 2,448,762 | 1,282,655 | 1,166,107 | 21.77 | 27.71 | 894 | 909 | 498 | 636 |
| Jehanabad | 1,511,406 | 783,960 | 727,446 | 19.43 | 28.64 | 919 | 928 | 749 | 963 |
| Aurangabad | 2,004,960 | 1,035,757 | 969,203 | 24.49 | 30.19 | 915 | 936 | 466 | 607 |
| Gaya | 3,464,983 | 1,789,231 | 1,675,752 | 23.92 | 30.03 | 922 | 937 | 536 | 696 |
| Nawada | 1,809,425 | 928,638 | 880,787 | 23.70 | 33.08 | 936 | 948 | 545 | 726 |
| Jamui | 1,397,474 | 728,812 | 668,662 | 21.90 | 32.90 | 903 | 917 | 339 | 451 |
As of 2001 [update] , Bihar had 212,015 international migrants [38] and 1,619,031 inter-state migrants. [39]
The Other Backward Class (OBC) is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes that are educationally or socially backward. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with general castes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SCs and STs). The OBCs were found to comprise 52% of the country's population by the Mandal Commission report of 1980 and were determined to be 41% in 2006 when the National Sample Survey Organisation took place. There is substantial debate over the exact number of OBCs in India; it is generally estimated to be sizable, but many believe that it is higher than the figures quoted by either the Mandal Commission or the National Sample Survey.
Bhagalpur district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India. Bhagalpur is the oldest district of Bihar. Bhagalpur city is the administrative headquarters of this district.
Muzaffarpur District is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India. Muzaffarpur district is part of and also the headquarters of Tirhut Division Tirhut is the ancient name of all of northern Bihar.
Lohar is considered to be a caste among Hindus and a clan among Muslims and Sikhs in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, and in Nepal. They form traditionally artisanal castes. Writers of the Raj period often used the term Lohar as a synonym for blacksmith, although there are other traditional smiting communities, such as the Ramgarhia and Sikligar, and numerous non-traditional communities, including the Kayastha, Rajput and Brahmin.
Bihari is a demonym given to the inhabitants of the Indian state of Bihar. Bihari people can be separated into three main Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic groups, Bhojpuris, Maithils and Magadhis. They are also further divided into a variety of hereditary caste groups. In Bihar today, the Bihari identity is seen as secondary to caste/clan, linguistic and religious identity but nonetheless is a subset of the larger Indian identity. Biharis can be found throughout India, and in the neighbouring countries of Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh. During the Partition of India in 1947, many Bihari Muslims migrated to East Bengal. Bihari people are also well represented in the Muhajir people of Pakistan because of Partition.
Reservation is a system of affirmative action in India created during the British rule. It provides historically disadvantaged groups representation in education, employment, government schemes, scholarships and politics. Based on provisions in the Indian Constitution, it allows the Union Government and the States and Territories of India to set reserved quotas or seats, at particular percentage in Education Admissions, Employments, Political Bodies, Promotions, etc., for "socially and educationally backward citizens."
Teli is a caste traditionally occupied in the oil pressing and trade in India, Nepal and Pakistan. Members may be either Hindu or Muslim; Muslim Teli are called Roshandaar or Teli Malik.
Bihari Muslims are adherents of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Biharis. They are geographically native to the region comprising the Bihar state of India, although there are significantly large communities of Bihari Muslims living elsewhere in the subcontinent due to the Partition of British India in 1947, which prompted the community to migrate en masse from Bihar to the dominion of Pakistan.
Forward caste is a term used in India to denote castes which are not listed in SC, ST or OBC reservation lists. They are on average considered ahead of other castes economically and educationally. They account for about 30.8% of the population based on Schedule 10 of available data from the National Sample Survey Organisation 55th (1999–2000) and National Sample Survey Organisation 61st Rounds (2004–05) Round Survey.
The demographics of Uttar Pradesh is a complex topic, which is undergoing dynamic change. Uttar Pradesh is India's most populous state, and the largest subdivision in the world. It has a population of about 199,812,341 as per the 2011 census. If it were a separate country, Uttar Pradesh would be the world's fifth most populous nation, next only to China, India, the United States of America and Indonesia. Uttar Pradesh has a population more than that of Pakistan. There is an average population density of 828 persons per km² i.e. 2,146 per sq mi. The capital of Uttar Pradesh is Lucknow, and Prayagraj serves as the state’s judicial capital. Hindus and Muslims both consider the state as a holy place.
Hinduism is the most followed religion in Bihar, followed by nearly 82.7% of total population as per 2011 Census. Islam is the second-most followed religion which is followed by nearly 16.8% of population. There is also a significant population of Jains and Christians in the state.
Punjab is home to 2.3% of India's population; with a density of 551 persons per km2. According to the provisional results of the 2011 national census, Punjab has a population of 27,743,338, making it the 16th most populated state in India. Of which male and female are 14,639,465 and 13,103,873 respectively. 32% of Punjab's population consists of Dalits. In the state, the rate of population growth is 13.9% (2011), lower than national average. Out of total population, 37.5% people live in urban regions. The total figure of population living in urban areas is 10,399,146 of which 5,545,989 are males and while remaining 4,853,157 are females. The urban population in the last 10 years has increased by 37.5%. According to the 2011 Census of India, Punjab, India has a population of around 27.7 million.
The 2011 census of India or the 15th Indian census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information for National Population Register (NPR) was also collected in the first phase, which will be used to issue a 12-digit unique identification number to all registered Indian residents by Unique Identification Authority of India. The second population enumeration phase was conducted between 9 and 28 February 2011. Census has been conducted in India since 1872 and 2011 marks the first time biometric information was collected. According to the provisional reports released on 31 March 2011, the Indian population increased to 1.21 billion with a decadal growth of 17.70%. Adult literacy rate increased to 74.04% with a decadal growth of 9.21%. The motto of the census was Our Census, Our Future.
The Legislative Assembly election was held over five phases in Bihar through October–November 2015 before the end of the tenure of the prior Legislative Assembly of Bihar on 29 November 2015.
The Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC) was conducted for the 2011 Census of India. The Manmohan Singh government approved the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 to be carried out after discussion in both houses of Parliament in 2010. SECC-2011 was not done under the 1948 Census of India Act and the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India was not entrusted to do the same. The SECC 2011 was conducted in all states and union territories of India and the first findings were revealed on 3 July 2015 by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. SECC 2011 is also the first paperless census in India conducted on hand-held electronic devices by the government in 640 districts. The rural development ministry has taken a decision to use the SECC data in all its programmes such as MGNREGA, National Food Security Act, and the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana. SECC 2011 was the first caste-based census since 1931 Census of India, and it was launched on 29 June 2011 from the Sankhola village of Hazemara block in West Tripura district.
Deo also known as "Dev", is a city council, town and a notified area in Deo, Block of Aurangabad district in the Indian state of Bihar. Deo is located 10 km to the southeast of District Administrative Aurangabad Bihar.
The 2021 census of India, or the 16th Indian census, is to be conducted in two phases, a house listing phase and a population enumeration phase. Although initially the house listing was to begin in April 2020 along with the updating of the National Population Register, and the population enumeration on 9 February 2021, they have been effectively postponed to after the 2024 general elections. Initially the house listing was to be conducted between April and September 2020, with population enumeration in February 2021 and a revision round in March 2021. The reference date was to be 1 March 2021 in most of the states and 1 October 2020 for Jammu and Kashmir and some areas of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. On 2 January 2023, Additional Registrar General of India communicated to all the states that the date of freezing of administrative boundaries had been extended till 30 June 2023. The 16th census can only begin three months after the administrative boundaries have been frozen. The completion of the census in its two phases takes at least 11 months, so the possibility of the completion of this decennial census exercise in 2023 or early 2024 is ruled out, as general elections are due in April 2024.
The Turi is a caste found in the state of Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal in India. The traditionally involved in the manufacture of household items of bamboo and farming.
The 2022 Bihar Caste Based Survey was notified by the Government of Bihar on 6 June 2022 by gazette notification after a Supreme Court ruling. The survey was conducted in two phases, house listing and caste and economic enumeration. The data collection for the survey began on 7 January 2023 and the data was released on 2 October 2023. The responsibility to conduct the survey was given to the General Administration Department (GAD) of the Government of Bihar. The government planned to collect the data digitally by mobile application named Bijaga- Bihar Jaati Adharit Ganana. BELTRON, a Government of Bihar agency provided IT support, hired the services of a Maharashtra-based private firm Trigyn Technologies to develop the mobile app.
Reservation policy in Bihar is a system of affirmative action that provides historically disadvantaged groups representation in education and employment. Reservations in the state rose from 60 percent in 2021 to 75 percent in 2023.
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