Tiruchirappalli - Demographics

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, the Tiruchirappalli had a population of 752,066 within the corporation limits at a density of 5,127 persons per km2, with 376,125 men (50.01 per cent) and 375,941 women (49.99 per cent). c The urban agglomeration had a population of 866,354. Tiruchirappalli metropolitan area constitutes the fourth largest metropolitan area in Tamil Nadu and the 47th in India. 11.41 per cent of the population was under six years of age. Tiruchirappalli had a literacy rate of 88.71 per cent. The provisional results of the 2011 India census released by the Government of India give the population of Tiruchirappalli metropolitan area as 846,915 and the urban agglomeration as 1,021,717. There are a total of 286 slums in Tiruchirappalli with a population of about 162,000.

The population is predominantly Hindu, and there are sizeable numbers of Christians and Muslims. Sikhs and Jains are also present in smaller numbers. The most widely spoken language is Tamil, though there are also significantly large numbers of people speaking Telugu, Saurashtrian and Kannada The standard dialect of Tamil spoken is the Central Tamil dialect. Saurashtrian is the mother tongue of the Patnūlkarars who migrated from Gujarat in the 16th century AD. There is also a substantial population of Sri Lankan Tamil migrants, most of whom are housed in refugee camps on the outskirts of the city. Roman Catholics in Tiruchirappalli are affiliated to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tiruchirapalli while Protestants are affiliated to the Trichy–Tanjore Diocese of the Church of South India. As a separate division of the Southern Railway is headquartered at Tiruchirappalli city, there is a considerably strong Anglo-Indian population in the city.