Demographics
Ahmedabad is the fifth largest city and seventh largest metropolitan area in India. The area under Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation had a population of 3,520,085 according to the 2001 census, and the urban population (including the region governed by AUDA) was 4,525,013. Ahmedabad has a literacy rate of 79.89%, which is the second highest in Gujarat (after Gandhinagar with 87.11%); 87.81% of the men and 71.12% of the women are literate. According to the census for the Ninth Plan, there are 30,737 rural families living in Ahmedabad. Of those, 5.41% (1663 families) live below the poverty line. Approximately 440,000 people live in slums within the city. Ahmedabad is home to a large population of Vanias (i.e., traders), belonging to the Vaishnava sect of Hinduism and various sects of Jainism. Most of the residents of Ahmedabad are native Gujaratis. Over 12% of the population is Muslim, numbering over 600,000 in the 2001 census. In addition, the city is home to some 2000 Parsis and some 125 members of the Bene Israel Jewish community. There is also one synagogue in the city. In 2008, there were 2273 registered non-resident Indians living in Ahmedabad.
In 2010, Forbes magazine rated Ahmedabad as the fastest-growing city in India, and listed it as third fastest-growing in the world after the Chinese cities of Chengdu and Chongqing.
According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report of 2003, Ahmedabad has the lowest crime rate of the 35 Indian cities with a population of more than one million. In December 2011 market research firm IMRB declared Ahmedabad the best mega-city to live in, when compared to India's other mega-cities.
Slightly less than half of all real estate in Ahmedabad is owned by "community organisations" (i.e. cooperatives), and according to Prof. Vrajlal Sapovadia of the B.K. School of Business Management, "the spatial growth of the city is to extent contribution of these organisations". Ahmedabad Cantonment also provides residential zones for Indian Army officials.
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