Meghalaya Population 2025
Meghalaya is one of the seven north-eastern state of India, It borders Assam to the north and east, bounded by Bangladesh to the south and west. Meghalaya population in 2025 is estimated to be 3.36 million (33.6 Lakhs), By May 2023 Meghalaya population is projected to be 33.49 Lakhs as per Unique Identification Aadhar India, updated 31, May 2023. As per NFHS 2019-2021 report, Total Fertility Rate of Meghalaya State is 2.9 children per women compared to 3 in 2016. The name Meghalaya, 'Megha' means clouds, 'laya' means region, about 70% of the state is forest region and wettest region of India, The state of is mountainous, with valleys and highland plateaus. Meghalaya was formed in 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of Assam, Khasi Hills and Garo Hills are high elevated districts of Meghalaya. The state Meghalaya had its first Census outside Assam in 1971. The people from Khasi districts are mostly tribals, Khasi group, and the Garo districts are Garo groups. Out of total population of Meghalaya, 20.07% people live in urban regions. It covers an area of 22,429 sq.km.
Image Source: Meghalaya population at Ka Shad Sukh Mynsiem festival in Shillong
Census year | Persons | Absolute | Percentage | Males | Females |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1901 | 340,524 | - | - | 167,256 | 173,268 |
1911 | 394,005 | 53,481 | 15.71 | 195,706 | 198,299 |
1921 | 422,403 | 28,398 | 7.21 | 211,216 | 211,187 |
1931 | 480,837 | 58,434 | 13.83 | 243,993 | 236,844 |
1941 | 555,820 | 74,983 | 15.59 | 282,666 | 273,154 |
1951 | 605,674 | 49,854 | 8.97 | 310,706 | 294,968 |
1961 | 769,380 | 163,706 | 27.03 | 397,288 | 372,092 |
1971 | 1,011,699 | 242,319 | 31.5 | 520,967 | 490,732 |
1981 | 1,335,819 | 324,120 | 32.04 | 683,710 | 652,109 |
1991 | 1,774,778 | 438,959 | 32.86 | 907,687 | 867,091 |
2001 | 2,318,822 | 544,044 | 30.65 | 1,176,087 | 1,142,735 |
2011 | 2,966,889 | 648,067 | 27.95 | 1,491,832 | 1,475,057 |
Population Pyramid
Meghalaya Population by Religion
Christianity is most popular religion in Meghalaya with 74.59% of state total population, followed by Hinduism is second popular religion in with 11.53%, Muslim is followed by 4.40%, Jainism by 0.02%, Buddhism by 0.33% and Sikhism by 0.10%. As per census, the total muslim population of Meghalaya is 130,399 after Christianity with 2.2 million and Hindu population of 342,078.
Religion | Persons | Percentage | Males | Females |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hindu | 342,078 | 11.53 | 183,622 | 158,456 |
Muslim | 130,399 | 4.40 | 67,827 | 62,572 |
Christian | 2,213,027 | 74.59 | 1,100,492 | 1,112,535 |
Sikh | 3,045 | 0.10 | 1,640 | 1,405 |
Buddhist | 9,864 | 0.33 | 5,144 | 4,720 |
Jain | 627 | 0.02 | 342 | 285 |
Others | 258,271 | 8.71 | 127,983 | 130,288 |
Not Stated | 9,578 | 0.32 | 4,782 | 4,796 |
Ethnic groups of Meghalaya
Tribals make up the majority of Meghalaya population. The Khasis are the largest tribal group, followed by the Garos and the Jaintias people. The population of Meghalaya are mostly tribals, the main tribes are the Khasis, the Jaintias and the Garos besides other tribes such as Bodos, Koch and Rabhas. The Khasis and the Jaintias predominantly inhabiting the districts towards eastern part of Meghalaya. The western part of the State, the Garo Hills is inhabited by the Garos. The Garos belong to the Bodo family, The Garos are also called Achiks The Garo, Khasi and Jaintia societies have a matrilineal system.
Languages spoken in Meghalaya
English is the official language of Meghalaya. Tribal language Khasi has 1.4 million speakers and Garo has close to 1 million speakers. 23,199 speak Koch, Rabha with 21,671 speakers and Karbi with 14,380.
Languages | Persons | Percentage | Rural | Urban |
---|---|---|---|---|
Khasi | 1,382,278 | 46.5901 | 1,094,313 | 287,965 |
Garo | 936,496 | 31.5649 | 823,172 | 113,324 |
Bengali | 232,525 | 7.8373 | 171,655 | 60,870 |
Hindi | 62,905 | 2.1202 | 18,465 | 44,440 |
Nepali | 54,716 | 1.8442 | 17,829 | 36,887 |
Assamese | 39,628 | 1.3357 | 28,208 | 11,420 |
Koch | 23,199 | 0.7819 | 22,069 | 1,130 |
Rabha | 21,671 | 0.7304 | 20,503 | 1,168 |
Marathi | 20,751 | 0.6994 | 16,602 | 4,149 |
Karbi | 14,380 | 0.4847 | 14,209 | 171 |
Punjabi | 4,540 | 0.1530 | 660 | 3,880 |
Mizo | 4,455 | 0.1502 | 316 | 4,139 |
Manipuri | 4,451 | 0.1500 | 943 | 3,508 |
Tripuri | 2,735 | 0.0922 | 2,368 | 367 |
Urdu | 2,129 | 0.0718 | 290 | 1,839 |
Lalung | 2,057 | 0.0693 | 2,034 | 23 |
Disability
Meghalaya disable people stastistics as per table below.
Type of disability | Total Persons | Cultivators | Agriculture labor | HHI | Other workers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total disabled population | 16,724 | 7,619 | 2,929 | 516 | 5,660 |
In Seeing | 2,846 | 1,292 | 477 | 48 | 1,029 |
In Hearing | 5,639 | 2,687 | 943 | 138 | 1,871 |
In Speech | 958 | 453 | 176 | 59 | 270 |
In Movement | 1,637 | 635 | 271 | 90 | 641 |
Mental Retardation | 620 | 264 | 145 | 16 | 195 |
Mental Illness | 613 | 264 | 139 | 18 | 192 |
Any Other | 3,598 | 1,666 | 616 | 105 | 1,211 |
Multiple disability | 813 | 358 | 162 | 42 | 251 |
Meghalaya Population projection
Meghalaya population in 2023 is estimated to be 3.35 million, population in 2022 is estimated to be 3.32 Million (33.2 Lakhs), population in 2021 is estimated to be 3.44 Million (34.4 Lakhs), According to UID, population in 2020 is estimated to be 3.4 Million (34 Lakhs).
Income Distribution
Meghalaya's gross state domestic product (GSDP) was US$ 4.20 billion over 2014-15. 81% of the state's population depends on Agriculture, The economy of Meghalaya is basically depends on its rural based with Agriculture playing a major role in the states economy. Meghalaya, one of the most beautiful and picturesque states in the country, has two National Parks and three wildlife sanctuaries. It offers many adventure tourism opportunities like mountaineering, rock climbing, hiking & trekking, water sports. Agriculture, Agro-processing, horticulture, minerals, tourism are the key sectors for economic development.
District wise population in Meghalaya
Meghalaya state is divided into 7 districts. Below is the Meghalaya district wise population as per Census 2011 and 2020 projection. At the time of taking the 1971 census, it was an autonomous Sub State within the State of Assam with two Districts via Garo Hills, Khasi Hills(United) and Jaintia Hills District.
District | Population(2020 est.) | Population(2011) | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
West Garo Hills | 733,352 | 643,291 | 21.68 |
East Garo Hills | 362,425 | 317,917 | 10.72 |
South Garo Hills | 162,261 | 142,334 | 4.80 |
West Khasi Hills | 437,146 | 383,461 | 12.92 |
Ribhoi | 295,078 | 258,840 | 8.72 |
East Khasi Hills | 941,551 | 825,922 | 27.84 |
Jaintia Hills | 450,441 | 395,124 | 13.32 |