What share of each community lives in towns and cities rather than villages.
vs all communities: +8.8pp higher
Explore the interactive chart, with breakdowns by state →
| Community | Latest value |
|---|---|
| Muslim | 39.9% |
| Hindu | 29.2% |
| Jain | 79.7% |
| Buddhist | 43.0% |
| Christian | 40.1% |
| Sikh | 28.3% |
| Other | 9.3% |
| All communities | 31.1% |
| State / UT | Muslim | Hindu |
|---|---|---|
| Assam | 18.2% | |
| Meghalaya | 44.4% | |
| Bihar | 10.8% | |
| Himachal Pradesh | 9.5% | |
| Tripura | 29.2% | |
| Haryana | 36.3% | |
| West Bengal | 35.8% | |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 29.5% | |
| Jharkhand | 26.4% | |
| Manipur | 45.5% | |
| Uttar Pradesh | 18.4% | |
| Uttarakhand | 27.9% | |
| Odisha | 16.2% | |
| Punjab | 58.8% | |
| Rajasthan | 21.9% | |
| Kerala | 48.5% | |
| Nagaland | 63.6% | |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 40.5% | |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 36.1% | |
| Mizoram | 76.1% | |
| Sikkim | 26.8% | |
| Karnataka | 33.9% | |
| Madhya Pradesh | 24.5% | |
| Andhra Pradesh | 29.4% | |
| Gujarat | 39.5% | |
| Chhattisgarh | 22.1% | |
| Maharashtra | 39.8% | |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 45.4% | |
| Tamil Nadu | 45.3% | |
| Lakshadweep | 81.9% | |
| Puducherry | 66.0% | |
| Goa | 59.1% | |
| Daman & Diu | 73.9% | |
| Chandigarh | 97.3% | |
| NCT of Delhi | 97.2% |
Computed Reproduce this view. This figure is computed from the linked published tables. Source: Census 2011 · C-series · Census 2001 · C-series. Each value is computed from the data file · transform code; every row records its own source and method.
Two in five Muslims, 39.9%, lived in towns and cities in 2011, well above the 31% national average and the 29% for Hindus. Muslims are one of India's most urban communities, a fact that shapes much of the rest of this dashboard, from their better housing amenities to their concentration in urban informal work.
The chart compares how urban each community is across the 2001 and 2011 censuses; this is a descriptive fact, not a good or bad outcome. The By state tab shows how much it varies, from highly urban Muslim populations in the south and west to more rural ones in the east.
Whether a community lives in towns or villages colours almost every other measure: urban families have better access to toilets, water and hospitals, but also face the insecure, informal labour markets and segregated neighbourhoods of the city. Muslim urban concentration is the thread running through both their amenity advantages and their job disadvantages.
Contextgap widening
Muslim 39.9% vs Hindu 29.2% in 2011, 10.7pp higher. Muslims have been markedly more urban than Hindus in every recent census, a structural fact that helps explain the housing-amenity inversion elsewhere on this dashboard.