The population of Vellore stood at 39,28,106 in 2011 (5.45 per cent of the State population and third in State ranking), according to the provisional census data released by the Government of India recently.
The district had a population of 34,77,317 in 2001, holding the second position of 5.57 per cent to the State population and there is an increase of around 4.5 lakh persons (11 per cent as against the State average of 15 per cent) between 2001-2011. This indicates that the population growth has been slow in the district as compared to the population growth in the State. But in terms of population density (persons per square km) which has increased from 572 in 2001 to 646 in 2011, it continues to hold the 11th position in the State ranking.
While the rural population here has increased by 2.98 per cent during this period, the urban population has increased by a whopping 29.52 per cent to 16,94,057, out of the total population of the district, according to the 2011 census data. A total of 19 lakh males(11 lakh in rural areas and 8 lakh in urban areas) and 19,68,430 women (11 lakh in rural and 8.5 lakh in urban) have been added in the past 10 years. The percentage of decadal growth among women is 13 per cent (3 from rural and 30 in urban areas), one per cent more than their male counterparts.
The urbanisation boom is evident from the fact that total population by residence is conspicuously more in urban areas as the urban population has increased by around 6 per cent (37 per cent in 2001 to 43 in 2011) while the rural population has declined from 62 per cent in 2001 to 56 per cent in 2011. The sex ratio (Number of females per 1,000 males) which was around 994 in rural areas and 1,003 in urban in 2001 has increased to 998 in rural and 1,013 in urban areas in 2011.
The distribution of children in the age group of 0-6 appears to be more in rural pockets as the district houses around 4.06 lakh kids comprising 2.09 lakh males and 1.97 lakh females. As many as 2.3 lakh kids reside in rural areas while 1.72 lakh in urban, registering a decline in the overall decadal growth of 5.89 per cent as compared to the overall population. While there is a 15 per cent decline in child population in rural areas, urban areas have registered a growth of 10 per cent increase.
The literacy rate has increased in Vellore district from 72 per cent in 2001 to 79 per cent in 2011, the female literacy rate witnessing a sharp increase from 56 per cent to 66 per cent in 10 years. The district also houses more literates (persons of 7 years of age and above who can read, write and understand in any language) in rural areas as out of the total of around 28 lakh literates in the district, 15 lakh reside in rural areas while 12 lakh reside in the urban areas.
Out of the 15.2 lakh literate males, 8.3 lakh live in rural areas while 6.8 lakh live in urban areas. Out of the 12.8 lakh females, 6.69 lakh live in rural areas while 6.1 lakh live in urban areas. In terms of administrative units, the district has lost 25 villages to urbanisation as their number has come down from 883 in 2001 to 858 in 2011.