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Demographics :
Residents of Kolkata are called Calcuttans. As of 2001, Kolkata city had a population of 4,580,544, while the urban agglomeration had a population of 13,216,546. The sex ratio is 928 females per 1000 males – which is lower than the national average, because many working males come from rural areas, where they leave behind their families. Kolkata's literacy rate of 81% exceeds the all-India average of 80%. Kolkata Municipal Corporation area has registered a growth rate of 4.1%, which is the lowest among the million-plus cities in India.
Bengalis comprise the majority of Kolkata's population (55%), with Marwaris and Bihari communities forming a large portion of the minorities (20%). Some of Kolkata's minor communities include Chinese, Tamils, Nepalis, Telugus, Assamese, Gujaratis, Anglo-Indians, Armenians, Tibetans, Maharashtrians, Punjabis and Parsis. Major languages spoken in Kolkata are Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, English, Oriya, and Bhojpuri.
According to the census, 80% of the population in Kolkata is Hindu, 18% Muslim, 1% Christian and 1% Jains. Other minorities such as Sikhs, Buddhist, Jews and Zoroastrian constitute the rest of the city's population. 1.5 million people, who constitute about a third of the city's population, live in 2,011 registered and 3,500 unregistered (occupied by squatters) slums.
Kolkata reported 67.6% of total Special and Local Laws (SLL) crimes registered in 35 Indian mega cities in 2004. Kolkata police district registered 10,757 IPC cases in 2004, which was 10th highest in the country. The crime rate in the city was 71 per 100,000 against the national rate of 167.7 in 2006, which is the lowest among all the mega cities in India.[84] Kolkata's Sonagachi area, with more than 10,000 sex workers is one of Asia's largest red-light districts. |
