Demographics of Kerala
Rank UA Population ( 2011 ) Population ( 2001 ) District
1 Kochi 2,117,990 1,355,972 Ernakulam
2 Kozhikode 2,030,519 715,681 Kozhikode
3 Thrissur 1,854,783 103,122 Thrissur
4 Malappuram 1,698,645 170,409 Malappuram
5 Thiruvananthapuram 1,679,754 1,089,635 Thiruvananthapuram
6 Kannur 1,642,892 498,207 Kannur
7 Kollam 1,110,005 380,091 Kollam
8 Cherthala 455,408 141,558 Alappuzha
9 Kayamkulam 427,091 68,585 Alappuzha
10 Kottayam 357,533 172,878 Kottayam
11 Palakkad 293,566 283,369 Palakkad
12 Alappuzha 241,072 282,675 Alappuzha
13 Ottappalam 238,238 49,242 Palakkad
14 Kanhangad 229,706 129,367 Kasaragod
15 Kasaragod 192,761 75,968 Kasaragod
16 Changanassery 127,971 51,967 Kottayam
17 Chalakkudy 114,901 48,380 Thrissur
18 Kothamangalam 114,574 37,173 Ernakulam
Lists -- Most populous urban agglomerations
Kerala is a state in south-western India. Most of Kerala's 33.3 million people (in 2011) are on of Malayali (Malayalam language speaking) ethnicity. Most of the Malayalam and English speaking Keralites derive their ancestry from Dravidian communities that settled in Kerala. Additional ancestries derive from several centuries of contact with non-Indian lands, whereby people of Arab, Jewish, and other ethnicities settled in Kerala. Many of these immigrants intermarried with native Malayalam speakers resulting in formation of many Christians and Muslims in Kerala. A tiny number of Muslims thus take lineage from Arab settlers mixed with local population. Malayalam is Kerala's official language and is spoken by at least 96% of the people of Kerala; the next most common languages are English and Tamil, spoken mainly by migrant workers from North and eastern parts of India and also from the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. Tulu and Kannada is spoken in most parts of the northern district of Kasaragod, adjoining Karnataka. In addition, Kerala is home to 321,000 indigenous tribal Adivasis (1.10% of the populace). Some 63% of tribals reside in the eastern districts of Wayanad (where 35.82% are tribals), Palakkad (1.02%), and Idukki (15.66%). These groups, including the Irulars, Kurumbars, and Mudugars, speak their own native languages. Cholanaikkan tribe in the Silent Valley National Park were contacted only in the 1970s and they are the most isolated tribe in the state.