Diversity & Identity in West Bengal
Religion, mother tongue, SC/ST and urban/rural composition across West Bengal — Census 2011 at state and district granularity.
West Bengal sits on India’s eastern plurality edge. 27% of the state identifies as Muslim — second-highest share after Jammu & Kashmir among major states, and in absolute numbers the 3rd-largest Muslim population of any Indian state. Bengali is spoken as a mother tongue by 85%, with Santali (Ol Chiki-scripted, 8th Schedule-recognised), Nepali (hills), Urdu (Murshidabad + urban) and Hindi (industrial belt) the largest minorities. SC + ST together are 29% — the Rajbanshi communities of North Bengal and the Santhal-Bhumij belt of the Chhotanagpur fringe. Barring Kolkata (100% urban) and the Asansol-Durgapur coal belt (79%), this is still a 68%-rural state.
Key figures & data tables
At the 2011 Census, West Bengal’s 9.13 crore people were 70.54% Hindu and 27.01% Muslim, against 79.8% and 14.23% for India. That is India’s second-highest Muslim share after Jammu & Kashmir among major states, and in absolute numbers the third-largest Muslim population of any Indian state.
District concentration is sharp: Murshidabad 66.3%, Malda 51.3%, Uttar Dinajpur 49.9%. On the other axis, Darjeeling has the largest Buddhist share at 12.4%, and Jalpaiguri the largest Christian share at 4.5% — the Dooars tea-garden population.
By mother tongue, Bengali 85.27%, Hindi 7.17%, Santali 2.73%, Urdu 1.88%, Nepali 1.3%. Santali is written in Ol Chiki and is recognised under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
Scheduled Castes are 23.51% of the state population (2.15 crore people) and Scheduled Tribes 5.8% (0.53 crore). ST share peaks in Jhargram at 29.4%; SC share peaks in Cooch Behar at 50.1%. The state is 31.89% urban against 31.16% for India, ranging from 100% in Kolkata down to 6.7% in Jhargram.
All percentages are Census 2011 enumeration (1 March 2011). Census 2021 has not been conducted; no alternative dataset carries comparable granularity for district-level religion, mother tongue, SC/ST and urban/rural. Pre-bifurcation 2011 districts are mapped to their present-day daughters (2014 Alipurduar; 2017 Jhargram, Kalimpong, Purba + Paschim Bardhaman).
The rows behind the charts above — 6 tables
›Religious composition of West Bengal vs India (Census 2011)(7 rows)
Census of India 2011, Table C-01: Population by Religious Community — West Bengal. West Bengal has India's 2nd-highest Muslim share (27.01%) after Jammu & Kashmir (68.31%) among major states — and in absolute terms, WB has the 3rd-largest Muslim population in India after Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
| Religion | West Bengal (%) | West Bengal (persons) | India (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hindu | 70.54 | 6,43,85,546 | 79.8 |
| Muslim | 27.01 | 2,46,54,825 | 14.23 |
| Christian | 0.64 | 6,58,618 | 2.3 |
| Sikh | 0.07 | 63,523 | 1.72 |
| Buddhist | 0.3 | 2,82,898 | 0.7 |
| Jain | 0.07 | 60,141 | 0.37 |
| Other / Not stated | 1.37 | 11,70,564 | — |
›Religious composition by West Bengal district (Census 2011)(23 rows)
District figures are pulled from Census 2011 C-01. Pre-bifurcation parents (2011 Bardhaman, Darjeeling, Paschim Medinipur, Jalpaiguri) are mapped to their current daughter districts. Absent the Census 2021, this is the latest authoritative district-level religion dataset for WB.
| District | Hindu (%) | Muslim (%) | Christian (%) | Buddhist (%) | Other (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murshidabad | 33.2 | 66.3 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.4 |
| Malda | 47.9 | 51.3 | 0.2 | 0 | 0.6 |
| Uttar Dinajpur | 49 | 49.9 | 0.6 | 0 | 0.5 |
| Birbhum | 62.9 | 37.1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| South 24 Parganas | 63.2 | 35.6 | 1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Nadia | 72.2 | 26.8 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.5 |
| Howrah | 72.6 | 26.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.7 |
| North 24 Parganas | 73.5 | 25.8 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Cooch Behar | 74.2 | 25.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Dakshin Dinajpur | 71.1 | 24.6 | 2.4 | 0 | 1.9 |
| Paschim Bardhaman | 77.2 | 20.7 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| Purba Bardhaman | 77.2 | 20.7 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| Kolkata | 76.5 | 20.6 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.7 |
| Hooghly | 83.1 | 15.8 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.7 |
| Purba Medinipur | 85.3 | 14.6 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jalpaiguri | 83.5 | 10.9 | 4.5 | 0.8 | 0.3 |
| Paschim Medinipur | 87 | 10.5 | 0.2 | 0 | 2.3 |
| Alipurduar | 80.5 | 9 | 5.8 | 0.7 | 4 |
| Bankura | 92.8 | 8.1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Purulia | 90.3 | 7.8 | 0.6 | 0 | 1.3 |
| Darjeeling | 74.1 | 5.8 | 7.2 | 12.4 | 0.5 |
| Kalimpong | 74.1 | 5.8 | 7.2 | 12.4 | 0.5 |
| Jhargram | 87 | 2.8 | 0.2 | 0 | 10 |
›Mother tongue in West Bengal (Census 2011)(7 rows)
Census of India 2011, Table C-17: Population by Mother Tongue — West Bengal. Bengali is the mother tongue of 85% of West Bengal. Santali, Ol Chiki-scripted and officially recognised under the 8th Schedule of the Constitution (2003), is the largest tribal language in the state.
| Language | Share (%) | Script |
|---|---|---|
| Bengali | 85.27 | Bangla |
| Hindi | 7.17 | Devanagari |
| Santali | 2.73 | Ol Chiki |
| Urdu | 1.88 | Perso-Arabic |
| Nepali | 1.3 | Devanagari |
| Odia | 0.26 | Odia |
| Other | 1.4 | — |
›Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe share by West Bengal district(23 rows)
Census of India 2011, Table A-10 & Primary Census Abstract (PCA-SCST) — West Bengal. ST share is concentrated along the Chhotanagpur plateau fringe (Jhargram, Purulia, Paschim Medinipur, Bankura) and the Dooars belt (Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri). SC share is highest in Rajbanshi-majority North Bengal districts (Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri). Kolkata has the lowest SC+ST share (5.6% combined).
| District | SC (%) | ST (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Jhargram | 18.3 | 29.4 |
| Alipurduar | 30.1 | 22.2 |
| Purulia | 19.4 | 19.4 |
| Dakshin Dinajpur | 28.1 | 16.1 |
| Paschim Medinipur | 18.3 | 15 |
| Darjeeling | 17.2 | 14.2 |
| Kalimpong | 17.2 | 14.2 |
| Bankura | 32.5 | 10.3 |
| Jalpaiguri | 37.2 | 9.8 |
| Malda | 19.2 | 7.8 |
| Birbhum | 29.5 | 7 |
| Paschim Bardhaman | 27.4 | 6.4 |
| Purba Bardhaman | 27.4 | 6.4 |
| Uttar Dinajpur | 28.3 | 5.6 |
| Hooghly | 25.2 | 4.7 |
| Nadia | 30.5 | 2.7 |
| North 24 Parganas | 21.7 | 2.6 |
| Murshidabad | 12.3 | 1.3 |
| South 24 Parganas | 32 | 1.2 |
| Purba Medinipur | 14.5 | 0.7 |
| Cooch Behar | 50.1 | 0.6 |
| Howrah | 15.5 | 0.4 |
| Kolkata | 5.4 | 0.2 |
›Urban share of population by West Bengal district (Census 2011)(23 rows)
Kolkata is 100% urban by definition (Kolkata Municipal Corporation). Paschim Bardhaman — the Asansol/Durgapur coal-steel belt — is the most-urbanised non-metro district (79.2%). Rural-majority districts cluster in North Bengal (Malda, Cooch Behar) and the Rarh/Chhotanagpur fringe (Jhargram, Bankura, Purulia). State urban share 31.89%; India 31.16%.
| District | Urban (%) | Rural (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Kolkata | 100 | 0 |
| Paschim Bardhaman | 79.2 | 20.8 |
| Howrah | 63.4 | 36.6 |
| North 24 Parganas | 57.3 | 42.7 |
| Darjeeling | 39.2 | 60.8 |
| Hooghly | 38.5 | 61.5 |
| Nadia | 28.5 | 71.5 |
| Jalpaiguri | 27.4 | 72.6 |
| Kalimpong | 26.8 | 73.2 |
| Purba Bardhaman | 26.4 | 73.6 |
| South 24 Parganas | 25.7 | 74.3 |
| Murshidabad | 19.6 | 80.4 |
| Alipurduar | 14.8 | 85.2 |
| Malda | 13.6 | 86.4 |
| Dakshin Dinajpur | 13.1 | 86.9 |
| Purulia | 12.7 | 87.3 |
| Paschim Medinipur | 12.1 | 87.9 |
| Purba Medinipur | 12 | 88 |
| Uttar Dinajpur | 12 | 88 |
| Cooch Behar | 10.2 | 89.8 |
| Birbhum | 8.6 | 91.4 |
| Bankura | 8.3 | 91.7 |
| Jhargram | 6.7 | 93.3 |
›Every claim on this page, traced to its source(14 rows)
| Claim | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|
| WB religion composition — Hindu 70.54%, Muslim 27.01%, Christian 0.64%, Buddhist 0.30%, Sikh 0.07%, Jain 0.07%, Other 1.37% | Census 2011 Table C-01: Population by Religious Community (WB) | 2011 |
| WB has India's 2nd-highest Muslim share after J&K (68.3%); 3rd-largest Muslim population in absolute terms | Census 2011 C-01 India aggregate | 2011 |
| Muslim-majority districts: Murshidabad (66.3%), Malda (51.3%), Uttar Dinajpur (49.9%) | Census 2011 C-01 district tables | 2011 |
| Birbhum (37.1%), South 24 Parganas (35.6%) — highest-Muslim non-majority districts | Census 2011 C-01 district tables | 2011 |
| Darjeeling + Kalimpong Buddhist share ~12% (Lepcha/Bhutia); Jalpaiguri Christian share 4.5% (Dooars tea gardens) | Census 2011 C-01 district tables | 2011 |
| Bengali mother tongue 85.27%, Hindi 7.17%, Santali 2.73%, Urdu 1.88%, Nepali 1.30%, Odia 0.26% | Census 2011 Table C-17: Population by Mother Tongue (WB) | 2011 |
| Santali (Ol Chiki script) recognised under 8th Schedule via 92nd Constitutional Amendment | 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act 2003 | 2003 |
| WB SC 23.51%, ST 5.80% of state population | Census 2011 Table A-10 & PCA-SCST | 2011 |
| Jhargram ST 29.4% — highest ST share in WB (Santhal, Lodha-Shabar) | Census 2011 PCA-SCST district tables | 2011 |
| Cooch Behar SC 50.1% — highest SC share in WB (Rajbanshi) | Census 2011 PCA-SCST district tables | 2011 |
| Alipurduar ST 22.2%, Purulia 19.4%, Paschim Medinipur 15.0% | Census 2011 PCA-SCST district tables | 2011 |
| WB urban share 31.89% (vs India 31.16%) | Census 2011 Primary Census Abstract — WB state totals | 2011 |
| Kolkata 100% urban; Paschim Bardhaman 79.2% urban (coal-steel belt) | Census 2011 PCA district tables | 2011 |
| Rural-heavy: Bankura 91.7%, Purulia 87.3%, Jhargram 93.3% | Census 2011 PCA district tables | 2011 |