Thiruvananthapuram - Demographics

The city has a population of 889,191 according to the 2001 census (crossing 1 million on Jan 2006). Within the city, the density of population is about 3,500 people per square kilometer. The district has a literacy rate of 90%. With the sex ratio being 1,037 females to every 1,000 males, there are more women in Thiruvananthapuram than men. The wider urban agglomeration registered a population of about one million in 2001.

Hindus comprise of 65% of the population, Christians are about 18% and Muslims about 15%. The major language spoken is Malayalam. English and Hindi are also widely understood. There is also a prominent minority of Tamil speakers and a few Tulu and Konkani speakers.

The city is fully electrified by Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB). The district is divided in to three circles namely; Transmission circle, Thiruvananthapuram city and Kattakkada. Domestic consumers consumes 43% of the total power consumption which account to 90 million units per month. The non-domestic consumption is higher by 57%. Thiruvananthapuram district has one 220 kV, nine 110&nbspkV and six 66 kV electrical sub stations. A 400&nbspkV substation has just been commissioned by the Power Grid Corporation and will ensure high quality power supply to the city. The water supply schemes cover 100% within the city limits. It is 83.86% of the urban and 68.99% of the rural population, when the district is considered. Peppara and Aruvikkara dams are the main sources of water for distribution in the capital city. The new project plan for improving the water supply with Japan aid covers Thiruvananthapuram city and six suburban panchayats having urban characteristics. The sewerage system in the city was implemented at the time of the Travancore Kingdom. The system was modernised in 1938. This scheme for the disposal of sullage and sewage is an underground system. The whole system is controlled by Kerala Water Authority now. The city area is divided in to seven blocks for the execution of the sewerage system, out of which two blocks were commissioned in 1990s and two blocks after 2000. The sewerage is pumped to the Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) located at Valiyathura. The sewage is pumped to the stilling chamber here, and is disposed through sewage farming. Diary Development Department maintains this sewage farm and fodder cultivation is done here. There is no revenue generation from this scheme, and the sewerage system in the city is a service provided to the residents.

Unemployment is a serious issue in Thiruvananthapuram. The increase in the unemployment rate was from 8.8(1998) to 34.3(2003), thus registering a 25.5% absolute and a 289.7% relative increase. Thiruvananthapuram taluk ranked third in Kerala with 36.3% of its population unemployed. The in-migration of unemployed from other districts also boost this high unemployment rate. Thiruvananthapuram has a high suicide rate in the state, which went up from 17.2 per lakh to 38.5 per lakh during 1995 to 2002. In 2004, the rate slightly came down to 36.6 per lakh.