India is a union of 28 states and 8 union territories (UTs). A state has its own elected government. A UT is run mainly by the Centre through an administrator. Exams ask capitals, the year each state was formed, the Census 2011 numbers, and which states touch which neighbouring country.
On this page you will learn:
- All 28 states and 8 UTs with their capitals
- How the states were formed, from 1953 to 2020
- Largest and smallest states by area and population
- Census 2011: density, sex ratio, literacy and religion
- How India's population grew, and birth and death rates
- India's neighbours, border lengths and border states
States and their capitals
Rule in one line: learn the capital with the state, and learn the odd ones — shared, new or seasonal capitals.
| State | Capital |
|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh | Amaravati (declared; still being built) |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar |
| Assam | Dispur |
| Bihar | Patna |
| Chhattisgarh | Raipur |
| Goa | Panaji |
| Gujarat | Gandhinagar |
| Haryana | Chandigarh |
| Himachal Pradesh | Shimla |
| Jharkhand | Ranchi |
| Karnataka | Bengaluru |
| Kerala | Thiruvananthapuram |
| Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal |
| Maharashtra | Mumbai |
| Manipur | Imphal |
| Meghalaya | Shillong |
| Mizoram | Aizawl |
| Nagaland | Kohima |
| Odisha | Bhubaneswar |
| Punjab | Chandigarh |
| Rajasthan | Jaipur |
| Sikkim | Gangtok |
| Tamil Nadu | Chennai |
| Telangana | Hyderabad |
| Tripura | Agartala |
| Uttar Pradesh | Lucknow |
| Uttarakhand | Dehradun |
| West Bengal | Kolkata |
When Telangana was carved out in 2014, Hyderabad went to Telangana. It stayed the shared capital of both states for ten years, until June 2024. Andhra Pradesh has declared Amaravati its capital; the city is still being built. If an old question offers Hyderabad for Andhra Pradesh, read the year of the paper.
| Union territory | Capital | Remember |
|---|---|---|
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | Sri Vijaya Puram (old name Port Blair) | Renamed in 2024 |
| Chandigarh | Chandigarh | UT since 1966; capital of Punjab and Haryana |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | Daman | Two UTs merged, 2020 |
| Delhi (NCT) | New Delhi | Has its own legislature |
| Jammu & Kashmir | Srinagar (summer), Jammu (winter) | UT with legislature since 2019 |
| Ladakh | Leh | Largest UT by area; no legislature |
| Lakshadweep | Kavaratti | Smallest UT; 36 coral islands |
| Puducherry | Puducherry | Has a legislature; four separate parts |
How the states were formed
Rule in one line: in 1956 states were redrawn by language; later ones were carved out for regions and tribes.
- 1953Andhra State
1 October 1953: the first state made on the basis of language (Telugu).
- 1956States Reorganisation Act
1 November 1956: India redrawn into 14 states and 6 UTs, mostly by language. Kerala and the united Andhra Pradesh (with Telangana) were formed.
- 1960Maharashtra and Gujarat
1 May 1960: Bombay State split into two.
- 1963Nagaland
1 December 1963: carved out of Assam.
- 1966Punjab reorganised: Haryana
1 November 1966: Haryana formed; hill areas went to Himachal; Chandigarh became a UT.
- 1971–72Himachal, Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya
Himachal Pradesh became a state in 1971; the other three in 1972.
- 1975Sikkim
16 May 1975: joined India as the 22nd state.
- 1987Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa
Mizoram and Arunachal in February; Goa became the 25th state on 30 May 1987.
- 2000Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand
November 2000: from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Uttarakhand was first named Uttaranchal.
- 2014Telangana
2 June 2014: carved out of Andhra Pradesh as the 29th state.
- 2019Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh
31 October 2019: the state became two UTs. States fell from 29 to 28.
- 2020One UT from two
26 January 2020: Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu merged. UTs fell from 9 to 8.
Newest first: Telangana 2014 (29th) → the 2000 trio → Goa 1987 (25th) → Sikkim 1975 (22nd).
Big and small states; Census 2011 numbers
Rule in one line: Rajasthan is the biggest by land, Uttar Pradesh by people; Goa and Sikkim are the smallest.
| Measure (Census 2011) | India | Highest | Lowest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Density (people per km²) | 382 | Bihar 1,106 (state); Delhi 11,320 | Arunachal Pradesh 17 |
| Sex ratio (women per 1000 men) | 943 | Kerala 1084; Puducherry 1037 (UT) | Haryana 879 (state); Daman & Diu 618 (UT) |
| Literacy rate | 74.04% | Kerala, about 94% | Bihar, below 65% |
| Growth, 2001–2011 | About 17.7% | — | — |
| Religion (Census 2011) | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Hindus | 96.63 crore | 79.8% |
| Muslims | 17.22 crore | 14.2% |
| Christians (third) | 2.78 crore | 2.3% |
| Sikhs | 2.08 crore | 1.7% |
| Buddhists | 0.84 crore | 0.7% |
| Jains | 0.45 crore | 0.4% |
How India's population grew
Rule in one line: population grows fast when the death rate falls but the birth rate stays high.
- 11901–1921: stagnantFamines, plague and the 1918 flu kept deaths high. In 1911–21 the population even fell.
- 21921–1951: steady growthBetter health and sanitation; the death rate fell. 1921 is called the year of the 'great divide'.
- 31951–1981: population explosionDeaths fell fast but births stayed high.
- 41981–2011: high but slowingThe birth rate began to fall; growth in 2001–11 was about 17.7%.
Crude birth rate = live births in a year for every 1000 people. Crude death rate = deaths in a year for every 1000 people. Growth = birth rate minus death rate (plus migration).
India's first census was in 1872; the first one held all over India at the same time was in 1881. Since then it is held every ten years. The 2011 census was the 15th, and the 7th after independence.
Neighbours and border states
Rule in one line: seven countries touch India by land; Sri Lanka and Maldives lie across the sea.
| Neighbour | Indian states / UTs on the border |
|---|---|
| Bangladesh | West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram |
| China | Ladakh, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal |
| Pakistan | Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh |
| Nepal | Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim |
| Myanmar | Arunachal, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram |
| Bhutan | Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal |
India lies wholly in the Northern and Eastern hemispheres: north of the Equator and east of the Prime Meridian. The mainland stretches from about 8°4'N to 37°6'N and from 68°7'E to 97°25'E (NCERT).
India–Pakistan (and today's India–Bangladesh) border, drawn by Cyril Radcliffe at Partition.
India–China line in the east, along Arunachal Pradesh.
Pakistan–Afghanistan line. Not an Indian border today.
Three named lines that papers mix up.
| Country | Capital | Main language |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Kabul | Pashto, Dari |
| Pakistan | Islamabad | Urdu |
| China | Beijing | Mandarin |
| Nepal | Kathmandu | Nepali |
| Bhutan | Thimphu | Dzongkha |
| Bangladesh | Dhaka | Bengali (Bangla) |
| Myanmar | Naypyidaw | Burmese |
| Sri Lanka | Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (Colombo: main city) | Sinhala, Tamil |
| Maldives | Malé | Dhivehi |
Traps and practice
Last revision — where the options try to fool you.
- Kavaratti is Lakshadweep's capital. Port Blair (now Sri Vijaya Puram) is the Andaman & Nicobar capital.
- Lowest sex ratio among states = Haryana (879). Delhi (868) and Daman & Diu (618) are lower, but they are UTs.
- Third largest religious group = Christians (2.78 crore), not Sikhs (2.08 crore).
- Three countries Nepal–Bhutan–China = Sikkim. Arunachal's three are Bhutan–China–Myanmar.
- India–Bhutan border = 699 km. Do not confuse with 669 or 696.
- States today: 28; UTs today: 8. Old books say 29 states and 7 UTs.
Why did India's population grow fast after 1951 even though families did not become larger?
Show answer
Medicines, vaccines and clean water cut the death rate sharply. The birth rate stayed high for a long time, so the gap between births and deaths — the growth — became very large.
- Capital of Lakshadweep
- Kavaratti
- Capital of Mizoram
- Aizawl
- Capital of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu
- Daman
- Newest state
- Telangana, 2 June 2014
- Largest state by area
- Rajasthan
- Smallest state by area
- Goa
- Highest sex ratio (Census 2011)
- Kerala, 1084
- Densest state (Census 2011)
- Bihar, 1,106 per km²
- Longest land border
- Bangladesh
- Official language of the Maldives
- Dhivehi
- 28 states, 8 UTs; Chandigarh is shared by Punjab and Haryana
- 1956 language-based reorganisation; Telangana 2014; J&K and Ladakh UTs 2019
- Rajasthan largest, Goa smallest by area; UP most, Sikkim fewest people
- Census 2011: 121.09 crore, density 382, sex ratio 943, literacy 74.04%
- 1921–51 death rate fell; crude birth rate = births per 1000 a year
- Borders: Bangladesh longest, Afghanistan shortest, Bhutan 699 km