State Profile

Punjab, state of India, located in the northwestern part of the subcontinent. It is bounded by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, and Rajasthan to the southwest and by the country of Pakistan to the west. Punjab in its present form came into existence on November 1, 1966, when most of its predominantly Hindi-speaking areas were separated to form the new state of Haryana. The city of Chandigarh, within the Chandigarh union territory, is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.

The word Punjab is a compound of two Persian words, panj (“five“) and ab (“water“), thus signifying the land of five waters, or rivers (the Beas, Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, and Sutlej). As applied to the present Indian state of Punjab, however, it is a misnomer: since the partition of India in 1947, only two of these rivers, the Sutlej and the Beas, lie within Punjab’s territory, while the Ravi flows only along part of its western border. Area 19,445 square miles (50,362 square km). Pop. (2011) 27,704,236.

Punjab is widely acknowledged as the "Granary of India". Since the land is fertile and its mainly free from physical undulation, agriculture is the mainstay of the State. Major crops include wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton and oilseeds. Punjab is the second largest producer of wheat in India.

Industrial growth in recent years has been a major contributor to the state's economy. The excellent infrastructural framework namely connectivity by road, rail and air has paved way for industrial prosperity. The prime industries are textile, food processing, sports goods, engineering goods, chemicals, handicrafts.

Punjab Map

State Capital

Chandigarh

Area (Sq.km)

50,362 sq.km

Population (Census 2011)

2,77,04,236

Population Density (Sq.Km)

550

Population Size (Males)

1,46,34,819

Population Size (Females)

1,30,69,417

Population Size (Rural)

1,73,16,800

Population Size (Urban)

1,03,87,436

Population Size (Rural Males)

90,86,466

Population Size (Rural  Females)

82,30,334

Population Size (Urban Males)

55,48,353

Population Size (Urban  Females)

48,39,083

Sex Ratio (Females per 1000 males)

893

Sex Ratio (Rural)

906

Sex Ratio (Urban)

872

Population size, 0-6 yrs

29,41,570

Population size, 0-6 yrs (Males)

15,93,262

Population size, 0-6 yrs (Females)

13,48,308

Sex Ratio, 0-6 yrs (Females per 1000 males)

846

Sex Ratio, 0-6 yrs (Rural)

843

Sex Ratio, 0-6 yrs (Urban)

851

No. of Districts

22 (Amritsar, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, Barnala, Bathinda, Faridkot, Fatehgarh Sahib, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Hosiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Mansa, Moga, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Pathankot, Patiala, Roopnagar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Sangrur, Tarn Taran.

Important Rivers

Ravi, Beas, Satluj

Prominent tourist destinations

Golden temple, Wagah Border, Anandpur Sahib, Jallianwala Bagh

International airport

Raja Sansi international Airport, Amritsar

Literacy Rate (2011 Census)

76.7%

Sex Ratio (2011 Census)

893

key Industries

Agro and food processing, Beverages, IT and knowledge, Textiles, Hoisery, Wollen garments Tourism, Handicrafts, Automobile, Chemicals, Metal and Light Engineering.

Main Industrial Cities

Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar