The initial phase of the Census in Delhi, which concluded on Sunday, has unveiled that the capital is now home to 2.3 crore residents, marking a 37.5% increase from the 1.7 crore recorded in the 2011 Census. North East Delhi stands as the most populated district with 28.7 lakh inhabitants, while New Delhi has the smallest population at 2.4 lakh.
Household Growth Outpaces Population
The total number of households in the city has surged by nearly 60% to 55 lakh, up from 34 lakh in 2011. This growth rate significantly exceeds that of the population, indicating a steady decline in average family size. An official noted that nuclear families and single-person households are becoming increasingly common across Delhi.
District-wise Population Distribution
South West Delhi, with 25 lakh residents, is the second most populous district, followed by West Delhi at 24.4 lakh. Together, these three districts account for approximately 34% of Delhi's total population. East Delhi has a population of 21.6 lakh, South East Delhi 22.7 lakh, North West Delhi 19.1 lakh, and South Delhi 20.5 lakh.
While North East Delhi is the most populous, South West Delhi has the highest number of households at 6.2 lakh, followed by North East Delhi at 6.1 lakh and West Delhi at 5.9 lakh. South East Delhi has 5.4 lakh households and South Delhi 5.3 lakh.
Census Housing Details
The houselisting exercise identified 8.2 lakh census houses in South West Delhi, the highest among all districts, followed by North East Delhi with 8 lakh and West Delhi with over 8 lakh. Outer North Delhi has 7.2 lakh census houses, while South District has 7.5 lakh.
New Delhi recorded the lowest population at 2.4 lakh and the fewest households at 63,050, along with the lowest number of census houses at around 1 lakh.
Challenges in Comparison
Comparisons with district-level data from Census 2011 are challenging because the number of districts in Delhi has increased from nine to 13, and boundaries have been redrawn. Officials emphasized that these population figures from the houselisting phase are provisional, with final numbers expected after the enumeration phase scheduled for February 2027.
The houselisting phase was conducted between April and September 2026. Population figures are based on a reference date of March 1, 2027, and only 3% of Delhi households used self-enumeration during the exercise.
