General Information

North East India:

 

DEMOGRAPHY

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION

BIRTH/DEATH RATE

GENERAL INFO.

 

North East India comprises of:

• Arunachal Pradesh

• Assam

• Manipur

• Meghalaya

• Mizoram

• Nagaland

• Sikkim

• Tripura

 

International Boundaries –

 

North	China
South West	Bangladesh
North West	Bhutan
East	Myanmar

 

The Macmahon line separates North East India from Tibet. This region is connected with the rest of India only through a narrow corridor in North Bengal, having an approximate width of 33 km on the eastern side and 21 km on the western side. This narrow corridor is popularly known as the "Siliguri neck" or the "Chicken's neck".

 

Latitude :21.57°N - 29.30°N	Longitude :88°E - 97.30°E
Area covered : 262185 Sq. Km

 

North East India is mostly hilly; it has plains on both sides of the river Brahmaputra and the Himalayan range around it. The flora and fauna of this region is numerous and varied.

 

The region accounts for 7.9% of the total land space of the country. Hill ranges forming part of the Himalayas guard the northern side of the region. The area is made up of mountains above the snow line and plains a little higher than sea level.

 

The region is of strategic importance for the country on account of the fact that nearly 90% of its borders form India's international boundaries.

 

Topography: About 70% of the region is hilly, and the topography varies within each state. Mountains and hills cover most of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Sikkim and about half of Tripura, one-fifth of Assam and nine-tenth of Manipur.

 

The plains of the region are mainly made up of separate land masses - the Brahmaputra Valley and the Barak Valley in Assam and the Tripura plains in the South. In Manipur, the valley is small, comprising only about 10% of the total area of the state.

 

The Brahmaputra Valley stretches longitudinally for about 730 km, from North Lakhimpur to Dhubri district in Assam. The Barak Valley, formed by the river Barak and its tributaries covers the districts of Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi of South Assam. The Tripura plain is an extension of the Ganga-Brahmaputra plain.

 

The topography of the hills is generally rugged and vast areas are inaccessible.

 

Rainfall: The rainy season in this region generally commences from March and lasts till the middle of October. The total annual rainfall varies significantly in the region. In Khasi and Jaintia Hills, the annual intensity of rainfall reaches the maximum of about 1080-cm around Cherrapunjee and Mawsynram (having highest rainfall in the world). It is significantly low in the rainshadow area of Nagaon district in Assam. About two-thirds of the annual total rainfall occurs during the four monsoon months of June to September.

 

 

DEMOGRAPHY:

 

Some of the salient features of North Eastern Region including Sikkim

 

State	Area in Sq. Km.	Population (Person)	Decadal Growth Rate (1991-2001)	Density per sq. km.	Sex Ratio (females '000 males)	Percentage of Main workers
Arunachal Pradesh	83743	1097968	27.00	13	893	37.66
Assam	78438	26655528	18.92	340	935	26.57
Manipur	22327	2166788	24.86**	103*	974*	31.67**
Meghalaya	22429	2318822	30.65	103	972	32.03
Mizoram	22081	888573	28.82	42	935	40.95
Nagaland	16579	1990036	64.53	120	900	35.38
Sikkim	7096	540851	33.06	76	875	39.29
Tripura	10486	3199203	16.03	305	948	28.33
Total NER	263179	38857769	21.61	148	937	--
All India	3287263	1028610328	21.54	313	933	--

* Population , Density and Sex ratio includes estimated population of Paomata, Mao Maram and Purual

sub-divisions of Senapati district of Manipur for 2001.

** Excludes Mao Maram, Paomata & Purul sub-division of Senapati Dist.

Source : Basic Statistics of NER 2006.

             Statistical Pocket Book India 2008

 

 

Population Trends in North Eastern Region:

(Thousands Persons)

States	1921	1931	1941	1951	1961	1971	1981	1991	2001
Arunachal Pradesh*	-	-	-	-	337	468	632	865	1098
Assam @	4637	5560	6695	8029	10837	14625	18041	22414	26656
Manipur#	384	446	512	578	780	1073	1421	1837	2294
Meghalaya	422	481	556	606	769	1012	1336	1775	2319
Mizoram	98	124	153	196	266	332	494	690	889
Nagaland	159	179	190	213	369	516	775	1210	1990
Sikkim	82	110	122	138	162	210	316	406	541
Tripura	304	382	513	639	1142	1556	2053	2757	3199
All India**#	251321	278977	218661	361088	439235	548160	683329@	846303	1028737

* Censused for the first time in 1961

@ The 1981 Census could not be held in Assam. The population figures for 1981 for Assam have been worked out by interpolation.

** The 1991 Census could not be held in Jammu & Kashmir. The population figure for 1991 for Jammu & Kashmir has been worked out by interpolation

# India and and Manipur figures include estimated figure for three sub-divisions viz. Mao Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district of Manipur as censused results of 2001 census were cancelled in these three sub-divisions due to technical and administrative reasons.

Source: Basic Statistics of NER 2006

 

 

Statewise Estimated Mid-Year Population:

('000 nos.)

State	As on 1st July
	1991	2006	2007	2008
Arunachal Pradesh	873	1174	1188	1203
Assam	22569	28797	29183	29564
Manipur	1851	2317	2346	2374
Meghalaya	1791	2480	2510	2540
Mizoram	697	950	962	973
Nagaland	1229	2128	2154	2180
Sikkim	410	578	586	593
Tripura	2781	3421	3463	3505

Source: Statistical Pocket Book India 2008

 

 

Literacy Rate (%) of NER:

 

States	2001 Census			2004-2005
	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female
Arunachal Pradesh	54	64	44	60	65	54
Assam	63	71	55	71	76	65
Manipur*	71	80	61	76	82	69
Meghalaya	63	65	60	78	79	76
Mizoram	89	91	87	90	90	90
Nagaland	67	71	62	78	82	75
Sikkim	69	76	60	75	80	70
Tripura	73	81	65	74	79	69

* Excludes Figures of Paomata, Mao Maram and Puru sub-divisions of Senapati dist. of Manipur for 2001Census.

Source: Statistical Pocket Book India 2008

 

 

Decadal Variation in Population, Change in Decadal Variation and Average Exponential Growth Rate of population:

 

State	Decadal variation in population (per cent)			Change in the growth rate		Average annual exponential (growth rate)
	1971-81	1981-91	1991-01	Col.3-Col.2	Col.4-Col.3	1971-81	1981-91	1991-01
Arunachal Pradesh	35.15	36.83	27.00	1.68	-9.83	3.01	3.14	2.39
Assam	23.36	24.24	18.92	0.88	-5.32	2.10	2.17	1.73
Manipur	32.46	29.29	24.86	-3.17	-4.43	2.81	2.57	2.22
Meghalaya	32.04	32.86	30.65	0.82	-2.21	2.78	2.84	2.67
Mizoram	48.55	39.70	28.82	-8.85	-10.87	3.96	3.34	2.53
Nagaland	50.05	56.08	64.53	6.03	8.44	4.06	4.45	4.98
Tripura	31.92	34.30	16.03	2.38	-18.27	2.77	2.95	1.49
Sikkim	50.77	24.47	33.06	-22.30	4.60	4.11	2.51	2.86
All India	24.66	23.85	21.54	-0.79	-2.33	2.20	2.14	1.93

Source: 1. 1901-1981 population from general population Table (Part II – A)

2. Figures of 1991 (Including interpolated data for JK-1991 based on 2001 census) and figures of 2001 from PCA Census of India – 2001.

 

 

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION:

 

Number of Districts, DRDAs, Blocks and Villages, Inhabited & Uninhabited in Northeastern Region

as on 1^st April 2008:

(Unit : Number)

State	District As on 2001	Number of		Total Villages*	Inhabited Villages*	Uninhabited Villages	Towns As per 2001 census
		DRDAs	Blocks
Arunachal Pradesh	13	16	89	4065	3863	202	17
Assam	27	27	222	26312	25124	1188	125
Manipur	9	9	37	2275	2199	76	33
Meghalaya	7	7	39	6026	5782	244	16
Mizoram	8	8	26	817	707	110	22
Nagaland	11	11	52	1317	1278	39	9
Sikkim	4	1	8	452	450	2	9
Tripura	4	4	40	870	858	12	23
Total	83	83	513	42134	40261	1873	245
All India	618	609	5637	639445	594589	44856	5161

Note: DRDAs stands for District Rural Development Agengies

*As per Census 2001

Source: Statistical Pocket Book India 2008

 

Number of Panchayats as on 31^st March 2008

 

Districts	Village Panchayat	District Panchayat
Arunachal Pradesh #	1639	14
Assam	2223	20
Manipur	165	4
Meghalaya	@
Mizoram	@
Nagaland	@
Sikkim	163	95
Tripura	513	4

# The figures do not include Tirap District

@ These States have Traditional Council of Villages Elders

Source: Statistical Pocket Book India 2008

 

 

BIRTH / DEATH RATE:

 

Estimated Annual Birth Rates:

 

State	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	2000	2001	2002	2004	2006
Arunachal Pradesh	30.1	30.9	26.6	28.0	23.5	23.8	21.9	21.4	22.3	22.2	20.2	21.2	22.5
Assam	38.5	30.9	30.8	29.5	30.8	29.3	27.6	28.2	26.9	27.0	26.6	25.1	24.6
Manipur	21.1	20.1	19.5	20.5	21.7	20.6	19.6	19.7	18.3	18.3	16.8	13.9	13.4
Meghalaya	31.8	32.4	29.8	28.5	29.5	29.0	30.4	30.2	28.5	28.3	25.8	25.2	24.7
Mizoram	-	-	-	-	-	-	15.1	15.1	16.0	15.7	16.9	19.1	17.8
Nagaland	16.2	18.5	19.2	20.0	20.1	N.A.	N.A.	30.2	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.	13.9	17.3
Sikkim	26.3	22.5	22.0	24.3	24.6	22.5	20.0	19.8	21.8	21.6	21.9	19.5	19.2
Tripura	24.9	24.4	23.1	23.3	21.9	18.9	18.4	18.3	16.5	16.1	14.9	15.0	16.6

N.A.- Not Available.

Source : Sample Registration Bulletins & RGI.

Statistical Hand Book of Assam 2006 & 2007

 

  

Estimated Annual Death Rates:

 

State	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	2000	2001	2002	2004	2006
Arunachal Pradesh	13.2	13.5	9.4	8.9	9.9	6.0	5.5	8.3	6.0	5.7	4.8	4.7	5.0
Assam	11.5	10.4	10.2	9.2	9.6	9.6	9.9	-	9.6	6.9	9.2	8.8	8.7
Manipur	5.9	5.4	5.6	4.8	6.7	6.7	5.8	5.9	5.6	5.2	4.6	4.3	4.5
Meghalaya	7.8	8.8	8.5	6.8	7.1	8.9	8.9	8.8	9.2	9.0	7.7	7.3	8.0
Mizoram	-	-	-	-	-	-	3.7	4.8	5.2	4.4	4.8	5.2	5.5
Nagaland	4.1	3.3	3.8	4.7	4.3	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.	3.7	4.8
Sikkim	7.3	7.5	5.8	6.9	2.9	6.9	6.5	4.8	5.7	5.1	4.9	4.9	5.6
Tripura	7.1	7.6	7.6	6.4	5.3	7.7	6.5	6.8	5.4	5.6	5.7	5.5	6.3

N.A.- Not Available.

Source : Sample Registration Bulletins & RGI.

Statistical Hand Book of Assam 2006 & 2007

 

 

Infant Mortality

 

State	2004	2006
Arunachal Pradesh	38	40
Assam	66	67
Manipur	14	11
Meghalaya	54	53
Mizoram	19	25
Nagaland	17	20
Sikkim	32	33
Tripura	32	36

Source: Statistical Hand Book of Assam 2006 & 2007

  

 

The region is marked by uneven spatial distribution of population among the constituent states, the primary reason being that the plains and valleys offer more congenial conditions for absorption of population than the hills and difficult terrains.

 

Apart from Assam and Tripura, the NE states are mostly inhabited by tribes having unique social and cultural practices. Overall, tribals account for over 30% of the total population of this region. However, in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, scheduled tribes comprise more than 60% of the population. That is what gives these states a predominantly tribal character.

 

 

SOME GENERAL INFORMATION:

 

Major plantation: Tea.

 

Major crop: Rice.

 

Major minerals: Coal, Petroleum & Natural Gas.

 

Major religions: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism.

 

Languages spoken: English, Hindi, Assamese, Khasi, Garo, Jaintia, Manipuri, Mizo, Nagamese, Bengali, Nepali, Bhutia (Sikkimese), Bhutia (Tibetan), Lepcha, Limboo, Local dialects.

 

 

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