Kerala

Capital

Thiruvananthapuram

Official Language

Malayalam

Area

38,852 km²

Districts

14

Largest City

Thiruvananthapuram

Geography & Nature

The Western Ghats, short west-flowing rivers, backwaters and Arabian Sea coast create humid tropical landscapes.

• Reported area: 38,852 km². Survey of India — Administrative Boundary Data.
• Forest and tree cover: 24,965.30 km²; India State of Forest Report 2023.

Districts & Cities

14 districts listed by the NIC directory on 2026-10-14.

• Major urban centres: Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode, Thrissur, Kollam.
• Largest city/town: Thiruvananthapuram. Largest municipal city on the 2011 basis; Kochi is a larger urban agglomeration.

State Administration

Kerala has a Governor and an elected government led by a Chief Minister. Its legislature has a Legislative Assembly. The capital is Thiruvananthapuram.

• Administrative capital: Thiruvananthapuram.
• Principal official language(s): Malayalam. The government language reference provides the administrative language context.

Government Institutions

Government institutions in Kerala include executive departments, district administration, public agencies and local bodies. The official directory provides routes to their published websites.

• The Legislative Assembly provides the elected legislative institution.
• District administrations and municipal or village institutions provide local public services.

People & Demographics

The official MoEFCC profile reports approximately 3.34 crore people on a Census 2011 basis. This is a historical, rounded population figure rather than a current population estimate.

• Principal official language(s): Malayalam.
• The Kerala profile includes both urban communities and rural or island settlements; language and social patterns vary locally.
• Census tables provide the detailed rural/urban, literacy, age and mother-tongue breakdowns.

Economy & Industries

Services, tourism, information technology, fisheries, plantation crops and remittance-linked activity are important to the economy.

• Economic centres include Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode.
• Use the government's economic surveys and departmental publications for dated output, employment and investment figures.

Infrastructure

Seaports, coastal railways, highways, four international airports and urban water transport connect settlements.

• Transport, electricity, water and digital networks support public services and economic activity.
• Project status and operational details are published by the responsible government departments and operators.

Education & Healthcare

The universities of Kerala and Calicut, IIT Palakkad and NIT Calicut are major institutions; government medical colleges and primary care centres serve the public.

• Schools, universities, government hospitals and primary care facilities serve different parts of the region.
• Check the relevant institution or department for current programmes, admissions and services.

Culture & History

Onam, Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, temple arts and the historic trading heritage of Kochi are cultural highlights.

• Heritage sites, languages, crafts and community traditions vary across districts.
• The official tourism and culture portal provides place-specific information.

Schemes & Public Services

The Kerala government and citizen-service portal provide access to applications, certificates, departmental services and scheme information.

• Common service areas include revenue certificates, welfare applications, education, transport and local-government services; availability varies by portal.
• Open the official service listing for the current application process and requirements.