Gujarat: The Rise of a Mega State

CHAPTER I

GUJARAT OVERVIEW

This Chapter provides an overview of the Gujarat State in term of demographic details, urbanisation, economic profile etc.

Demographic Details

As per census 2011, population of Gujarat was 6.04 crore as compared to 5.07 crore in Census 2001. This shows a decadal growth rate of 19.28% as compared to all India growth rate of 17.68%. Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara are the most populated districts having population of around 72 lakh, 60 lakh and 41 lakh respectively. Porbandar and the Dang are the least populated with population around 5.9 lakh, 5.8 lakh and 2.28 lakh respectively. Surat district shows the highest population growth rate at 44% during 2001-11 followed by Kachchh district at 34%.

The total workers in the state are 247.67 (41%). In industrialised and urbanised districts like Surat and Ahmedabad, the percentage of main workers in the category-other workers is more than 80%. This means that the employment in these districts is in the industrial or service sector. As compared to this, the less industrialised districts like The Dangs, the percentage of main workers in the categories cultivators and agriculture labourers is high.

Gujarat has 268.98 lakh migrants out of a total population of 604.4 lakh. The share of migrants from other countries was just 1% whereas the share of migrants from within the state was as high as 85%. Surat district leads in terms of share of migrants (14.1%) followed by Ahmedabad with 12.1% share. The main reason for migration in Surat is for work/employment whereas in Ahmedabad, it is 'marriage.' The reason for migration has implications on economy and housing demand.

Urbanisation in Gujarat

The urban population in the state has risen from 37.4% in 2001 to 42.6% in 2011 which is higher than the national average of 27.8% and 31.1% in the Census years 2001 and 2011 respectively. There is an increase in the number of cities (27 to 31) with more than one lakh population, statutory towns (168 to 348) as well as census towns (74 to 153) in the state between Census 2001 and 2011.

Ahmedabad district is the most urbanized district with 84.04% urban population, followed by Surat (79.7%) whereas Dahod is the least urbanized district with only 9.01% urban population.

Economic Profile

The economic growth rate in the state has been higher than the national average for the last many years. The state accounts for 8.11% share to National gross domestic product (GDP). The share of the state to Country's industrial output, is much higher at 16.85%.

The per-capita GSDP in Gujarat at INR 1,65,359 in 2019-20 at constant prices of 2011-12 is significantly above India's average of Rs. 94,566 during 2019-20.