The Basics
Meghalaya at a Glance
Meghalaya is a small hill state in the north-east, between Assam and Bangladesh. Its name is Sanskrit for "abode of clouds," and it is home to the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo peoples.
- Shillong Capital & largest city — the old hill-station capital of the North-East
- 21 Jan 1972 Became a full state (an autonomous state within Assam from 1970)
- 22,429 km² Area — a compact hill state
- 12 districts In three hill regions — Khasi, Jaintia & Garo Hills (the map shows 11)
- English, Khasi & Garo Official languages (Khasi & Garo elevated in 2026); Pnar widely spoken in the Jaintia Hills
- Matrilineal The Khasi, Jaintia & Garo trace descent & inheritance through the mother
- 60 seats Legislative Assembly — 2 Lok Sabha seats (Shillong & Tura)
- Borders Assam to the north & east; Bangladesh to the south & west
- Sixth Schedule Three Autonomous District Councils govern the Khasi, Jaintia & Garo Hills
- State symbols Animal: clouded leopard · Bird: hill myna · Flower: lady's slipper orchid
People
Population & Society
Census 2011 is the last full count. Meghalaya is overwhelmingly tribal and Christian, with one of India's highest sex ratios — in keeping with its matrilineal traditions. Figures below are Census 2011.
- 29.7 lakh Population, 2011 (2,966,889)
- 27.9% Decadal growth, 2001–2011 — among India's higher rates
- 132 /km² Population density, 2011 — relatively low
- 989 Sex ratio — females per 1,000 males, 2011 (among India's highest)
- 74.4% Literacy rate, 2011
- ~86% Scheduled Tribes — the Khasi, Garo (Achik) & Jaintia (Pnar)
- ~75% Christian Mostly Presbyterian & Catholic — a missionary legacy; with Hindus and indigenous faiths (Niam Khasi, Niamtre), Census 2011
- Matrilineal One of the world's largest matrilineal societies; the youngest daughter (Khadduh) keeps the ancestral property
Economy
A Small Hill Economy
Meghalaya is a small, largely agrarian economy that leans heavily on central transfers. Coal and limestone long drove it, but unregulated coal mining was banned in 2014, and tourism is now rising fast.
- ₹0.67 L cr GSDP 2025-26 (budget estimate) — one of India's smaller state economies
- ~13% Nominal GSDP growth, 2025-26 over 2024-25
- Among the lowest Per-capita income — among the lowest of any Indian state
- ~80% of the state's revenue comes from central transfers
Mining & resources
- Coal Large reserves, but hazardous "rat-hole" mining was banned by the green tribunal in 2014; limited regulated mining has since resumed
- Limestone Big reserves feed cement plants in the Jaintia Hills, with exports to Bangladesh
- Uranium Deposits in the West Khasi Hills (Domiasiat) remain unmined amid local opposition
- Tourism Rising fast — drawn by the waterfalls, root bridges and clean villages
- Centre-dependent: roughly four-fifths of Meghalaya's revenue comes from the Union government — typical of a small hill state with a narrow own-revenue base.
- Figures here are the latest Meghalaya Budget estimates (via PRS). The India GDP page compares all states at FY2024-25.
Agriculture
Oranges, Turmeric & the Hills
Farming here is mostly smallholder and hilly, including traditional jhum (shifting) cultivation. Meghalaya's oranges, turmeric and broom grass are renowned well beyond the state.
- Rice & maize The staple crops, grown alongside jhum (shifting) cultivation in the hills
- Khasi Mandarin The prized hill orange — GI-tagged
- Lakadong turmeric From the Jaintia Hills — among the world's highest in curcumin (~7%); GI-tagged (2024)
- Broom grass A major cash crop — Meghalaya supplies brooms across India
- More GI produce Garo Dakmanda cloth, Larnai black pottery & Garo Chubitchi
- Hill spices Ginger, black pepper & bay leaf, grown for the wider market
- Smallholder Mostly small, traditional and largely organic hill farms
Administrative
The Districts of Meghalaya
Meghalaya has 12 districts (the latest, Eastern West Khasi Hills, created in 2021), grouped into three hill regions — Khasi, Jaintia and Garo. The interactive map shows 11, from the open dataset. Select a district to highlight it on the map above.
The map and this list share the same data. Clicking a district highlights it on the interactive map in the hero; soon each will open its own page.
What Makes Meghalaya Unique
Strengths, Nature & Heritage
Meghalaya's wonders are mostly natural — the wettest places on Earth, India's tallest plunge waterfall, bridges grown from living roots, and the country's longest cave.
Nature superlatives
- Wettest on Earth Mawsynram has the highest average rainfall of any inhabited place; nearby Cherrapunji holds the all-time records for a month and a year
- Nohkalikai Falls India's tallest plunge waterfall (~340 m), near Cherrapunji
- Living root bridges The Khasi/Jaintia jingkieng jri, grown from rubber-fig roots — on UNESCO's tentative list (2022)
- Krem Liat Prah India's longest cave (~31 km), in the Jaintia Hills
- Mawlynnong Declared "Asia's cleanest village" by a travel magazine in 2003
- Dawki / Umngot A river so clear that boats seem to float on glass
Heritage & reserves
- Sacred groves Mawphlang and other Khasi law kyntang forests, protected by custom for centuries
- Nartiang monoliths The largest cluster of standing stones in the state, from the Jaintia kingdom
- Nokrek & Balpakram A UNESCO biosphere reserve and a national park in the Garo Hills
Culture & Traditions
Clans, Drums & Rock'n'Roll
Meghalaya's culture runs from harvest dances and hundred-drum festivals to gospel choirs and a famous love of rock music.
- Wangala The Garo "Hundred Drums" harvest festival, honouring the sun-god Saljong
- Nongkrem The Khasi religious dance-festival at Smit, led by the Syiem of Khyrim
- Shad Suk Mynsiem The Khasi spring "dance of the joyful heart," held in Shillong
- Behdienkhlam The Jaintia monsoon festival at Jowai, driving away ill fortune
- Rock capital Shillong is widely called India's "rock capital"; Lou Majaw has hosted a Bob Dylan tribute since 1972
- Khasi & Garo food Jadoh, tungrymbai & dohneiiong — rice- and pork-based, lightly spiced
- Crafts Garo Dakmanda weaving, cane & bamboo work, and Larnai black pottery
Places to Visit
Waterfalls, Caves & Clean Villages
Few places pack in as much scenery — waterfalls, caves, crystal rivers, root bridges and tidy villages, all within a day or two of Shillong.
- Cherrapunji The famous rain country (Sohra), with the Seven Sisters & Nohkalikai falls
- Root bridges The double-decker living root bridge at Nongriat, reached on foot
- Dawki Boating on the glass-clear Umngot river, near the Bangladesh border
- Mawlynnong The "cleanest village," with a bamboo Sky View and a balancing rock
- Shillong Ward's Lake, Shillong Peak, Police Bazar & the Don Bosco museum of North-East cultures
- Laitlum & Mawphlang The Laitlum canyons and the Mawphlang sacred grove, near Shillong
- Umiam Lake The big reservoir (Barapani) just north of Shillong
- Nartiang The Jaintia monoliths and the old Durga temple
- Mawsynram The wettest place, with the Mawjymbuin cave shrine
Road, Rail & Air
Getting Around the Hills
Hemmed in by hills, Meghalaya runs mostly on its roads — the Guwahati–Shillong highway is the lifeline, and the state has almost no railway.
- Roads The Guwahati–Shillong highway (NH-6, the old NH-40) is the main artery through the hills
- Almost no rail Mendipathar (2014) is the state's first and only railway station; Shillong has none
- Guwahati gateway Most travellers arrive via Guwahati in Assam, about three hours away by road
- Umroi Airport Shillong's small airport at Umroi, with limited regional flights
- Education hub Shillong hosts NEHU (the North-Eastern Hill University) and IIM Shillong
- Umiam hydro The Umiam (Barapani) project was the North-East's first big hydro station (1965)
People & Heroes
Heroes & Icons
Meghalaya remembers the chiefs who resisted the British, a poet who shaped the Khasi language, and the leaders who built the state.
- U Tirot Sing The Khasi chief who led the Anglo-Khasi War against the British (from 1829)
- U Kiang Nangbah The Jaintia leader hanged for leading the 1862 revolt
- Pa Togan Sangma The Garo warrior who resisted British expansion into the Garo Hills (1872)
- U Soso Tham The pioneering Khasi poet — the "bard of the Khasi hills"
- Williamson A. Sangma Meghalaya's first Chief Minister
- P.A. Sangma Speaker of the Lok Sabha (1996–98); his son Conrad now leads the state
- Lou Majaw The veteran Shillong rock musician, the "Bob Dylan of the East"
Through the Ages
A Short History of Meghalaya
From the old hill kingdoms and the resistance to British rule, to colonial Shillong and a state of its own, a few of the milestones that shaped Meghalaya.
| When | Milestone |
|---|---|
| Before the British | Khasi syiemships, the Jaintia kingdom & Garo chiefdoms govern the hills |
| 1829–1833 | The Anglo-Khasi War — U Tirot Sing's resistance to the British |
| 1835 | The British annex the Jaintia kingdom |
| 1862 | The Jaintia revolt is crushed; U Kiang Nangbah is hanged |
| 1874 | Shillong becomes the capital of British Assam |
| 12 June 1897 | A great earthquake levels much of Shillong |
| 2 April 1970 | Meghalaya becomes an autonomous state within Assam |
| 21 January 1972 | Meghalaya becomes a full, separate state — India's 17th |
| 1972 | Shillong becomes Meghalaya's capital as Assam moves to Dispur |
| 2022 | The living root bridges join UNESCO's tentative list; 50 years of statehood |