The Basics
Tripura at a Glance
Tripura is a small hill state in the far north-east, all but encircled by Bangladesh. Once a princely kingdom, it joined India in 1949 and became a full state in 1972.
- Agartala Capital & largest city
- 21 Jan 1972 Became a full state — a princely Manikya kingdom that merged with India in 1949
- 10,486 km² Area — India's 3rd-smallest state (after Goa & Sikkim)
- 8 districts About two-thirds of the state is under the TTAADC tribal council (Sixth Schedule)
- Bengali & Kokborok Official languages (English is also used)
- 60 seats Legislative Assembly — 2 Lok Sabha seats (West & East)
- Borders Bangladesh on three sides — about 84% of its border; Assam & Mizoram within India
- Hills & rivers The Jampui and other ranges; rivers Gumti, Haora, Khowai & Manu
- Tribes Around 19 Scheduled Tribes — the Tripuri (Tiprasa) are the largest, speaking Kokborok
- State symbols Animal: Phayre's langur · Bird: green imperial pigeon · Tree: agar
People
Population & Society
Census 2011 is the last full count. Tripura blends a Bengali-speaking majority with its indigenous tribes, and ranks among India's most literate states. Figures below are Census 2011.
- 36.7 lakh Population, 2011 (3,673,917) — the 2nd most populous NE state, after Assam
- 14.8% Decadal growth, 2001–2011
- 350 /km² Population density, 2011
- 960 Sex ratio — females per 1,000 males, 2011
- 87.2% Literacy rate, 2011 — among the highest in India
- ~31% Scheduled Tribes — the Tripuri (Tiprasa) largest, with the Reang, Jamatia, Chakma & others
- Kokborok The Tripuri language — an official language of the state since 1979
- Faiths Hindu majority (~83%), with Muslim (~9%), Christian (~4%) & Buddhist (~3%) communities — Census 2011
Economy
Rubber, Bamboo & Gas
Tripura is a small, largely agrarian economy that leans on the Centre — but it is India's second rubber state, a bamboo powerhouse, and sits on useful reserves of natural gas.
- ₹1.01 L cr GSDP 2025-26 (budget estimate) — past ₹1 lakh crore for the first time
- ~10% Nominal GSDP growth, 2025-26 over 2024-25
- ~₹1.9 lakh Per-capita income — about a tenth below the national average
- Farm-led Agriculture is about 48% of the economy; manufacturing is thin
Resources & industry
- Rubber India's 2nd-largest natural rubber producer, after Kerala — the "second rubber capital of India"
- Bamboo A bamboo-rich state that supplies much of India's agarbatti (incense-stick) raw material
- Natural gas ONGC gas fields feed the 726 MW Palatana power plant
- Tea & agar A long-standing tea producer; among India's leading agarwood (oudh) states
- Centre-dependent: like other small north-eastern states, Tripura relies heavily on central transfers, with a narrow own-revenue base.
- Figures here are the latest Tripura Budget estimates (via PRS) and MoSPI. The India GDP page compares all states at FY2024-25.
Agriculture
Pineapples, Rubber & the Hills
Rice and rubber dominate the land, with the famous Queen pineapple of the hills, jackfruit and tea among Tripura's prized produce.
- Queen pineapple Tripura's fragrant hill pineapple — GI-tagged (2015) and the state fruit
- Rubber India's second-largest natural rubber producer
- Rice The staple food crop across the valleys
- Tea A plantation crop dating to the early 1900s
- Bamboo & agar Bamboo for crafts & incense sticks; agarwood (oudh) plantations
- GI produce The Matabari Pera sweet, and Risa & Rignai-Pachra handloom (all GI, 2024)
- Orchard fruit Jackfruit and the hill oranges of the Jampui range
Administrative
The Eight Districts
Tripura has eight districts. About two-thirds of the state falls under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC). 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 Tripura Unique
Strengths, Heritage & Nature
For a small state, Tripura is rich in heritage — the palaces of the Manikya kings, the ancient carvings of Unakoti, and forests that shelter the clouded leopard.
Heritage
- Ujjayanta Palace The Manikya kings' grand Agartala palace (1901), now the state museum
- Neermahal A palace built on Rudrasagar Lake (1938) — a rare Indian "water palace"
- Unakoti Ancient rock-cut Shiva carvings (c. 7th–9th century), the "Angkor Wat of the North-East" — on UNESCO's tentative list
- Tripura Sundari The Matabari temple at Udaipur — one of the 51 Shakti Peethas
- Pilak An archaeological site of Buddhist & Hindu sculptures (8th–12th century)
Nature
- Clouded leopard Sepahijala shelters it, plus the Phayre's langur (the state animal); India's first Clouded Leopard National Park is here (2007)
- Jampui Hills The "eternal hill of spring," famed for its oranges
- Sanctuaries Trishna (Indian gaur), Gumti & Rowa wildlife sanctuaries
Culture & Traditions
Festivals, Dance & Mui Borok
Tripura's culture weaves together the Manikya court, the Tripuri tribes and a Bengali heartland — from the fourteen-gods festival to the balancing Hojagiri dance.
- Kharchi Puja The week-long worship of the fourteen ancestral deities, at Old Agartala
- Garia & Ker Puja Tripuri festivals for prosperity and the protection of the land
- Hojagiri The Reang dance, performed balancing on earthen pitchers — known across India
- Durga Puja The grandest festival for the Bengali-Hindu majority
- Mui Borok Traditional Tripuri cuisine, built on berma (fermented fish), bamboo shoot & herbs
- Risa & bamboo The handwoven Tripuri attire (GI-tagged) and the state's renowned cane & bamboo craft
Places to Visit
Palaces, Temples & Hills
From the lake palace of Neermahal to the carvings of Unakoti and the orange hills of Jampui, Tripura packs a lot of heritage and green into a small space.
- Neermahal The fairy-tale lake palace on Rudrasagar
- Unakoti The colossal rock-cut carvings near Kailashahar
- Ujjayanta Palace The royal palace and state museum in Agartala
- Tripura Sundari The Shakti Peetha temple at Udaipur (Matabari)
- Jampui Hills Orange country and the "hill of eternal spring"
- Sepahijala The clouded-leopard sanctuary, zoo & botanical garden
- Pilak The ancient Buddhist–Hindu sculpture site in the south
Rail, Road & Air
The Bangladesh Gateway
Long one of India's most cut-off states, Tripura is rewiring its connectivity — newly on the rail map, and reaching toward Bangladesh and its ports.
- MBB Airport Agartala's airport — among the busiest in the North-East; a new terminal opened in 2022
- On the rail map Agartala joined India's broad-gauge network in 2016, with a direct train to Delhi
- Akhaura rail link A cross-border rail line to Akhaura in Bangladesh, inaugurated in 2023, to shorten the route toward Kolkata
- Maitri Setu The "Friendship Bridge" over the Feni at Sabroom (2021), opening a path toward Chittagong port
- NH-8 The highway lifeline north to Assam (the old NH-44)
- Learning hubs NIT Agartala and the central Tripura University
People & Royalty
The Manikya Legacy
Tripura was ruled for centuries by the Manikya dynasty, whose court drew Rabindranath Tagore and gave India a music legend.
- Manikya dynasty One of India's longest-ruling royal houses, its kings chronicled in the Rajmala
- Bir Bikram Manikya The last ruling king (1923–47) who planned modern Agartala and built Neermahal
- Bir Chandra Manikya A 19th-century king — a pioneer of photography and Tagore's first royal patron
- S.D. Burman The legendary composer, of the Tripura royal line; his son R.D. Burman followed him
- Rabindranath Tagore A close friend of the Manikya court — Tripura inspired his Rajarshi & Visarjan
- Dipa Karmakar The Agartala gymnast — the first Indian gymnast to reach an Olympic final
Through the Ages
A Short History of Tripura
From the long reign of the Manikya kings to a merger with India and a state of its own, a few of the milestones that shaped Tripura.
| When | Milestone |
|---|---|
| Early 1400s | The Manikya dynasty takes power over the Tripuri kingdom |
| c. 1458 | The royal chronicle, the Rajmala, is begun |
| 16th century | The kingdom reaches its height under Dhanya & Vijaya Manikya |
| 1761 | Tripura becomes a British princely protectorate, the Manikyas still ruling |
| 19th century | The capital settles at Agartala |
| 1923–1947 | Maharaja Bir Bikram modernises Agartala and builds Neermahal |
| 15 October 1949 | Tripura merges with the Indian Union (agreement signed 9 September 1949) |
| 1 November 1956 | Tripura becomes a Union Territory |
| 21 January 1972 | Tripura becomes a full state |
| 2022 | Unakoti is added to UNESCO's tentative list |
| 2023 | The Agartala–Akhaura cross-border rail link is inaugurated |