The Basics
Rajasthan at a Glance
India's largest state, in the country's north-west — a land of desert and hills, forts and palaces, on the border with Pakistan.
- Jaipur Capital and largest city — the famous "Pink City"
- 1 Nov 1956 Formed in its present shape; the celebrated Rajasthan Day is 30 March (from 1949)
- 342,239 km² Area — India's largest state, about a tenth of the country
- 41 districts Currently — after reorganisations in 2023–24; across 7 divisions
- Hindi Official language; Rajasthani & its dialects (Marwari, Mewari, Dhundhari) widely spoken
- 200 seats Legislative Assembly (unicameral); 25 Lok Sabha seats
- Borders Pakistan to the west (over 1,000 km); and Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, MP & Gujarat
- Desert & hills The Thar (India's largest desert) and the Aravalli — one of the world's oldest mountain ranges
- Rivers & canal The Chambal, Luni, Banas & Mahi; the Indira Gandhi Canal greens the Thar
- Guru Shikhar The highest peak of the Aravallis (1,722 m), at Mount Abu
- State symbols Animal: chinkara (camel for livestock) · Bird: godawan · Tree: khejri · Flower: rohida
People
Population & Society
A vast state with the lowest population density of any large state — its people spread thin across the desert. Census 2011 is the last full count, so current totals are projections.
- 6.85 cr Population, 2011 (68,548,437) — India's 8th most populous; about 8.6 crore today (projected)
- 21.3% Decadal growth, 2001–2011 — among India's higher rates
- 200 /km² Population density, 2011 — the lowest among India's large states
- 928 Sex ratio — females per 1,000 males, 2011 — below the national average
- 66.1% Literacy rate, 2011 — with a wide male–female gap
- 24.9% Urbanisation — a largely rural state
- 3 cities Million-plus cities — Jaipur, Jodhpur & Kota
- Tribal belt A large tribal population in the south — the Bhil & Meena communities
- SC & ST ~18% Scheduled Castes and ~13% Scheduled Tribes (2011)
Economy
Minerals, Solar & a ₹20-Lakh-Crore Economy
One of India's larger economies — built on minerals, a booming solar industry and agriculture — though incomes per head remain below the national average and its debt burden is high.
- ₹19.9 L cr GSDP 2025-26 (budget estimate, current prices) — India's ~7th-largest state economy
- ~17% Nominal GSDP growth, 2025-26 (budget estimate)
- Below average Per-capita income (~₹1.87 lakh, 2023-24) — below the national average
- ~38% Outstanding debt as % of GSDP — a relatively high burden
What the economy is made of — share of GSVA (2024-25)
- ~46% Services — trade, tourism, transport & government
- ~27% Industry — minerals, cement, textiles & chemicals
- ~27% Agriculture & allied — a high share, reflecting the rural base
Minerals & energy
- #1 in solar India's largest installed solar capacity — around a third of the national total
- Bhadla The Thar's vast solar park, near Jodhpur — among the world's largest
- Zinc & lead India's main source — Hindustan Zinc (Udaipur), with the world's largest zinc mine at Rampura Agucha
- Marble India's leading marble producer — Makrana's marble built the Taj Mahal
- Gypsum & silver Most of India's gypsum and silver come from Rajasthan
- 2nd in mining India's 2nd-largest mineral-producing state, mining some 57 minerals
- Desert resources: the Thar's sun and the Aravalli's minerals give Rajasthan a distinctive economy — India's solar leader and a mining powerhouse — even as its income per head and its high debt remain challenges.
- Figures here are the latest Rajasthan Budget estimates (2025-26). The India GDP page compares all states at FY2024-25, so its Rajasthan figure is for that earlier year.
Agriculture & Livestock
The Desert Farm
Despite its dry climate, Rajasthan is India's top producer of several crops — bajra, mustard and the world's guar — and the country's leading wool and camel state.
- Bajra India's largest producer of pearl millet (bajra), the grain of the dry lands
- Mustard India's largest producer of rapeseed-mustard — about half the country's crop
- Guar The world's largest producer of guar (cluster bean) — its gum is used across industry worldwide
- Wool & camels India's largest wool producer, and home to most of the country's camels
- Spices A leading grower of cumin, coriander, fenugreek & fennel
- Milk Among India's largest milk producers — second only to Uttar Pradesh
- Indira Gandhi Canal One of India's longest canals — carrying Himalayan water across the Thar
Administrative
The Districts
Rajasthan's map has changed a lot lately: its 33 historic districts became 50 in 2023, then were trimmed to 41 in late 2024. The interactive map below uses the 33 historic districts in the open data — pick one to highlight it above.
The map and this list share the same data. Clicking a district highlights it on the interactive map in the hero.
What Makes Rajasthan Unique
Forts, Desert & Heritage
From a clutch of UNESCO hill forts and the Pink City to the great Thar, the ancient Aravallis and the marble that built the Taj — a few things Rajasthan is known for.
World Heritage & forts
- Hill Forts Six great forts on the UNESCO list (2013): Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambore, Amber, Jaisalmer & Gagron
- Jaipur The walled Pink City — a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2019)
- Keoladeo The Bharatpur bird sanctuary — a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1985)
- Kumbhalgarh Its rampart is among the longest continuous walls in the world
Desert, hills & resources
- The Thar India's largest desert, spread across the state's west
- Aravalli One of the world's oldest mountain ranges; Mount Abu is its only hill station
- Tigers Ranthambore & Sariska — among India's most famous tiger reserves
- Makrana The white marble of Makrana — used to build the Taj Mahal
Culture & Traditions
Fairs, Folk Arts & Food
Rajasthan's culture is as colourful as its turbans — a great camel fair, swirling folk dances, desert musicians, and crafts of cloth, stone and silver.
- Pushkar Fair One of the world's largest camel & livestock fairs, by the sacred Pushkar lake
- Kalbelia The snake-charmers' dance — on UNESCO's heritage list (2010); alongside the Ghoomar
- Folk music The Manganiyar & Langa musicians of the western desert
- Crafts Jaipur's blue pottery, bandhani tie-dye, block printing (Sanganer & Bagru) & Kota Doria
- Cuisine Dal baati churma, the fiery laal maas, ker sangri & the sweet ghevar
- Coloured cities Pink Jaipur, blue Jodhpur, golden Jaisalmer & Udaipur of the lakes
Places to Visit
Palaces, Lakes & Dunes
One of India's most-visited states — a circuit of royal cities, each with its own colour and fort, plus desert dunes, lake palaces and tiger country.
- Jaipur The Pink City — Amber Fort, the City Palace, Hawa Mahal & Jantar Mantar
- Udaipur The "City of Lakes", with its island Lake Palace
- Jodhpur The Blue City beneath the mighty Mehrangarh Fort
- Jaisalmer The Golden City and the dunes of the Thar Desert
- Pushkar The sacred lake and one of India's very few Brahma temples
- Mount Abu The hill station and the exquisite Dilwara Jain temples
- Ranthambore Tiger safaris among the ruins of an old fort
- Chittorgarh The great forts of Mewar — Chittorgarh & Kumbhalgarh
Modern Rajasthan
Solar, Oil & Industry
The desert that draws tourists also powers the state — Rajasthan leads India in solar, pumps its largest onshore oil, and is building new refineries and industrial corridors.
- Solar power India's solar leader — Bhadla, in the Thar, is one of the world's largest solar parks
- Mangala Barmer's Mangala field — India's largest onshore oil field (Cairn / Vedanta)
- Pachpadra A new HPCL refinery near Barmer — being commissioned in 2026
- Jaipur A growing IT & startup hub; with industrial nodes along the Delhi–Mumbai corridor
- Pokhran India's nuclear test range, in the Jaisalmer desert (1974 & 1998)
- Zinc Hindustan Zinc (Udaipur) — among the world's largest zinc producers
Road, Rail & Air
Metro, Expressways & the Palace on Wheels
The biggest stretch of India's longest expressway crosses Rajasthan, alongside a capital metro, a luxury heritage train and a network of airports.
- Jaipur Metro The state's metro railway — its first line opened in 2015
- Delhi–Mumbai India's longest expressway — its biggest single-state stretch runs through Rajasthan
- Palace on Wheels The luxury heritage tourist train, touring the royal cities since 1982
- Railways North Western Railway, headquartered at Jaipur
- Airports Jaipur International, with Udaipur, Jodhpur & Kishangarh (Ajmer)
- Amritsar–Jamnagar Half of this new expressway runs through Rajasthan's west
People & the Rajputs
Icons of Rajasthan
Rajasthan's story is told in its warrior kings and saint-poets — the Rajputs who held the desert against empires, and the builders of its great cities.
- Maharana Pratap The Mewar hero who defied the Mughals at Haldighati (1576)
- Prithviraj Chauhan The Chauhan king of Ajmer and Delhi, of the Battles of Tarain (1191–92)
- Sawai Jai Singh II The astronomer-king who founded the planned city of Jaipur in 1727
- Mirabai The 16th-century Rajput saint-poet and devotee of Krishna
- The Rajputs The warrior clans of Mewar, Marwar & Amber — and the jauhar of Chittor
- Mohan Lal Sukhadia The long-serving Chief Minister who built modern Rajasthan
Through the Ages
A Short History of Rajasthan
From an Indus Valley city to the land of the Rajput kingdoms and a state of its own — a few milestones that shaped Rajasthan.
| When | Milestone |
|---|---|
| c. 2600 BCE | Kalibangan, a great Indus Valley city, flourishes on the Ghaggar |
| 8th–11th c. CE | The Gurjara-Pratihara empire rules from Rajasthan over northern India |
| 1191–1192 | Prithviraj Chauhan and Muhammad of Ghor clash in the Battles of Tarain |
| 1303 | Alauddin Khalji's siege of Chittorgarh, and the first jauhar |
| 1568 | Akbar takes Chittorgarh after its last jauhar |
| 1576 | Maharana Pratap fights the Mughals at the Battle of Haldighati |
| 1727 | Sawai Jai Singh II founds the city of Jaipur |
| 1818 | The Rajput states sign treaties with the British (Rajputana) |
| 30 March 1949 | "Greater Rajasthan" is inaugurated — celebrated as Rajasthan Day |
| 1 Nov 1956 | Rajasthan takes its present form under the States Reorganisation Act |
| 2013 | The Hill Forts of Rajasthan join UNESCO's World Heritage list |
| 2019 | Jaipur, the Pink City, becomes a UNESCO World Heritage Site |