The Basics
Chhattisgarh at a Glance
A landlocked central-Indian state of paddy plains and dense forests — rich in coal, iron and steel, and home to the great tribal region of Bastar.
- Raipur Capital and largest city; Bhilai-Durg is the big industrial cluster, and Nava Raipur the new planned capital city
- 1 Nov 2000 Formed as India's 26th state, carved out of Madhya Pradesh
- 135,192 km² Area — India's 9th-largest state
- 33 districts Up from 16 at formation; six new districts were added in 2022
- Hindi Official language; Chhattisgarhi is the most widely spoken tongue
- 90 seats Legislative Assembly (unicameral); 11 Lok Sabha & 5 Rajya Sabha seats
- Borders Seven states — MP, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand & Uttar Pradesh
- The Mahanadi The lifeline river; with the Indravati, Shivnath, Hasdeo & Arpa
- ~41% forest The 3rd-most-forested state by area, after Madhya Pradesh & Arunachal Pradesh
- Landlocked On the central plateau, the upper basin of the Mahanadi
- State symbols Animal: wild buffalo · Bird: Bastar hill myna · Tree: sal
People
Population & Society
One of India's most tribal states — nearly a third of its people are Adivasi — and a largely rural one. Census 2011 is the last full count, so current totals are projections.
- 2.55 cr Population, 2011 (25,545,198) — India's 16th most populous; about 3 crore today (projected)
- 22.6% Decadal growth, 2001–2011 — above the national average
- 189 /km² Population density, 2011 — well below the national average
- 991 Sex ratio — females per 1,000 males, 2011 — above the national average
- 70.3% Literacy rate, 2011
- 23.2% Urbanisation, 2011 — a largely rural state
- 30.6% ST Among India's highest tribal shares — the Gond, Halba, Oraon & the Bastar tribes (Muria, Maria)
- Cities Raipur (largest), the Bhilai-Durg belt, Bilaspur & Korba
- Chhattisgarhi The mother tongue of a large majority; Hindu ~93% (2011), with strong tribal traditions
Economy
Steel, Coal & Power
An unusually industry-heavy economy — one of the highest mining-and-manufacturing shares of any state — built on Bhilai steel, Korba coal and power, and the Bailadila iron ore.
- ₹6.35 L cr GSDP 2025-26 (budget estimate, current prices)
- ~12% Nominal GSDP growth, 2025-26 (budget estimate)
- ~₹1.6 lakh Per-capita GSDP (2024-25) — above the national average
- ~25% Outstanding debt as % of GSDP — a relatively moderate burden
What the economy is made of — share of GSVA (2021-22)
- ~42% Industry — among the highest mining + manufacturing shares of any state
- ~35% Services — trade, transport & government
- ~22% Agriculture & allied — led by paddy
Minerals, metal & power
- Bhilai The Bhilai Steel Plant (SAIL) — a great integrated mill that makes the rails for Indian Railways
- Bailadila Some of the world's finest hematite iron ore (NMDC), in Bastar
- Korba A coal and power powerhouse — huge mines and thermal stations; the state runs a power surplus
- Only tin India's only tin-ore producer; also a leading source of coal, dolomite & limestone, and the BALCO aluminium smelter at Korba
- Made of minerals: coal, iron ore, limestone, dolomite, bauxite and tin give Chhattisgarh one of India's most mineral-rich, industry-heavy economies — even as much of the state remains rural and forested.
- Figures here are the latest Chhattisgarh Budget estimates (2025-26). The India GDP page compares all states at FY2024-25, so its Chhattisgarh figure is for that earlier year.
Agriculture & Forest Produce
The Rice Bowl of India
Paddy is everything here — Chhattisgarh is the "Dhan ka Katora", one of India's biggest rice-procuring states — alongside a rich harvest of forest produce from its woods.
- Rice bowl The "Dhan ka Katora" — paddy dominates the central plains
- #2 procurement India's 2nd-largest paddy procurer after Punjab — record buying at a high support price
- Rice gene bank Over 20,000 indigenous rice varieties are conserved at Raipur's farm university
- Tendu leaves One of India's largest producers (2nd, after Madhya Pradesh) — collected for bidis
- Forest produce A great source of mahua, lac, tamarind, sal seed, chironji & honey — the tribal "green gold"
- Kosa silk Champa is a hub for kosa (tussar) silk; GI-tagged
- GI rice The aromatic Jeeraphool and Nagri Dubraj rices both carry GI tags
Administrative
The Districts
Chhattisgarh now has 33 districts — it began with 16 in 2000 and added six new ones in 2022. The interactive map below uses the 27 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 Chhattisgarh Unique
Forests, Bastar & Waterfalls
A green, mineral-rich state with one of India's largest forest covers and deepest tribal cultures — the land of Bastar, of Chitrakote Falls and ancient Sirpur.
Forests & tribal heritage
- 3rd in forest The 3rd-most-forested state by area — over 40% of it under forest
- Bastar A great tribal region — Gond, Muria & Maria culture, Dhokra bell-metal art and wrought iron
- Bastar Dussehra A ~75-day festival of the goddess Danteshwari — one of India's longest
- Mineral & power Mineral-rich and power-surplus — a backbone of India's steel and electricity
Nature & heritage
- Chitrakote India's widest waterfall, on the Indravati — the "Niagara of India"
- Sirpur An ancient site on the Mahanadi — the 7th-century Lakshmana brick temple
- Danteshwari The Dantewada temple — one of the 52 Shakti Peethas, the goddess of Bastar
- Dakshina Kosala By tradition the maternal land of Kausalya, Lord Rama's mother
Culture & Traditions
Pandwani, Dhokra & Folk Dance
From the sung Mahabharata of Pandwani to the bell-metal art of Bastar, the folk theatre that inspired Habib Tanvir, and a cuisine built on rice and the forest.
- Pandwani The Mahabharata sung as a folk ballad — its great voice is Teejan Bai (Padma Vibhushan)
- Folk dance Panthi of the Satnamis, Raut Nacha, Karma & Sua — the dances of the seasons
- Naya Theatre Habib Tanvir built his acclaimed theatre on Chhattisgarhi Nacha folk performers
- Bastar crafts Dhokra bell-metal, wrought-iron and wooden crafts — all GI-tagged; Godna tattoo art
- Cuisine Rice-based — chila, faraa, muthia, bafauri, the sweet dehrori & everyday bore-basi
- Rajim Kumbh The "Prayag of Chhattisgarh" — a great mela at the Mahanadi confluence
Places to Visit
Falls, Caves & Temples
"Full of Surprises" — a circuit of waterfalls and limestone caves, ancient temples and a Himalaya-in-miniature on a forested plateau.
- Chitrakote The horseshoe "Niagara of India", thundering in the monsoon, near Jagdalpur
- Kanger Valley A national park of Tirathgarh Falls and the Kutumsar limestone caves
- Bhoramdeo The carved 11th-century "Khajuraho of Chhattisgarh"
- Sirpur Ancient brick temples and Buddhist viharas on the Mahanadi
- Mainpat The "Shimla of Chhattisgarh" — a cool plateau with a Tibetan settlement
- Mata Kausalya Chandkhuri — believed the birthplace of Rama's mother, on the Ram Van Gaman Path
- Tiger reserves Indravati & Achanakmar — forests of tiger, bison & wild buffalo
- Mahamaya The temple town of Ratanpur, an old Kalachuri capital near Bilaspur
Modern Chhattisgarh
A New Capital, Steel & Power
A greenfield capital city, India's steel and power workhorses, and a railway zone that hauls more freight than almost any other — Chhattisgarh keeps the country's heavy industry running.
- Nava Raipur Atal Nagar — a greenfield, planned smart capital city beside Raipur
- Bhilai Steel One of India's largest steel plants (SAIL) — the source of the nation's railway rails
- Korba power A coal-and-power hub — among India's biggest coal mines and thermal stations
- Coal & freight One of India's top coal states; the railway zone here hauls a huge share of the nation's freight
- Education IIT Bhilai, IIM & AIIMS & NIT Raipur anchor a growing knowledge base
- Bastar's turn A long security-and-development challenge in Bastar is easing, with new roads, rail & connectivity
Road, Rail & Air
A Freight Powerhouse
Coal and steel make Chhattisgarh one of Indian Railways' busiest freight grounds, with the state's main airport and highways linking it to the rest of central India.
- Railways South East Central Railway, based at Bilaspur — one of the highest-freight zones in India
- Bilaspur A major rail hub, moving the state's coal, steel and iron ore
- Airport Swami Vivekananda Airport, Raipur — the state's busiest, with international flights planned
- Vande Bharat A fast train links Bilaspur and Raipur with Nagpur
- Highways A growing national-highway network ties the plains and the Bastar hills together
- New lines New railways into Bastar — towards Rowghat and Jagdalpur — are opening up the south
People & Heritage
Icons of Chhattisgarh
A 19th-century martyr, a reformer, a folk-ballad legend and a pioneering theatre-maker — a few of the figures bound to this land.
- Veer Narayan Singh The zamindar of Sonakhan — Chhattisgarh's first martyr, hanged at Raipur in 1857
- Sundarlal Sharma The reformer and freedom worker who fought untouchability
- Teejan Bai The Pandwani legend who carried Chhattisgarhi folk to the world stage
- Habib Tanvir The pioneering playwright of Naya Theatre, rooted in Chhattisgarhi folk
- Minimata The region's first woman MP and a champion of Dalit rights
- Ajit Jogi The first Chief Minister of the new state, in 2000
Through the Ages
A Short History of Chhattisgarh
From ancient Dakshina Kosala and the temples of Sirpur to a long spell inside Madhya Pradesh and a state of its own — a few milestones that shaped Chhattisgarh.
| When | Milestone |
|---|---|
| Ancient (legend) | The region of Dakshina Kosala — by tradition, the maternal land of Rama's mother Kausalya |
| 6th–8th c. CE | The Panduvamshis rule from Sirpur; the Lakshmana brick temple is built |
| 11th–18th c. | The Kalachuris (Haihayas) rule from Ratanpur |
| c. 1324 | The Kakatiyas found the Bastar kingdom; the Danteshwari cult takes root |
| 1740–1758 | The Marathas (Bhonsles of Nagpur) conquer the region |
| Mid-19th c. | The British take over; it becomes part of the Central Provinces |
| 10 Dec 1857 | Veer Narayan Singh, Chhattisgarh's first martyr, is hanged at Raipur |
| 1920 | Sundarlal Sharma leads the Kandel canal Satyagraha |
| 1 Nov 1956 | The region is merged into Madhya Pradesh |
| 1959 | Habib Tanvir founds Naya Theatre, rooted in Chhattisgarhi folk |
| 1 Nov 2000 | Chhattisgarh becomes India's 26th state, carved from Madhya Pradesh |
| 2022 | The state is reorganised into 33 districts |