The Basics
Karnataka at a Glance
A large south-western state spanning the Arabian Sea coast, the Western Ghats and the Deccan plateau — an ancient Kannada land that is now India's technology capital.
- Bengaluru Capital and largest city — India's 3rd-most-populous, the "Silicon Valley of India"
- 1956, then 1973 Mysore State formed on 1 Nov 1956; renamed Karnataka on 1 Nov 1973
- 191,791 km² Area — India's 6th-largest state
- 31 districts Currently — after Vijayanagara was carved out in 2021
- Kannada Official language — a classical language of India (2008)
- 224 + 75 A bicameral legislature — Assembly (224) and Council (75); 28 Lok Sabha seats
- ~320 km coast The Karavali coast on the Arabian Sea; borders six states
- Kaveri & Krishna The lifeline rivers; with the Tungabhadra and the Sharavathi (Jog Falls)
- Mullayanagiri At 1,930 m, Karnataka's highest peak, in the Western Ghats
- Western Ghats The Sahyadri ranges along the west — a global biodiversity hotspot
- State symbols Animal: elephant · Bird: Indian roller · Tree: sandalwood · Flower: lotus
People
Population & Society
A multilingual state anchored by Kannada, drawing migrants from across India to Bengaluru. Census 2011 is the last full count, so current totals are projections.
- 6.11 cr Population, 2011 (61,095,297) — India's 8th most populous
- 15.6% Decadal growth, 2001–2011
- 319 /km² Population density, 2011 — close to the national average
- 973 Sex ratio — females per 1,000 males, 2011
- 75.4% Literacy rate, 2011 — above the national average
- 38.7% Urbanisation, 2011 — relatively high, led by Bengaluru
- Bengaluru India's 3rd-most-populous city (~8.5 million) — and one of its fastest-growing
- Multilingual Kannada ~67%, with large Urdu, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Tulu & Konkani communities
- Faith & caste Hindu ~84%, Muslim ~13%, Christian ~2%, Jain ~0.7% (2011); SC ~17%, ST ~7%
Economy
India's Tech Engine — a ₹30-Lakh-Crore Economy
One of India's largest and richest state economies, built on Bengaluru's software, startups and aerospace — with the country's highest per-capita income among the large states.
- ₹30.7 L cr GSDP 2025-26 (budget estimate, current prices) — about 9% of India's economy
- 4th-largest Among India's biggest state economies (long ranked 3rd)
- Highest income The highest per-capita income of any large Indian state
- ~25% Outstanding debt as % of GSDP — a moderate burden
What the economy is made of — share of GSVA (2023-24)
- ~66% Services — IT, finance, trade & business services
- ~20% Industry — electronics, machinery, aerospace & textiles
- ~14% Agriculture & allied
The technology powerhouse
- #1 in IT India's largest software exporter — around 40% of the national total, almost all from Bengaluru
- Startup capital Bengaluru has the most unicorns and startup funding of any Indian city
- Aerospace A leading hub — home to ISRO, HAL and much of India's space & defence work
- Kolar gold The Kolar Gold Fields were India's main gold source for a century, until they closed in 2001
- From gold to software: once India's gold capital at Kolar, Karnataka is now its technology capital — Bengaluru alone accounts for the bulk of the nation's software exports.
- Figures here are the latest Karnataka Budget estimates (2025-26). The India GDP page compares all states at FY2024-25, so its Karnataka figure is for that earlier year.
Agriculture
Coffee, Silk & Sandalwood
India's coffee and silk state — leading the country in coffee, mulberry silk, coconut and ragi — with the famous sandalwood of Mysore and the coffee hills of Coorg.
- Coffee #1 India's largest coffee producer — around 70% of the crop, from Kodagu (Coorg), Chikkamagaluru & Hassan
- Silk #1 India's largest raw-silk producer — the famous Mysore silk; Ramanagara has one of Asia's biggest cocoon markets
- Coconut #1 Recently became India's largest coconut producer, overtaking Kerala
- Ragi & arecanut India's largest producer of finger millet (ragi) and arecanut; a top sunflower grower
- Sandalwood Mysore sandalwood — the basis of the famous Mysore Sandal Soap
- North Karnataka A leading grower of tur (red gram) and sugarcane, in the Krishna basin
- Water disputes Reliant on the Kaveri, Krishna & Tungabhadra; the Cauvery sharing dispute is long-running
Administrative
The Districts
Karnataka now has 31 districts — the newest, Vijayanagara, was carved from Ballari in 2021. The interactive map below uses the 30 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 Karnataka Unique
Heritage, Science & Wildlife
Four World Heritage Sites and a classical language, India's premier science city, and some of the country's richest forests — Karnataka's range runs deep.
Heritage & language
- 4 UNESCO sites Hampi (1986), Pattadakal (1987), the Western Ghats (2012) & the Hoysala temples (2023)
- 8 Jnanpiths Kannada has won India's top literary award eight times — historically the most of any language
- Hampi The vast ruins of Vijayanagara, once one of the world's great cities
- Mysuru A heritage city of palaces — twice rated India's cleanest (2015 & 2016)
Science & nature
- IISc The Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru — India's top-ranked research institute
- Space & defence ISRO's headquarters and HAL — Karnataka leads India's space and aerospace effort
- Tigers & elephants India's 2nd-highest tiger population and one of its largest elephant populations
- Western Ghats Bandipur and Nagarhole — among India's finest tiger reserves
Culture & Traditions
Dasara, Yakshagana & Carnatic Roots
From the royal Dasara of Mysuru and the night-long Yakshagana of the coast to the birthplace of Carnatic music's teaching, the silks of Mysore and the toys of Channapatna.
- Mysuru Dasara Karnataka's state festival — ten days at the Mysore Palace, with the Jamboo Savari elephant procession
- Yakshagana The vivid all-night dance-drama of coastal Karnataka
- Carnatic roots Purandara Dasa, the Kannada saint hailed as the grandsire of Carnatic music
- Crafts Mysore silk, Channapatna lacquered toys and Bidar's silver-inlaid Bidriware — all GI-tagged
- Cuisine Mysore masala dosa, bisi bele bath, ragi mudde, Udupi food & filter coffee
- Sandalwood "Sandalwood" — the Kannada film industry, based in Bengaluru
Places to Visit
One State, Many Worlds
Ancient capitals and carved temples, coffee hills and palm coasts, palaces and waterfalls — Karnataka's tourism tagline says it all.
- Hampi The Vijayanagara ruins — the stone chariot and the Virupaksha temple
- Mysuru The illuminated Amba Vilas (Mysore) Palace and the Dasara city
- Belur & Halebidu The intricately carved Hoysala temples — a UNESCO site
- Badami & Pattadakal The Chalukya cradle of Indian temple architecture
- Shravanabelagola The towering monolithic Gomateshwara (Bahubali) statue
- Coorg The "Scotland of India" — misty coffee hills, with Chikkamagaluru
- Jog Falls One of India's highest waterfalls, on the Sharavathi
- Gokarna & coast Temple town and quiet beaches along the Karavali
Modern Karnataka
Tech, Space & Solar
Bengaluru anchors India's technology and space effort, while the state builds out metros, electronics plants and one of the world's largest solar parks.
- IT capital Bengaluru's Electronic City, Whitefield & Outer Ring Road — India's biggest tech cluster
- Space & air ISRO's headquarters, HAL's aircraft factories and IISc are all in Bengaluru
- Namma Metro One of India's largest metro networks, running since 2011, with a big Phase 2 under way
- Pavagada Solar A 2,050 MW solar park at Tumakuru — one of the world's largest
- Electronics A growing electronics & EV base — Foxconn and others are building near Bengaluru
- New Mangalore A major port on the Arabian Sea, handling record cargo
Road, Rail & Air
Airports, Metro & Rail
A busy airport at Bengaluru, two metro and suburban-rail projects, a major seaport and a rail zone headquartered in the state.
- Bengaluru airport Kempegowda International — India's 3rd-busiest, handling over 40 million passengers a year
- 2 airports International airports at Bengaluru and Mangaluru, plus several domestic ones
- Metro & rail Namma Metro in Bengaluru, with a suburban-rail network under construction
- Railways South Western Railway is headquartered at Hubballi
- New Mangalore Port The state's major seaport, on the Arabian Sea
- Traffic strain Bengaluru's rapid growth has made it one of the world's most congested cities
People & Heritage
Icons of Karnataka
A city-founder, a great emperor, a 12th-century reformer, the "Tiger of Mysore" and a legendary engineer — a few of the figures bound to this land.
- Kempegowda The chieftain who founded Bengaluru in 1537
- Krishnadevaraya The greatest Vijayanagara emperor (r. 1509–1529), under whom Hampi flourished
- Basaveshwara The 12th-century reformer and poet of the Vachana / Lingayat movement
- Tipu Sultan The "Tiger of Mysore", who fell defending Srirangapatna in 1799
- Kittur Rani Chennamma The queen who took up arms against the British in 1824
- M. Visvesvaraya The engineer-statesman behind the KRS dam; Engineer's Day marks his birthday
Through the Ages
A Short History of Karnataka
From the Kadambas and the Chalukyas to Vijayanagara and a state of its own — a few milestones that shaped Karnataka.
| When | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 4th–6th c. CE | The Kadambas of Banavasi — the first dynasty to rule in Kannada |
| 6th–8th c. | The Chalukyas of Badami build Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal |
| 11th–14th c. | The Hoysalas build the temples of Belur and Halebidu |
| 12th c. | Basaveshwara leads the Vachana and Lingayat reform movement |
| 1336–1565 | The Vijayanagara empire rules from Hampi — its zenith under Krishnadevaraya |
| 1537 | Kempegowda founds Bengaluru |
| 1565 | Vijayanagara falls at the Battle of Talikota |
| 18th c. | Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan rule Mysore; the Anglo-Mysore Wars |
| 1799 | Tipu Sultan falls at Srirangapatna |
| 1824 | Kittur Rani Chennamma revolts against the British |
| 1 Nov 1956 | Mysore State is reorganised on linguistic lines |
| 1 Nov 1973 | Mysore State is renamed Karnataka |