The Basics
Nagaland at a Glance
Nagaland is a small hill state in India's far north-east, carved out as the country's 16th state in 1963. It is the homeland of the Naga peoples and is governed with special constitutional protections under Article 371A.
- Kohima Capital — Dimapur is the largest city and commercial hub
- 1 Dec 1963 Became India's 16th state, following the 1960 16-Point Agreement
- 16,579 km² Area — among India's smaller states
- 17 districts Reorganised rapidly from 11; Meluri, created in 2024, is the newest
- English The official language — unusual among Indian states; Nagamese, a creole, is the common tongue
- 60 seats Legislative Assembly — with 1 Lok Sabha and 1 Rajya Sabha seat
- Borders Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur within India; Myanmar to the east
- Article 371A Special provisions protecting Naga customary law, social practice and land
- ~16 tribes Major Naga tribes — Konyak, Ao, Angami, Sumi, Lotha, Chakhesang and more
- State symbols Animal: mithun · Bird: Blyth's tragopan · Tree: alder · Flower: rhododendron
People
Population & Society
Census 2011 is the last full count. Nagaland is overwhelmingly tribal and Christian — and is the only Indian state that recorded a fall in population between 2001 and 2011, a quirk traced to an over-count in the earlier census. Figures below are Census 2011.
- 19.8 lakh Population, 2011 (1,978,502)
- −0.6% Decadal change, 2001–2011 — the only state to record a fall (after an inflated 2001 count)
- 119 /km² Population density, 2011 — sparsely settled
- 931 Sex ratio — females per 1,000 males, 2011
- 79.6% Literacy rate, 2011
- ~86% Scheduled Tribes — the Naga tribes; the Konyak are among the largest
- ~88% Christian Faith of most Nagas, predominantly Baptist — Census 2011 (Hindu ~9%, Muslim ~2%)
- Nagamese An Assamese-based creole — the lingua franca across tribes (English is official)
Economy
Farms, Forests & the Centre
Nagaland is a small, largely agrarian economy that leans heavily on central transfers. Most households farm, services dominate output, and large-scale industry is thin.
- ₹45,020 cr GSDP 2025-26 (budget estimate)
- ~12% Nominal GSDP growth, 2025-26 (budget estimate)
- ~₹1.78 lakh Per-capita income (2024-25) — below the national average
- ~87% Share of state revenue that comes from the Centre
Land & resources
- Jhum & terraces Shifting cultivation is widespread; the Angami are famed for their terraced wet-rice
- Forests Among India's most forested states — about three-quarters of its area (ISFR 2021)
- King Chilli The GI-tagged Naga "Raja Mircha" — a small but distinctive export
- Oil & minerals Foothill oil, coal and limestone — largely untapped, and some long disputed
- Centre-dependent: like other small north-eastern states, Nagaland relies heavily on central transfers, with a narrow own-revenue base.
- Figures here are the latest Nagaland Budget estimates (via PRS) and the state Economic Survey. The India GDP page compares all states at FY2024-25.
Agriculture
Jhum, Rice & the King Chilli
Farming follows the hills — terraces on the slopes, jhum (shifting cultivation) on the rest — and a basket of distinctive GI-tagged produce led by the fiery Naga King Chilli.
- Naga King Chilli "Raja Mircha" (Bhut Jolokia) — GI-tagged in 2008; it once held the Guinness record as the world's hottest chilli
- Rice The staple, grown both on terraces and in jhum fields
- Zabo farming A Chakhesang rainwater-harvesting system blending fields, forest and fish ponds
- Naga tree tomato The tangy hill "tamarillo" — GI-tagged
- Naga cucumber A prized local cucumber — GI-tagged in 2021
- Chakhesang shawl Handwoven cloth from Phek district — GI-tagged in 2017
- Hill crops Large cardamom, oranges, pineapple and passion fruit from the slopes
Administrative
The Districts
Nagaland now has 17 districts, reorganised rapidly from 11 over the last few years — Meluri, created in 2024, is the newest. The map shows the 11 historic districts that open boundary data covers. Select one 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; the six newer districts (Chümoukedima, Niuland, Tseminyü, Noklak, Shamator and Meluri) are not yet on this open-data outline.
What Makes Nagaland Unique
Strengths, Heritage & Nature
Nagaland's pull is its living culture and its hills — the Hornbill Festival, a moving war cemetery at Kohima, flower-filled valleys and a village often called India's first "green" one.
Heritage
- Kohima War Cemetery Graves of Commonwealth soldiers from the 1944 Battle of Kohima, with its famous epitaph; maintained by the CWGC
- Kisama The Naga Heritage Village near Kohima — a morung for each tribe; home of the Hornbill Festival
- Kachari Ruins Carved monoliths of the medieval Dimasa Kachari kingdom, at Dimapur
- Khonoma An Angami village widely called India's first "green village," with a community conservation area
Nature
- Mount Saramati The state's highest peak (3,826 m), on the Myanmar border
- Dzükou Valley The "Valley of Flowers of the North-East," on the Manipur border near Kohima
- Japfü Peak A high peak near Kohima, home to a Guinness-recognised giant rhododendron
- Deep forests Among India's most forested states — about three-quarters green cover (ISFR 2021)
Culture & Traditions
Festivals, Food & the Morung
Every Naga tribe has its own festivals, dress and dialect — and the state gathers them all each December at the Hornbill Festival. Fermented flavours, smoked pork and the village morung shape daily life.
- Hornbill Festival The 10-day "Festival of Festivals" at Kisama (1–10 December), started in 2000
- Tribe festivals Sekrenyi (Angami), Moatsü (Ao), Tuluni (Sumi), Aoleang (Konyak) & Tokhü Emong (Lotha)
- The morung The traditional youth dormitory — a village's school of crafts, lore and song
- Naga cuisine Smoked pork, axone (fermented soybean), bamboo shoot and the King Chilli; galho, a hearty one-pot rice dish
- Music A strong choral and gospel tradition, with a lively contemporary scene backed by the state's music task force
- Shawls & crafts Tribe-specific warrior shawls, wood carving and cane & bamboo work
Places to Visit
Hills, Valleys & the Hornbill
From the war cemetery and museum at Kohima to the flower valleys, Konyak country and the great December gathering at Kisama, Nagaland rewards the traveller who climbs into its hills.
- Kohima The hill capital — the war cemetery and the Nagaland State Museum
- Hornbill Festival Kisama comes alive each December with all the Naga tribes
- Dzükou Valley A trekkers' valley of seasonal flowers on the Manipur border
- Mon Konyak country, known for the elder generation of facial-tattooed men — a vanishing tradition
- Khonoma The Angami "green village" and conservation model near Kohima
- Mokokchung The cultural heartland of the Ao Naga
- Dimapur The gateway city and the ancient Kachari Ruins
Rail, Road & Air
Reaching the Hills
Mountainous terrain has long kept Nagaland road-bound, with the rail and air network anchored on Dimapur — though new lines are slowly climbing toward Kohima.
- Dimapur Airport The state's only operational airport
- Dimapur railhead Long the state's principal railway gateway, on the NF Railway
- Rail toward Kohima A new Dhansiri–Zubza line is under construction; trains have reached Shokhuvi (2021) and Molvom (2025), near Dimapur
- Chiethu airport A second, greenfield airport is planned near Kohima
- NH-29 The main highway artery, Dimapur–Kohima and on toward Imphal
- Nagaland University The state's central university (operating since 1994), headquartered at Lumami
People
Naga Voices
From the leaders who steered Nagaland to statehood to Olympians, ministers and musicians, a few of the Nagas who have left a mark.
- Dr. Imkongliba Ao Led the Naga People's Convention that shaped the path to statehood
- Neiphiu Rio The state's longest-serving Chief Minister
- S.C. Jamir A several-term Chief Minister, later Governor of four states
- Dr. T. Ao Footballer who captained independent India's first Olympic team (London, 1948)
- Chekrovolü Swüro Olympic archer (London, 2012) and Arjuna awardee
- Moa Subong Musician (Abiogenesis) who invented the bamboo "Bamhum" wind instrument
- Temjen Imna Along A current state minister, widely known for his humour online
Through the Ages
A Short History of Nagaland
From British contact in the Naga Hills to a state of its own and a still-unfinished peace process, a few of the milestones — told plainly.
| When | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1832 | The first British expedition enters the Naga Hills |
| 1872 | American Baptist missionary E.W. Clark begins work among the Ao at Molungkimong; Christianity spreads |
| 1881 | The Naga Hills are made a district of British Assam |
| Apr–Jun 1944 | The Battle of Kohima — a turning point of the Second World War in the East |
| 1946 | The Naga National Council is formed |
| 1957 | The Naga Hills–Tuensang Area is created as a centrally administered unit |
| 1960 | The 16-Point Agreement provides for a Naga state within India |
| 1962 | Article 371A is added, protecting Naga customary law and land (in force from statehood) |
| 1 December 1963 | Nagaland is inaugurated as India's 16th state |
| 1975 | The Shillong Accord is signed with a section of the NNC |
| 2000 | The first Hornbill Festival is held |
| 2015 | A framework agreement is signed with the NSCN (IM); talks continue |