"Sunday Special"Census of India Uttar Pradesh most populous, Lakshadweep least

With 200 million people, Uttar Pradesh continues to be the most populous state in the country

while the Lakshadweep has the least numbers at 64,429 people, according to the latest census data released. Sixteen percent of the total 1.20 billion Indians are living in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which now has more people than Brazil. Maharashtra is number two in the list with 112 million people. The combined population of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra - 312 million - is more than that of the US. The other three most populous states of India are Bihar with 103 million, West Bengal with 91 million and Andhra Pradesh with 84 million. The union territory of Lakshadweep is the least populated with 64,429 people followed by Daman and Diu (union territory) housing 242,911. The other three least populated regions are Dadra and Nagar Haveli (union territory) with 342,853, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands with 379,944, and Sikkim with 607,688 people. According to the provisional figures of Census 2011, the overall population has sharply increased in the last 10 years but the percentage decadal growth during 2001-2011 has slowed down 17.64 from 21.54 to percent in the previous decade. The percentage decadal growth rates of the six most populous states had also declined during 2001-2011 compared to 1991-2001. In Uttar Pradesh, it has come down to 20.09 percent from 25.85; in Maharashtra the figure dipped to 15.99 percent from 22.73; in Bihar to 25.07 percent from 28.62; West Bengal to 13.93 percent from 17.77; Andhra Pradesh to 11.1 percent from 14.59 and Madhya Pradesh to 20.3 percent from 24.26