By : Neha Dhyani
Updated : Feb 1, 2023, 14:42
There are 14 Kerala districts in total, which together spread around an area of 38,863 square kilometres. Kerala has a long coastline which borders the Arabian Sea. The state also borders Karnataka on the north and northeast, and Tamil Nadu on the east and south. Initially, there were only 5 districts in Kerala when it was formed in 1956.
There have been no recent additions to the number of districts in the state. The 14th district of Kasaragod was formed in 1984 in Kerala. Find out the names of all the Kerala districts, their date of establishment, and the area that they cover here.
The districts of Kerala are divided into many subdivisions for better control over the day-to-day administration. There are 77 Taluks, 87 Municipalities, 6 Municipal Corporations, and 941 Gram Panchayats in Kerala. The districts of the state are governed by an officer from the Indian Administrative Service.
Based on cultural, historical, and geographical similarities, the 14 Kerala districts are divided broadly into the 3 parts
The state of Kerala was established with only 5 districts. But today, there are 14 districts in Kerala. The following table shows the names of all the Kerala districts -
Districts of Kerala | |
|---|---|
Ernakulam | Kannur |
Kollam | Kozhikode |
Palakkad | Thiruvananthapuram |
Wayanad | Alappuzha |
Idukki | Kasaragod |
Kottayam | Malappuram |
Pathanamthitta | Thrissur |
Here, we have shared further information about the districts of Kerala. You can find details about the date of establishment of the districts, the total area that they cover, and the total population living there. Check out the details about the districts in Kerala from the table given below -
# | Kerala Districts | Area (sq. km.) | Population (2018) | Established |
1 | Alappuzha | 1,415 km2 | 2,146,033 | 17 Aug 1957 |
2 | Ernakulam | 3,063 km2 | 3,427,659 | 1 Apr 1958 |
3 | Idukki | 4,356 km2 | 1,093,156 | 26 Jan 1972 |
4 | Kannur | 2,961 km2 | 2,615,266 | 1 Jan 1957 |
5 | Kasaragod | 1,989 km2 | 1,390,894 | 24 May 1984 |
6 | Kollam | 2,483 km2 | 2,659,431 | 1 Nov 1956 ( 1 July 1949) |
7 | Kottayam | 2,206 km2 | 1,983,573 | 1 Nov 1956 (1 July 1949) |
8 | Kozhikode | 2,345 km2 | 3,249,761 | 1 Jan 1957 |
9 | Malappuram | 3,554 km2 | 4,494,998 | 16 Jun 1969 |
10 | Palakkad | 4,482 km2 | 2,952,254 | 1 Jan 1957 |
11 | Pathanamthitta | 2,652 km2 | 1,172,212 | 1 Nov 1982 |
12 | Thiruvananthapuram | 2,189 km2 | 3,355,148 | 1 Nov 1956 (1 July 1949) |
13 | Thrissur | 3,027 km2 | 3,243,170 | 1 Nov 1956 (1 Jul 1949) |
14 | Wayanad | 2,130 km2 | 846,637 | 1 Nov 1980 |
Find out the geographic location of all the Kerala districts on the map shared here. It will also give you a better idea of the size of the districts of the state. Check out the image for the List of Districts Present Today in Kerala State.
The history of the districts in Kerala can be traced back to 1 November 1956 when the state was officially established. The state came into existence when the Malabar Coast, along with the Kasaragod taluka from South Kannara were added to the Travancore-Cochin region.
Originally, there were only 5 districts in Kerala, which were: Thrissur, Malabar, Kollam, Kottayam, and Thiruvananthapuram. Here is information about the other districts that were later added to the state of Kerala -
Based on the area, the largest district in Kerala is Palakkad, which covers 4,482 square kilometres of area in total. Palakkad is located in Central Kerala and the headquarters of the district is the city of Palakkad.
However, if we compare the population of the Kerala districts, the most populous district is Malappuram. Based on the 2018 population census, the number of people living in the Malappuram district is 4,494,998.
There are 14 districts in Kerala, which are divided into 77 Taluks, 87 Municipalities, 6 Municipal Corporations, and 941 Gram Panchayats. The Kerala districts are governed by a Deputy Commissioner or a District Magistrate, who is assisted by the state police force for administrative concerns.
The names of the 14 Kerala districts are Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Palakkad, Kollam, Kannur, Kasaragod, Idukki, Kottayam, Thrissur, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Wayanad and Thiruvananthapuram.
The 5 biggest districts in Kerala based on their area are listed here. Check out the names of the biggest Kerala districts and the area that they cover below -
The richest district in Kerala is Ernakulam. Ernakulam was established on 1 April 1958 after carving parts of Kottayam and Thrissur. This Kerala district has the highest GDP per capita income among all other districts of the state. The GDP per capita income of Ernakulam is ₹ 2,51,104.
In Kerala, 9 out of the 14 total districts have a coastline which borders the Arabian sea. The 5 Kerala districts that have no coastline are as follows -
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