An analysis of the Indian Electorate from 1998 to 2014

A comparison of the electoral data as per the final publication of summary revision 2014 (released by the Election Commission of India on 14th February, 2014) with that of last four General Elections (from 1998 onwards) shows that the total electorate size of the country grew by 34.45% from 605,880,192 electors in 1998 to reach 814,591,184 in 2014. This growth was 21.31% relative to an electorate size of 671,487,930 in 2004. Among the 28 states and 7 union territories, Dadra & Nagar Haveli at 53.9% registered the highest rate of growth in electorate size during the period from 2004 to 2014, next followed by Puducherry at 39.1%. Among states, West Bengal registered the highest rate of growth at 31.7%. Among all states and UTs, Andaman & Nicobar Islands registered the lowest rate of growth at 6.7%, next followed by Jammu & Kashmir at 8.9%. In absolute numbers, Uttar Pradesh registered the highest growth in electorate size relative to 2004, while Lakshadweep the lowest.

Table 1: Number of Electors in States/UTs in General Elections

No: of Electors in:	Election Year
State/UT	1998	1999	2004	2009	2014
Andaman & Nicobar Islands	232,013	247,384	241,645	265,108	257,856
Andhra Pradesh	49,133,135	49,654,389	51,146,342	57,892,259	62,385,949
Arunachal Pradesh	565,621	611,572	684,034	734,541	753,216
Assam	14,277,806	14,290,673	15,014,874	17,470,329	18,723,032
Bihar	58,766,580	58,788,098	50,559,672	54,505,246	62,108,447
Chandigarh	531,146	585,006	527,684	524,444	580,700
Chattisgarh*	0	0	13,719,442	15,476,577	17,521,563
Dadra & Nagar Haveli	95,832	98,376	122,681	150,704	188,783
Daman & Diu	71,934	72,216	79,232	95,382	102,260
Goa	880,746	908,849	941,167	1,020,794	1,043,304
Gujarat	28,770,306	29,512,402	33,675,062	36,484,281	39,871,571

 

No: of Electors in:	Election Year
State/UT	1998	1999	2004	2009	2014
Haryana	11,086,895	11,038,955	12,320,557	12,087,710	15,594,427
Himachal Pradesh	3,628,864	3,786,479	4,181,995	4,606,674	4,674,187
Jammu & Kashmir	5,022,782	5,030,094	6,368,115	6,572,896	6,933,118
Jharkhand*	0	0	16,812,339	17,934,095	19,948,683
Karnataka	33,098,338	34,284,098	38,592,095	41,790,939	44,694,658
Kerala	21,188,712	22,058,901	21,125,473	21,859,536	23,792,270
Lakshadweep	36,738	37,619	39,033	45,983	47,972
Madhya Pradesh	44,607,368	46,915,473	38,390,101	38,085,179	47,544,647
Maharashtra	56,205,250	56,853,196	63,012,208	72,954,058	78,966,642
Manipur	1,330,209	1,372,339	1,536,510	1,736,251	1,739,005
Meghalaya	1,157,494	1,178,250	1,289,374	1,277,739	1,553,028
Mizoram	442,457	449,406	549,959	629,374	696,448
Nagaland	926,569	955,914	1,041,433	1,321,878	1,174,663
NCT OF Delhi	8,297,622	8,712,530	8,763,475	11,096,854	12,060,493
Odisha	23,393,600	24,187,490	25,651,989	27,194,864	28,880,803
Puducherry	665,486	701,990	636,667	762,440	885,458
Punjab	15,344,540	15,717,304	16,615,399	16,958,380	19,207,230
Rajasthan	29,751,400	31,106,488	34,712,385	37,060,011	42,559,543
Sikkim	236,494	255,377	281,937	300,584	362,326
Tamil Nadu	45,577,788	47,733,664	47,252,271	41,620,460	53,752,682
Tripura	1,727,463	1,796,055	1,978,222	2,082,265	2,379,541
Uttar Pradesh	101,982,480	102,946,404	110,624,490	116,006,374	134,351,297
Uttarakhand*	0	0	5,562,637	5,887,724	6,786,394
West Bengal	46,846,524	47,649,856	47,437,431	52,493,168	62,468,988
Total	605,880,192	619,536,847	671,487,930	716,985,101	814,591,184
*States constituted after 1999
Data Source: Election Commission of India (data as on 14th February, 2014)

Table 2: Distribution of Electors between States & Union Territories

	Election Year
	1998	1999	2004	2009	2014
% of Electors in UTs	1.64%	1.69%	1.55%	1.80%	1.73%
% of Electors in States	98.36%	98.31%	98.45%	98.20%	98.27%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Data Source: Election Commission of India (data as on 14th February, 2014)

Table 3: States/UTs having Largest number of Electors

Election Year
	1998		1999		2004		2009			2014
	State /UT	Electors (%)*	State /UT	Electors (%)*	State /UT	Electors (%)*	State /UT	Electors (%)*	State /UT		Electors (%)*
1	Uttar Pradesh	16.8%	Uttar Pradesh	16.6%	Uttar Pradesh	16.5%	Uttar Pradesh	16.2%	Uttar Pradesh		16.5%
2	Bihar	9.7%	Bihar	9.5%	Mahar ashtra	9.4%	Mahar ashtra	10.2%	Mahar ashtra		9.7%
3	Mahar ashtra	9.3%	Mahar ashtra	9.2%	Andhra Pradesh	7.6%	Andhra Pradesh	8.1%	West Bengal		7.7%
4	Andhra Pradesh	8.1%	Andhra Pradesh	8.0%	Bihar	7.5%	Bihar	7.6%	Andhra Pradesh		7.7%
5	West Bengal	7.7%	Tamil Nadu	7.7%	West Bengal	7.1%	West Bengal	7.3%	Bihar		7.6%
Largest 5		51.6%		51.0%		48.1%		49.4%			49.1%
* Electors (%) is the number of Electors from the respective state/UT as a proportion of total electors of the country for that year.
Data Source: Election Commission of India (data as on 14th February, 2014)

Table 4: States having Smallest number of Electors

Election Year
	1998		1999		2004		2009		2014
	State	Electors (%)*	State	Electors (%)*	State	Electors (%)*	State	Electors (%)*	State	Electors (%)*
1	Sikkim	0.0390%	Sikkim	0.0412%	Sikkim	0.0420%	Sikkim	0.0419%	Sikkim	0.0445%
2	Mizoram	0.0730%	Mizoram	0.0725%	Mizoram	0.0819%	Mizoram	0.0878%	Mizoram	0.0855%
3	Arunachal Pradesh	0.0934%	Arunachal Pradesh	0.0987%	Arunachal Pradesh	0.1019%	Arunachal Pradesh	0.1024%	Arunachal Pradesh	0.0925%
4	Goa	0.1454%	Goa	0.1467%	Goa	0.1402%	Goa	0.1424%	Goa	0.1281%
5	Nagaland	0.1529%	Nagaland	0.1543%	Nagaland	0.1551%	Meghalaya	0.1782%	Nagaland	0.1442%
Smallest 5		0.5037%		0.5135%		0.5210%		0.5527%		0.4947%
* Electors (%) is the number of Electors from the respective state as a proportion of total electors of the country for that year.
Data Source: Election Commission of India (data as on 14th February, 2014)