In the second phase, more land was acquired to construct and develop 17 more sectors (Sector 31-47) for population numbering 350,000. In order to provide for high population apartments having 3/4 storey were constructed predominantly. As of now, this city has surpassed its capacity that was planned originally. Therefore third phase development has begun in and beyond Sector 48. According to the demographic data the population of Chandigarh increased by 144.59% in the decade between the tears 1961-1971, which is among the highest in the urban areas of India. The population of this city grew by 75-55% according to the census of 1982 and by another 42.16% in the decade of 1991 followed by 40.33% in the decade preceding 2001 with the e figure reaching 9, 00,635. It has been projected that the population of Chandigarh will be four times the figure it was planned for in 2021and at the current growth rate will reach 19.5 lacs.

According to the census of 2001, Chandigarh with a population of 808,796 had a density of 7900 people living per square km. Of those 56% of the population, are male and 44% are female. It has the lowest sex ratio in the country of 1000 males for 777 females. The average rate of literacy in Chandigarh is 73%, which is higher than the figure of 59.5% of national literacy average. The female literacy is 68% and the male literacy is 76%. Children under 6 years of age constitute 12% of the total population. The religions practiced in Chandigarh are Christians (0.78%), Muslims (2.72%), Sikh (21%) and Hindu (755%). The main languages people speak in Chandigarh are Hindi and Punjabi although English too is spoken there. Urdu is also spoken by a small number of people. Hinglish, a combination of Hindi and English is quite prevalent among the youth of this city as a means of informal communication.

Among the people living in Chandigarh, a significant number is for those people that moved in from the states neighbouring Chandigarh such as Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab in order to fill the vacancies that were created by establishing government departments there.

Sex Ratio in Chandigarh

The national sex ratio figure is 940:1000 while Chandigarh has 829 females for 1000 males, which is excessively low. There have been efforts on the side of the Government to improve the sex ratio in this union territory but there is still so much left to accomplish in this regard.

Literacy Rate in Chandigarh

to know the education level of a place literacy rate is the best source. The literacy rate in Chandigarh is 86.77% which is way to better than the national literacy rate of 74.04%. However, keeping in mind the growth pace of this city there is more scope of improvement in the rate of literacy.

Future Population of Chandigarh

Taking a view of the recent population growth of Chandigarh it is estimated that in the coming 8 years this magnificent city will experience a surge of 100% population growth. Chandigarh's population is expected to exceed 19.5 lacs by 2021. In comparison to the 40%, increase in the population of Chandigarh in the years between 2001 and 2011 the growth of population will double itself up.