As of  2001,  the  time  that  the  last  recorded  census  was taken, there were approximately 36,804,660 people living in the state of Orissa. Fewer than  14% of  all  citizens of  Orissa  live in cities. This  number illustrates the  great  number of  people who live in the country and work on farms. The ratio of males to females is about 1: 9.72. About one half of all the people living in Orissa can read, a high  number for a  relatively  rural  state. The most  common  language  spoken in  Orissa is  Oriya. The  average  individual income, annually, is 3,963 Rupees.

		Total	Rural	Urban
POPULATION	Persons	36,804,660	31,287,422	5,517,238
	Males	18,660,570	15,748,970	2,911,600
	Females	18,144,090	15,538,452	2,605,638
SEX RATIO (females per 1000 males)		972	987	895
CHILD POPULATION (in the age group 0-6)	Persons	5,358,810	4,696,358	662,452
	Males	2,744,552	2,401,932	342,620
	Females	2,614,258	2,294,426	319,832
SEX RATIO OF CHILD POPULATION    (females per 1000 males)		953	955	933
PERCENTAGE OF CHILD POPULATION TO TOTAL POPULATION	Persons	15	15	12
	Males	15	15	12
	Females	14	15	12
LITERATES (7 years and above)	Persons	19,837,055	15,912,604	3,924,451
	Males	11,992,333	9,733,532	2,258,801
	Females	7,844,722	6,179,072	1,665,650
LITERACY RATE (excluding population in 0-6 age group)	Persons	63	60	81
	Males	75	73	88
	Females	51	47	73
AREA (in Sq.Km.)		155,707	152,913	2,794
DENSITY OF POPULATION (per Sq.Km.)		236	205	1975
DECENNIAL POPULATION GROWTH	Absolute	5,144,924	3,862,669	1,282,255
	Percentage	16	14	30
PERCENTAGE OF URBAN POPULATION TO TOTAL POPULATION		15
NUMBER OF TAHASILS		171
NUMBER OF TOWNS		138	0