Islam in West Bengal


According to the 2011 Census of India, the West Bengal state has over 24.6 million Bengali Muslims, who form 27.01% of the state's population. Bengali Muslims form the majority of the population in three districts: Murshidabad, Malda and Uttar Dinajpur.

Population

The Bengali Muslim population in West Bengal before 1947 was around 30% and during the time of independence, it went down to just 18% in West Bengal just after 1947 partition. After partition of Bengal in 1947, the majority of Bengali Muslims from West Bengal have immigrated to East Pakistan,. Estimates show that nearly 1,534,718 Bengali Muslims left West Bengal permanently for East Pakistan during 1947-1951. However due to high birth rate the Muslim population in West Bengal has risen since independence. In the 1951 census, the Bengali Muslim population in West Bengal was recorded as 5,220,547 comprising 19.85% of the state population and in 2011 census, it had increased to 24,654,825 comprising 27.01% of the state population.

Population by district

#DistrictTotal populationMuslim population%
1Murshidabad7,103,8074,707,57366.88%
2South 24 Parganas8,161,9612,903,07535.57%
3North 24 Parganas10,009,7812,584,68425.82%
4Malda3,988,8452,045,15151.27%
5Bardhaman7,717,5631,599,76420.73%
6Uttar Dinajpur3,007,1341,501,17049.92%
7Nadia5,167,6001,382,68226.76%
8Birbhum3,502,4041,298,05437.06%
9Howrah4,850,0291,270,64126.20%
10Kolkata4,496,694926,41420.60%
11Hooghly5,519,145870,20415.77%
12Purba Medinipur5,095,875743,43614.59%
13Cooch Behar2,819,086720,03325.54%
14Paschim Medinipur5,913,457620,55410.49%
15Jalpaiguri3,872,846445,81711.51%
16Dakshin Dinajpur1,676,276412,78824.63%
17Bankura3,596,674290,4508.08%
18Purulia2,930,115227,2497.76%
19Darjeeling1,846,823105,0865.69%

Growth rate

West Bengal had high growth in the Muslim population at 1.94 when compared to the rest of the country.

Trends

Census year% of total populationDecadal growthIncrease
195119.85%NANA
196120%36.48%+0.15%
197120.46%29.76%+0.46%
198121.51%29.55%+1.05%
199123.61%36.89%+2.1%
200125.25%25.91%+1.64%
201127.01%21.80%+1.76%

Census year% of total populationDecadal growthIncrease
190125.98%NANA
191126.31%NANA
192126.07%NANA
193126.65%NANA
194126.18%NANA

Notable Bengali Muslims

Kolkata