A post going viral on social media (here, here, and here) claims that the Muslim population in Uttarakhand grew from 1.5% in 2000 to 16% in 2024. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: The Muslim population in Uttarakhand was 1.5% in 2001 and has grown to 16% in 2024.
Fact: In 2001, Uttarakhand had 11.92% Muslims, not 1.5%.The closest information to the year 2000 comes from the 2001 census. The 2001 census data from that year indicates that Uttarakhand’s total population was 84,89,349, with 10,12,141 Muslims, making up 11.92% of the total. According to the most recent official census conducted by the Government of India in 2011, Uttarakhand’s total population rose to 1,00,86,292, with 14,06,825 Muslims, which accounted for 13.94% of the total. Between the 2001 and 2011 censuses, the Muslim population share in Uttarakhand increased by 2.02%. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We searched for official data on the population by religion on the Census website. The closest information to the year 2000 comes from the 2001 census. The data from the 2001 census shows that Uttarakhand had a total population of 8,489,349 among them, 10,12,141 were Muslims, which is 11.92% of the total population.
In the most recent official census conducted by the Government of India in 2011, Uttarakhand had a total population of 1,00,86,292. Among them, there were 14,06,825 Muslims which is 13.94% of the total population.
Between the 2001 and 2011 censuses, the Muslim population share in Uttarakhand increased by 2.02%.
To sum up, Uttarakhand had 11.92% Muslims in 2001 not 1.5%, and their population share increased by 2.02% between the 2001 and 2011 Censuses.
