Demographics

Religion "PUNJAB" Religion	No. of people	% of total
Total population	24,358,999	100%
Sikhs	16,656,345	63.60%
Hindus	7,997,942	34.00%
Muslims	382,045	1.57 %
Christians	292,800	1.20 %
Buddhists	41,487	0.17 %
Jains	39,276	0.16 %
Others	8,594	0.04 %

The Indian state of Punjab is 66% Sikh and 31% Hindu. There is a small Muslim population still living there, especially in Malerkotla. In recent times, there is growing concern in the state about the immigration of labourers from other Indian states such as Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Around 15-20% of Punjab's population is now made up of migrants from other states. The literacy rate in Punjab is 75%, male literacy being 80.23% and female literacy is 68.36%. Being an agricultural state, a large part of the population lives in the rural area. Approx. 66% of people live in rural areas while the rest 34% is urban resident. The state has a very skewed sex ratio, according to the 2001 census there are 876 females per 1000 males in Punjab
.