Delhi now has over 2.3 cr residents! First phase of Census 2027 reveals surprising facts

The first phase of Census 2027 in Delhi, which concluded on June 14, covered nearly 76 lakh census houses and around 55 lakh households across the city’s 13 districts, with enumerators recording that more than 2.3 crore people were ordinarily residing in the capital, officials said. According to provisional data from the House Listing Operations, 75,98,982 census houses and 54,98,560 households were covered through 45,863 House Listing Blocks, with one block consisting of around 180 houses.

Officials said 2,30,78,796 people were found to be normally residing in Delhi in the first phase, but stressed that this figure is provisional. They said the final population count will emerge only after the second phase, Population Enumeration, which is scheduled for February 2027.

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Among the districts, North East recorded the highest population at 28,68,949, followed by South West at 25,00,195, West at 24,42,346 and South East at 22,70,778. East district accounted for 21,66,251 residents, while North West had 20,63,964 and Outer North 19,15,700. North district recorded a population of 17,02,900, Central North 11,31,599 and Central district 9,60,798. Old Delhi had 7,54,478 residents, while South district recorded 20,55,909. New Delhi district had the lowest population at 2,44,929.

The data also showed wide variations in the number of households across districts. South West topped the list with 6,25,453 households, followed by North East with 6,13,828, West with 5,89,210 and East with 5,47,461 households. South East recorded 5,43,412 households and South recorded 534,212, while North West had 4,65,586 and Outer North had 4,35,631. North district accounted for 3,98,447 households and Central North for 2,73,669. Central district had 2,44,816 households, Old Delhi 1,63,785 and New Delhi 63,050 households.

In terms of housing stock, South West district recorded the highest number of census houses at 8,20,529, closely followed by North East at 8,04,962 and West at 8,02,589. New Delhi district recorded the lowest number of census houses at 1,02,706. Officials said the houselisting operations in New Delhi district, covering the New Delhi Municipal Council and Delhi Cantonment Board areas, had already been concluded. In New Delhi district, where houselisting was conducted from April 16 to May 15, around 63,000 households and 2.5 lakh persons were listed.\

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Officials said the House Listing Operations, the first phase of the census, involves preparing an inventory of buildings and houses and collecting information on household amenities and assets. The second phase, Population Enumeration, will gather detailed demographic and socio-economic information and determine the final population figures for Delhi and the country. The 16th Indian census is being conducted in two phases: the House Listing and Housing Census, which commenced on April 1, 2026, and will continue until September, followed by the Population Enumeration phase scheduled for February 2027. While the first phase indicates that over 2.3 crore people are ordinarily living in Delhi, officials said the definitive population figure will be available only after Population Enumeration is completed.