The Scheduled Tribe (ST) population in the country, according to the 2011 census, is 104.49 million. The ST constitute 8.6% of the total population of the country and 11.3% of the total rural population.
The ST male population is 52.5 million and the ST female population is 52 million.
The decadal growth of the ST population in 2011, compared to 2001, reveals that the growth rate of the female ST population (25%) is higher than the growth rate of the male ST population (23%).
The sex ratio to ST is 990, which is higher than the national average of 943. Also, the sex ratio ST has improved from 978 females per 1000 males in 2001 to 990 in 2011 .
Goa, Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh showed high ST sex ratio, while Jammu & Kashmir lowest at 924 in 2011.
According to census figures, the literacy rate of STs in India increased from 47.1% in 2001 to 59% in 2011.
The literacy rate of the total population increased from 64.8% in 2001 to 73% in 2011. There is a gap of about 14 percentage points between the literacy rate of STs and the literacy rate of the whole of India.
Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Kerala showed a gap of more than 18 percentage points in the literacy rate of STs, compared to the total population in 2011. However, all states experienced a decline in literacy rates between 2001 and 2011.
Sources: 2011 Census, Ministry of Tribal Affairs Annual Report 2021-22