Visakhapatnam (District)

Visakhapatnam
State	Andhra Pradesh
Administrative headquarters :	Visakhapatnam
Area :	11,161 km²
Residents :	4,288,113 (2011)
Population density :	384.2 inhabitants / km²
Website :	Official website of the district

Visakhapatnam , also Visakha Zilla ( Telugu : విశాఖపట్నం జిల్లా) is one of 13 districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh . The administrative seat is the city of Visakhapatnam .

geography

The district is located in the northeast of Andhra Pradesh . It is framed in the west by the East Godavari district , in the north by the state of Odisha , in the east by the Vizianagaram district and in the south by the Bay of Bengal . The coastline is 132 km.

The district has an area of 11,161 km² and is one of the medium-sized districts in Andhra Pradesh. 4,412 km² (39.5 percent) of the area are forested. It consists of two opposing parts: the flat coastline and the hilly part inland, which belongs to the Eastern Ghats . The rather mountainous part of the district is heavily forested. The most important rivers in the district are Sharada (Sarada), Varsha (Varaha), Tandava , Machkand , Champavathi and Gostnani (Gostani). Several water reservoirs supply the population and agriculture.

climate

Evening mood in the coastal area in the Visakhapatnam district

The district's climate is characterized by hot summers and is generally dry except during the monsoons. March to May is summer time with great drought and high temperatures. The southwest monsoon from the beginning of June to the second week of October brings the most abundant rain. The subsequent northeast monsoon until the end of December brings somewhat lower, but still significant amounts of rain. The months of January and February are winter with cooler temperatures. The long-term average of the amount of precipitation is 1084 mm per year. The southwest monsoon brings 644 mm and the northeast monsoon 281 mm. Otherwise there will be little rain. This leads to the drying up of the cultivated areas in the dry season, which lasts from January to May. The coldest month is December (average 22.19 ° - daily minimum 17 °, maximum 27 °), the warmest May (average 31.31 ° - minimum 26 °, maximum 37 °). During the Mosun season there is a humidity of up to 80 percent. This falls to 30 percent in the dry period.

population

View of the Eastern Ghats

The last census in 2011 counted 4,288,113 inhabitants. Of these, 2,140,872 were men (49.9 percent) and 2,147,241 women. In 2001, the Dalit numbered 291,219 (7.6 percent) and the Adivasi 557,572 (14.5 percent) people. Of the total number of residents, 2,037,458 people (47.51 percent) lived in urban areas in 2011. The majority of the population of Visakhapatnam District speaks Telugu . There are 3,108 inhabited villages throughout the district.

Population of the district by confession

A clear majority of the population is Hindu. Smaller minorities are the Muslims and Christians. The following table shows the exact religious composition of the population:

year	Buddhists		Christians		Hindus		Jainas		Muslims		Sikhs		Other		not specified		Total
year	number	%	number	%	number	%	number	%	number	%	number	%	number	%	number	%	number	%
2001	924	0.02%	62,227	1.62%	3,688,280	96.24%	1,672	0.04%	71,669	1.87%	2,776	0.07%	261	0.01%	4,527	0.12%	3,832,336	100.00%
Source: 2001 India Census

Population development

As everywhere in India, the population in the Visakhapatnam district has been growing rapidly for decades. The increase was 11.89 percent between the last two censuses and is still significant in absolute terms. From 2001 to 2011 the population increased by around 455,000 people. The following table shows the exact numbers:

Significant places

The most populous place in the district is the capital Visakhapatnam with almost 1,000,000 inhabitants. Other important cities with over 50,000 inhabitants are Gajuvaka and Anakapalli .

economy

Rice field in South India

The majority of the population is employed in agriculture. Mainly rice, finger millet , pearl millet , carrot millet , sugar cane, peanuts, sesame and chilli are grown. In addition, fishing is an important industry. Hand weaving gives a lot of people an income. There are numerous industrial companies in various sectors throughout the district (especially in the two major cities). In the cities, people live from trading in goods and services.

history

The district emerged under British rule and belonged to the state of Andhra until 1956 . Since then, Visakhapatnam has been an administrative unit in the then newly created state of Andhra Pradesh. The district has existed in its current boundaries since 1979. At that time, the Vizianagaram district was formed from parts of the former Visakhapatnam Srikakulam districts .