Previous Year Question

According to the religion-wise rural-urban data of Census 2011, among the major religious communities of India, the Jain community had the highest proportion of its total population living in urban areas.

India had a total Jain population of about 4.45 million, of which about 3.55 million Jains lived in urban areas. Thus, approximately 79.7% of the Jain population lived in urban areas.

For comparison, according to Census 2011, the approximate urban population shares of the major communities were—

• Jain — 79.7%

• Buddhist — 43.0%

• Christian — 40.1%

• Hindu — 29.2%

Therefore, “highest urban population” here does not mean the absolute number of persons living in urban areas. In absolute terms, the Hindu urban population would be much larger; the question asks which religious group has the largest proportion of its own population living in urban areas.

Thus, despite having a relatively small total population, the Jain community has the highest urbanization ratio.