Rural Kerala spends ₹6,611 per person a month, more than urban residents of 8 of India’s 18 other largest states and union territories.
Data stories
Short, surprising stories from official data on how India and the world live, spend and work: from India's snack economy and its biggest consumer market to the gap between the top and bottom spenders. Every figure is checked against its source and links to the full chart on Advanton Statistics; see our methodology.
China Is Shrinking, India Is Growing: The Population Shift in Numbers
China’s population has fallen four years running and India’s keeps growing. In 2025, India had 146.4 crore people and China 140.7 crore.
City Indians Spend 20 Times More on Rent and 3 Times More on Education
How urban and rural household budgets differ across 21 categories, from rent (20x) and education (3.1x) to sugar and salt, where they are almost equal.
India Receives More Money From Its Diaspora Than Any Country on Earth
India received $137.7 billion in remittances in 2024, about 16% of the world total and more than twice Mexico, the second-largest recipient.
India’s Biggest Consumer Market Isn’t Its Richest State
Uttar Pradesh spends about ₹11.4 lakh crore a year, India’s largest household market, though its urban residents spend less per person than in 32 of 36 states and union territories.
Only 36% of Indians Live in Cities, 182nd in the World. Or Is It More?
Officially, 35.7% of Indians lived in urban areas in 2025, 182nd of 217 countries. But India’s definition of ‘urban’ is one of the strictest in the world.