Shillong is a hill station in the northeastern part of India and the capital of Meghalaya. Shillong, with a population close to 1.5 lakh, is the 6th most populous city in North-East India. It is also known as the Scotland of the East, and Earlier Shillong was the capital of undivided Assam until the creation of the new state of Meghalaya on 21 January 1972. After this, Shillong became the capital of Meghalaya, and Assam moved its capital to Dispur in Guwahati.
As of the 2011 Census of India, Shillong had a total population of 143,229, of which 70,135 were males, and 73,094 were females.
👉 Projected population of Shillong in 2026 is 1.70 lakh.
Census 2011 Quick Facts
The initial provisional data released by census India 2011 shows that the density of Shillong for 2011 is 2225 people per sq. km. Shillong city administers an area of 64.36 sq. km
| Shillong City | Total | Male | Female |
| Population (Census 2011) | 1,43,22 | 70,135 | 73,094 |
| Children (0-6) | 14,317 | 7,394 | 6,923 |
| Average Literacy (%) | 92.81 % | 94.80 % | 90.92 % |
| Sex ratio | 1042 | ||
| Child Sex Ratio | 936 | ||
Shillong Historical Population
As per Census 2011, Shillong has a population growth rate of 7.80% during 2001-2011. It’s expected to have a population growth rate of 8% during 2011-2021.
Let’s look at population & percentage change from Year 1901 to 2021.
| Year | Population | Actual Change | Percentage Change |
| 1901 | 9,621 | – | – |
| 1911 | 13,639 | 4,018 | 41.76% |
| 1921 | 17,203 | 3,564 | 26.13% |
| 1931 | 21,300 | 4,097 | 23.82% |
| 1941 | 30,734 | 9,434 | 44.29% |
| 1951 | 53,756 | 23,022 | 74.91% |
| 1961 | 72,438 | 18,682 | 34.75% |
| 1971 | 87,659 | 15,221 | 21.01% |
| 1981 | 109,244 | 21,585 | 24.62% |
| 1991 | 131,719 | 22,475 | 20.57% |
| 2001 | 132,867 | 1,148 | 0.87% |
| 2011 | 143,229 | 10,362 | 7.80% |
| 2021 (estimate) | 155,000 | 11,771 | 8.22% |
Sources: Census 2011
Religion in Shillong
| Religion | Percent |
| Christianity | 46.50% |
| Hinduism | 42.00% |
| Tribal religion | 4.50% |
| Islam | 4.89% |
| Sikhism | 1.14% |
| Buddhism | 0.74% |
| Jainism | 0.13% |
| Not Stated | 0.16% |
Source: Census 2011
Languages in Shillong
As per the 2011 language census report, 67,154 of the city’s population speak Khasi as their native language, 28,984 speak Bengali, 15,559 speak Hindi, 14,085 speak Nepali, 4,069 speak Assamese, 2,632 speak Punjabi, 3,580 speak Garo, 1,088 speak Urdu, and 6,115 speak other languages.[21] 14,317 were aged 0 to 6 years.
East Khasi Hills District Population
East Khasi Hills is one of the 11 (eleven) districts of the State of Meghalaya. Shillong is the District headquarters of East Khasi Hills District as well as the state Capital. As per the census 2011, the East Khasi Hills District population is 824,059 (8.24 Lakh), and its estimated population in 2026 is 10 lakh.
| East Khasi Hills | Census 2011 |
| Total Population | 824,059 |
| Male Population | 410,749 |
| Female Population | 415,173 |
| Average Literacy (%) | 84.15% |
| Sex Ratio | 1011 |
| Child Sex Ratio | 964 |
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