States and union territories of India
India is a federal republic comprising 28 states and 8 union territories. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions.
| States and union territories of India | |
|---|---|
| Category | Federated states |
| Location | Republic of India |
| Created by | Constitution of India |
| Created |
|
| Number | 28 States 8 Union territories (as of 2024) |
| Populations | States: Sikkim – 610,577 (lowest) Uttar Pradesh – 199,812,341 (highest) Union Territories: Lakshadweep – 64,473 (lowest) Delhi – 16,787,941 (highest) |
| Areas | States: Goa – 3,702 km2 (1,429 sq mi) (smallest) Rajasthan – 342,269 km2 (132,151 sq mi) (largest) Union territories: Lakshadweep – 32 km2 (12 sq mi) (smallest) Ladakh – 59,146 km2 (22,836 sq mi) (largest) |
| Government | |
| Subdivisions | |
The states are self-governing administrative divisions, each having a state government. The governing powers of the states are shared between the state government and the union government. The union territories are directly governed by the union government though some of the union territories have their own territorial government with certain autonomy.
The framework for the states and union territories were established by the Constitution of India, which came into effect on 26 January 1950. As per the Indian Constitution, the power to demarcate states and union territories in India is solely reserved with the Parliament of India, which can form new states/union territories, separate/merge territories from/to an existing state or convert states to union territories or vice versa.