List of districts of Tamil Nadu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Districts of Tamil Nadu
Districts of Tamil Nadu
Category	Districts
Location	Tamil Nadu
Number	38 districts
Populations	Perambalur – 565,223 (lowest); Chennai – 7,139,630 (highest)
Areas	Chennai – 426 km2 (164 sq mi) (smallest); Dindigul – 6,266.64 km2 (2,419.56 sq mi) (largest)
Government	Government of Tamil Nadu
Subdivisions	List of revenue divisions in Tamil Nadu

The Indian state of Tamil Nadu is divided into 38 main areas called districts. Think of districts as big sections of a state. Each district is then split into smaller parts called taluks. When Tamil Nadu was first formed (it was called Madras Province back then), it had 13 districts. After some changes in 1956, it still had 13 districts, but their borders were different. Over the years, more districts were created by splitting the older ones.

How Districts Changed Over Time

Before India Became Independent (Before 1947)

Before 1947, when India was ruled by the British, the area known as Madras Presidency had 26 districts. Twelve of these districts are now part of modern-day Tamil Nadu. These included places like Chingleput, Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Madras, and Salem.

From 1947 to 1956

Districts of Tamil Nadu when the state was formed in 1956. Districts that were later divided are shown in gray.

After India became independent on August 15, 1947, the Madras Presidency became the Madras Province. A small kingdom called Pudukottai joined India in 1948 and became part of the Trichinopoly district.

When India's new constitution started on January 26, 1950, Madras Province became the Madras State. This state was very large. It included most of today's Tamil Nadu, parts of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Karnataka.

In 1953, parts of Madras State were separated to form a new state called Andhra. Then, in 1956, states were reorganized again. More areas from Madras State joined other states like Karnataka and Kerala. At the same time, the Tamil-speaking areas of Kanyakumari joined Madras State. After all these changes, Madras State had 13 districts.

From 1957 to 1989

An animation showing how districts in Tamil Nadu were divided from 1956 to 2009.

Many new districts were formed during this period by splitting existing ones:

• On October 2, 1965, Dharmapuri district was created from parts of Salem district.
• In 1969, Madras State was officially renamed Tamil Nadu.
• On January 14, 1974, Pudukkottai district was formed from parts of Tiruchirappalli and Thanjavur districts.
• On August 31, 1979, Erode district was created from parts of Coimbatore district.
• On March 8, 1985, Sivaganga and Virudhunagar districts were formed from the old Ramanathapuram district.
• On September 15, 1985, Dindigul district was created from parts of Madurai district.
• On October 20, 1986, Thoothukudi district was formed from parts of Tirunelveli district.
• On September 30, 1989, Tiruvannamalai and Vellore districts were created from the old North Arcot district.

From 1990 to 1999

More districts continued to be formed:

• On October 18, 1991, Nagapattinam was created from parts of Thanjavur district.
• On September 30, 1993, Cuddalore and Viluppuram districts were formed from the old South Arcot district.
• On September 30, 1995, Karur and Perambalur districts were split from the Tiruchirappalli district.
• On July 25, 1996, Theni district was created from parts of Madurai district.
• On January 1, 1997, Tiruvarur district was formed from parts of Nagapattinam and Thanjavur districts.
• On January 1, 1997, Namakkal district was created from parts of Salem district.
• On July 1, 1997, Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur districts were split from the old Chengalpattu and Chennai districts.

From 2000 to Today

New districts are still being created to help manage the state better:

• On February 9, 2004, Krishnagiri district was created from parts of Dharmapuri district.
• On November 19, 2007, Ariyalur district was formed from parts of Perambalur district.
• On October 24, 2009, Tiruppur district was created from parts of Coimbatore and Erode districts.
• On January 5, 2018, the Chennai district was made larger by adding parts from Tiruvallur and Kanchipuram districts.
• On November 22, 2019, Tenkasi district was created from parts of Tirunelveli district.
• On November 26, 2019, Kallakurichi district was formed from parts of Viluppuram district.
• On November 29, 2019, Tirupattur and Ranipet districts were created from the old Vellore district.
• On November 30, 2019, Chengalpattu district was formed from parts of Kanchipuram district.
• On March 24, 2020, Mayiladuthurai district was created from parts of Nagapattinam district.

List of Districts Today

Active Districts

No.	District	Code	Headquarters	Estd.	Predecessor	Area (km2)	Population	Pop. density (/km2)	Divisions	Taluks	Assembly constituencies	Lok sabha constituencies	Map
1	Ariyalur	ARI	Ariyalur	23 November 2007	Perambalur	2,027.6	754,894	372	Ariyalur Udayarpalayam	Andimadam Ariyalur Sendurai Udayarpalayam	Ariyalur Jayankondam	Chidambaram
2	Chengalpattu	CHG	Chengalpattu	29 November 2019	Kanchipuram	2,802.6	2,556,244	912	Chengalpattu Madurantakam Tambaram	Chengalpattu Cheyyur Madurantakam Pallavaram Tambaram Thiruporur Thirukazhukundram Vandalur	Cheyyur Chengalpattu Maduranthakam Pallavaram Tambaram Thiruporur	Kancheepuram Sriperumbudur
3	Chennai (formerly Madras)	CHN	Chennai	1 November 1956	None	462.3	46,46,732	10,052	Chennai Central Chennai North Chennai South	Alandur Ambattur Aminjikarai Ayanavaram Egmore Guindy Madhavaram Maduravoyal Mambalam Thirumayilai Perambur Purasawalkam Sholinganallur Tiruvottiyur Tondiarpet Velachery	Alandur Ambattur Anna Nagar Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar Egmore Harbour Kolathur Maduravoyal Madhavaram Perambur Royapuram Saidapet Sholinganallur Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar Thirumayilai Thiruvottiyur Thousand Lights Thyagaraya Nagar Velachery Villivakkam Virugambakkam	Chennai Central Chennai North Chennai South Sriperumbudur Thiruvallur
4	Coimbatore	COI	Coimbatore	1 November 1956	None	4,950.7	3,458,045	699	Coimbatore North Coimbatore South Pollachi	Anaimalai Annur Coimbatore North Coimbatore South Kinathukadavu Madukkarai Mettupalayam Perur Pollachi Sulur Valparai	Kavundampalayam Kinathukadavu Mettupalayam Pollachi Coimbatore North Coimbatore South Singanallur Sulur Thondamuthur Valparai	Coimbatore Nilgiris Pollachi
5	Cuddalore	CUD	Cuddalore	30 September 1993	South Arcot District	3,870	2,605,914	673	Chidambaram Cuddalore Vriddachalam	Bhuvanagiri Chidambaram Cuddalore Kattumannarkoil Kurinjipadi Panruti Srimushnam Titakudi Veppur Vriddachalam	Bhuvanagiri Chidambaram Cuddalore Kattumannarkoil Kurinjipadi Neyveli Panruti Tittakudi Virudhachalam	Chidambaram Cuddalore
6	Dharmapuri	DHA	Dharmapuri	2 October 1965	Salem	4,735.7	1,506,843	318	Dharmapuri Harur	Dharmapuri Harur Karimangalam Nallampalli Palacode Pappireddipatti Pennagaram	Dharmapuri Harur Palacode Pappireddipatti Pennagaram	Dharmapuri
7	Dindigul	DIN	Dindigul	15 September 1985	Madurai	6,289.1	2,159,775	343	Dindigul Kodaikanal Palani	Athoor Dindigul-East Dindigul-West Gujiliamparai Kodaikanal Natham Nilakottai Oddanchattiram Palani Vedasandur	Athoor Dindigul Natham Nilakottai Oddanchatram Palani Vedasandur	Dindigul Karur
8	Erode	ERO	Erode	31 August 1979	Coimbatore	6,036	2,251,744	373	Erode Gobichettipalayam	Anthiyur Bhavani Erode Gobichettipalayam Kodumudi Modakurichi Nambiyur Perundurai Sathyamangalam Thalavadi	Anthiyur Bhavani Bhavanisagar Erode East Erode West Gobichettipalayam Modakkurichi Perundurai	Erode Nilgiris Tiruppur
9	Kallakurichi	KAL	Kallakurichi	26 November 2019	Viluppuram	3,440.8	1,370,281	398	Kallakkurichi Thirukoilur	Chinnasalem Kallakkurichi Kalvarayan Malai Sankarapuram Thirukoilur Ulundurpet Vanapuram	Kallakkurichi Rishivandiyam Sankarapuram Tirukkoyilur Ulundurpettai	Kallakkurichi Viluppuram
10	Kancheepuram	KAC	Kancheepuram	1 July 1997	Chingleput	1,800.2	1,166,401	648	Kancheepuram Sriperumbudur	Kancheepuram Kundrathur Sriperumbudur Uthiramerur Walajabad	Kancheepuram Sriperumbudur Uthiramerur	Kancheepuram Sriperumbudur
11	Kanyakumari	KAY	Nagercoil	1 November 1956	None	1,729.2	1,870,374	1,082	Nagercoil Padmanabhapuram	Agastheeswaram Kalkulam Killiyoor Vilavancode Thiruvattar Thovalai	Colachal Kanniyakumari Killiyur Nagercoil Padmanabhapuram Vilavancode	Kanniyakumari
12	Karur	KAR	Karur	30 September 1995	Tiruchirappalli	3,022.3	1,064,493	352	Karur Kulithalai	Aravakurichi Kadavur Karur Krishnarayapuram Kulithalai Manmangalam Pugalur	Aravakurichi Karur Krishnarayapuram Kulithalai	Karur Perambalur
13	Krishnagiri	KRI	Krishnagiri	9 February 2004	Dharmapuri	5,414.4	1,883,731	348	Hosur Krishnagiri	Anchetty Bargur Denkanikottai Hosur Krishnagiri Pochampalli Shoolagiri Uthangarai	Bargur Hosur Krishnagiri Thalli Uthangarai Veppanapalli	Krishnagiri
14	Madurai	MAD	Madurai	1 November 1956	None	3,846.4	3,038,252	790	Madurai Melur Usilampatti	Madurai-East Madurai-North Madurai-South Madurai-West Kallikudi Melur Peraiyur Thirumangalam Thirupparankundram Usilampatti Vadipatti	Madurai Central Madurai East Madurai North Madurai South Madurai West Melur Sholavandan Thirumangalam Thiruparankundram Usilampatti	Madurai Theni Virudhunagar
15	Mayiladuthurai	MAY	Mayiladuthurai	28 December 2020	Nagapattinam	1,237.1	918,356	742	Mayiladuthurai Sirkazhi	Kuthalam Mayiladuthurai Sirkazhi Tharangambadi	Mayiladuthurai Poompuhar Sirkazhi	Mayiladuthurai
16	Nagapattinam	NAG	Nagapattinam	18 October 1991	Thanjavur	1,459	697,069	478	Nagapattinam Vedaranyam	Kilvelur Nagapattinam Thirukkuvalai Vedaranyam	Kilvelur Nagapattinam Vedaranyam	Nagapattinam
17	Namakkal	NAM	Namakkal	1 January 1997	Salem	3,573.4	1,726,601	483	Namakkal Thiruchengode	Kollimalai Kumarapalayam Mohanur Namakkal Paramathi-Velur Rasipuram Senthamangalam Thiruchengode	Namakkal Kumarapalayam Paramathi-Velur Rasipuram Senthamangalam Thiruchengode	Erode Namakal
18	Nilgiris	NIL	Ooty	1 November 1956	None	2,452.5	735,394	300	Coonoor Gudalur Udagamandalam	Coonoor Gudalur Kotagiri Kundah Pandalur Udagamandalam	Coonoor Gudalur Udagamandalam	Nilgiris
19	Perambalur	PER	Perambalur	30 September 1995	Tiruchirappalli	1,836.6	565,223	308	Perambalur	Alathur Kunnam Perambalur Veppanthattai	Kunnam Perambalur	Chidambaram Perambalur
20	Pudukkottai	PUD	Pudukkottai	14 January 1974	Thanjavur and Tiruchirappalli	4,847.8	1,618,345	334	Aranthangi Illuppur Pudukkottai	Alangudi Aranthangi Avadaiyarkoil Gandarvakottai Illuppur Karambakkudi Kulathur Manamelkudi Ponnamaravathi Pudukkottai Thirumayam Viralimalai	Alangudi Aranthangi Gandarvakottai Pudukottai Thirumayam Viralimalai	Karur Ramanathapuram Sivaganga Tiruchirappalli
21	Ramanathapuram	RAM	Ramanathapuram	1 November 1956	None	4,243.1	1,353,445	319	Paramakudi Ramanathapuram	Kadaladi Kamuthi Kilakarai Mudukulathur Paramakudi Rajasingamangalam Ramanathapuram Rameswaram Tiruvadanai	Mudukulathur Paramakudi Ramanathapuram Tiruvadanai	Ramanathapuram
22	Ranipet	RAN	Ranipet	28 November 2019	Vellore	2,234.3	1,210,277	542	Arakkonam Ranipet	Arakkonam Arkadu Kalavai Nemili Sholinghur Walajapet	Arakkonam Arcot Ranipet Sholingur	Arakkonam
23	Salem	SAL	Salem	1 November 1956	None	5,245	3,482,056	669	Attur Mettur Salem Sankagiri	Attur Idappadi Gangavalli Kadayampatti Mettur Omalur Pethanaickenpalayam Salem Salem South Salem West Sankagiri Thalaivasal Vazhapady Yercaud	Attur Edappadi Gangavalli Mettur Omalur Sankari Salem North Salem South Salem West Veerapandi Yercaud	Dharmapuri Kallakkurichi Namakkal Salem
24	Sivaganga	SIV	Sivaganga	15 March 1985	Ramanathapuram	4,086	1,339,101	328	Devakottai Sivaganga	Devakottai Ilayangudi Kalayarkoil Karaikudi Manamadurai Singampunari Sivaganga Tirupathur Tiruppuvanam	Karaikudi Manamadurai Sivaganga Tirupattur	Sivaganga
25	Tenkasi	TEN	Tenkasi	22 November 2019	Tirunelveli	2,916.1	1,407,627	483	Sankarankoil Tenkasi	Alangulam Kadayanallur Sankarankoil Shenkottai Sivagiri Tenkasi Thiruvengadam Veerakeralampudur	Alangulam Kadayanallur Sankarankovil Tenkasi Vasudevanallur	Tenkasi Tirunelveli
26	Thanjavur	THA	Thanjavur	1 November 1956	None	3,396.6	2,405,890	708	Kumbakonam Pattukkottai Thanjavur	Budalur Kumbakonam Orathanadu Papanasam Pattukkottai Peravurani Thanjavur Thiruvaiyaru Thiruvidaimarudur Thiruvonam	Kumbakonam Orathanadu Papanasam Pattukottai Peravurani Thanjavur Thiruvayaru Thiruvidaimarudur	Mayiladuthurai Thanjavur
27	Theni	THE	Theni	25 July 1996	Madurai	3,066	1,245,899	406	Periyakulam Uthamapalayam	Andipatti Bodinayakkanur Theni Periyakulam Uthamapalayam	Andipatti Bodinayakanur Cumbum Periyakulam	Theni
28	Thoothukudi	THO	Thoothukudi	20 October 1986	Tirunelveli	4,621	1,750,176	379	Kovilpatti Tiruchendur Thoothukudi	Eral Ettayapuram Kayatharu Kovilpatti Ottapidaram Sathankulam Thiruvaikundam Tiruchendur Thoothukudi Vilathikulam	Vilathikulam Thoothukudi Tiruchendur Srivaikuntam Ottapidaram Kovilpatti	Thoothukudi
29	Tiruchirappalli	TIC	Tiruchirappalli	1 November 1956	None	4,407	2,722,290	618	Lalgudi Musiri Srirangam Tiruchirappalli	Lalgudi Manachanallur Manapparai Marungapuri Musiri Srirangam Tiruchirappalli West Tiruchirappalli East Thiruverumbur Thottiyam Thuraiyur	Lalgudi Manachanallur Manapparai Musiri Srirangam Thiruverumbur Thuraiyur Tiruchirappalli East Tiruchirappalli West	Karur Perambalur Tiruchirappalli
30	Tirunelveli	TIN	Tirunelveli	1 November 1956	None	3842.4	1,665,253	433	Cheranmahadevi Tirunelveli	Ambasamudram Cheranmahadevi Manur Nanguneri Palayamkottai Radhapuram Tisayanvilai Tirunelveli	Ambasamudram Nanguneri Palayamkottai Radhapuram Tirunelveli	Tirunelveli
31	Tirupathur	TIA	Tirupattur	28 November 2019	Vellore	1,792.9	1,111,812	620	Tirupathur Vaniyambadi	Ambur Natrampalli Tirupathur Vaniyambadi	Ambur Jolarpet Tirupattur Vaniyambadi	Tiruvannamalai Vellore
32	Tiruppur	TIP	Tiruppur	22 February 2009	Coimbatore and Erode	5,186.3	2,479,052	478	Dharapuram Tiruppur Udumalaipettai	Avinashi Dharapuram Kangeyam Madathukulam Palladam Tiruppur North Tiruppur South Udumalaipettai Uthukuli	Avinashi Dharapuram Kangeyam Madathukulam Palladam Tiruppur North Tiruppur South Udumalaipettai	Coimbatore Erode Nilgiris Pollachi Tiruppur
33	Tiruvallur	TAL	Tiruvallur	1 July 1997	Chingleput	3,444.2	3,728,104	1,082	Ponneri Tiruttani Tiruvallur	Avadi Gummidipoondi Pallipattu Ponneri Poonamallee R. K. Pettai Tiruttani Tiruvallur Uthukkottai	Avadi Gummidipoondi Ponneri Poonamallee Tiruttani Tiruvallur	Arakkonam Tiruvallur
34	Tiruvannamalai	TAN	Tiruvannamalai	30 September 1989	North Arcot	6,191	2,464,875	398	Aarani Cheyyar Tiruvannamalai	Aarani Chengam Chetpet Cheyyar Jamunamarathur Kalasapakkam Kilpennathur Polur Thandarampattu Tiruvannamalai Vandavasi Vembakkam	Arani Chengam Cheyyar Kalasapakkam Kilpennathur Polur Tiruvannamalai Vandavasi	Arani Tiruvannamalai
35	Tiruvarur	TAR	Thiruvarur	18 October 1991	Thanjavur	2,161	1,264,277	585	Mannargudi Tiruvarur	Koothanallur Kudavasal Mannargudi Nannilam Needamangalam Thiruthiraipoondi Tiruvarur Valangaiman Muthupet	Mannargudi Nannilam Thiruthuraipoondi Thiruvarur	Nagapattinam Thanjavur
36	Vellore	VEL	Vellore	30 September 1989	North Arcot	2,222.1	1,614,242	726	Gudiyatham Vellore	Anaicut Gudiyatham Pernampattu Katpadi Kilvaithinankuppam Vellore	Anaikattu Gudiyatham Katpadi Kilvaithinankuppam Vellore	Arakkonam Vellore
37	Viluppuram	VIL	Viluppuram	30 September 1993	South Arcot	3,725.5	2,093,003	562	Tindivanam Villupuram	Gingee Kandachipuram Marakkanam Melmalaianur Tindivanam Vanur Vikravandi Villupuram Thiruvennainallur	Gingee Mailam Tindivanam Vanur Villupuram Vikravandi	Arani Villupuram
38	Virudhunagar	VIR	Virudhunagar	15 March 1985	Ramanathapuram	4,288.0	1,942,288	453	Aruppukkottai Sattur Sivakasi	Aruppukkottai Kariapatti Rajapalayam Sattur Sivakasi Srivilliputhur Tiruchuli Virudhunagar Watrap Vembakottai	Aruppukkottai Rajapalayam Sattur Sivakasi Srivilliputhur Tiruchuli Virudhunagar	Ramanathapuram Tenkasi Virudhunagar

Former Districts

Some districts that existed in the past have been divided into new ones:

District	Span	Successor districts	Map
Chingleput	1956–98	Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu and Tiruvallur
North Arcot	1956–89	Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Ranipet and Tirupattur
South Arcot	1956–93	Cuddalore, Villupuram and Kallakurichi

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Distritos del estado de Tamil Nadu para niños

• List of developmental administrative units of Tamil Nadu
• List of revenue divisions of Tamil Nadu
• List of districts in Tamil Nadu by Human Development Index