Chennai Population 2026 — India

Quick facts

GeoNames · UN WPP

Population

4,681,087

city proper · GeoNames

Rank in India

#6 of 511

largest cities tracked

World rank

#74

of 5,279 cities ≥ 100k

Region

Tamil Nadu

first-level division

Status

Regional capital

Elevation

14 m

above sea level

Time zone

UTC+5:30

Asia/Kolkata

Coordinates

13.09°N 80.28°E

Share of country

0.3%

of 1.48B people

Chennai overview

Updated October 2026

Chennai (orange) and the other large cities of India

Chennai lies in Tamil Nadu in India at 13.09°N, 80.28°E, about 14 m above sea level. The local time zone is Asia/Kolkata (UTC+5:30); GeoNames classifies it as a regional capital.

It is smaller than Ahmedabad (6,357,693) and larger than Kolkata (4,631,392). The largest city in India is Mumbai with 12,691,836 people.

The nearest large city is Tiruvottiyūr, about 8 km away, followed by Madhavaram (8 km).

India as a whole has a live population of 1,480,417,619 (+0.9% a year) and ranks #1 of 238 countries — see the India population page for the full statistics and the India atlas for provinces, terrain and society maps.

Cities near Chennai

Within 200 km · straight-line distance

City	Distance	Population
Tiruvottiyūr Tamil Nadu	8 km	249,446
Madhavaram Tamil Nadu	8 km	119,105
Ambattur Tamil Nadu	13 km	466,205
Avadi Tamil Nadu	19 km	345,996
Pallāvaram Tamil Nadu	19 km	233,984
Tambaram Tamil Nadu	24 km	174,787
Kanchipuram Tamil Nadu	69 km	221,715
Rānipet Tamil Nadu	104 km	264,330

Largest cities in India

Top 10 · all 511 →

#	City	Region	Population
1	Mumbai	Maharashtra	12,691,836
2	Delhi	Delhi	11,034,555
3	Bengaluru	Karnataka	8,495,492
4	Hyderabad	Telangana	6,993,262
5	Ahmedabad	Gujarat	6,357,693
6	Chennai	Tamil Nadu	4,681,087
7	Kolkata	West Bengal	4,631,392
8	Surat	Gujarat	4,591,246
9	Pune	Maharashtra	3,124,458
10	Jaipur	Rajasthan	3,046,163

Frequently asked questions

What is the population of Chennai?

Chennai has about 4,681,087 inhabitants according to the latest official census or estimate compiled by GeoNames. This is the city proper; the metropolitan area is larger.

Is Chennai the capital of India?

No — Chennai is the 6th largest city of India.

How big is Chennai compared with the rest of India?

Its 4,681,087 residents are 0.3% of the 1,480,417,619 people living in India today. Mumbai is larger with 12,691,836 people.

Where is Chennai?

In Tamil Nadu, India, at latitude 13.09 and longitude 80.28, 14 m above sea level. Nearby large cities include Tiruvottiyūr (8 km), Madhavaram (8 km), Ambattur (13 km).

Explore more

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APA

Glostats. (2026). Chennai Population 2026 — India. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://glostats.com/cities/india/chennai/

HTML<a href="https://glostats.com/cities/india/chennai/">Chennai Population 2026 — India</a> — Glostats

Figures on this page may be quoted, charted or republished as long as the page is credited with a link. Terms · Download the data as CSV · Embed a live counter.

City populations are GeoNames figures (CC BY 4.0): the latest official census or estimate for the city proper — the municipality, not the wider metropolitan area — so they can differ from "metro area" numbers you see elsewhere. Country populations are live Glostats estimates from the UN World Population Prospects. Distances are great-circle distances between city centres. Page generated 2026-10-20. More about our data.