List of districts of Tamil Nadu

The state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India is divided into 32 districts, including two newly carved districts Ariyalur and Tirupur.

History of Tamil Nadu districts

After Indian independence in August 1947, the former British province of Madras Presidency became Madras State, renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969. The three princely states of Sandur, Banganapalle, and Pudukkottai were merged into Bellary, Kurnool, and Thiruchirapalli districts, respectively. In 1953 the eleven northern districts of Madras State became the new state of Andhra state, and Bellary District was divided between Andhra Pradesh and Mysore State (present-day Karnataka). Tamil Nadu acquired its present boundaries on 1 November 1956, when Dakshina Kannada and Malabar districts were ceded to Mysore and Kerala states, respectively, and Kanyakumari District of erstwhile Travancore-Cochin state was ceded to Madras State.

In 1956, Madras State was made up of 13 districts: Chengalpattu, Coimbatore, Kanyakumari, Madras, Madurai, The Nilgiris, North Arcot, Ramanthapuram, Salem, South Arcot, Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli, and Tirunelveli.

• 1966: Dharmapuri District split from Salem.
• 14 January 1974: Pudukkottai formed from parts of Thiruchirappalli and Thanjavur.
• 31 August 1979: Periyar District (present-day Erode) split from Coimbatore.
• 8 March 1985: Kamarajar (present-day Virudhunagar) and Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar (present-day Sivaganga) districts split from Ramanathapuram.
• 15 September 1985: Dindigul District split from Madurai.
• 1986: Tirunelveli District split into Chidambaranar (present-day Thoothukudi) and Nellai-Kattabomman (later Tirunelveli-Kattabomman, present-day Tirunelveli) districts.
• 30 September 1989: North Arcot district split into Tiruvannamalai-Sambuvarayar (present-day Tiruvannamalai) and North Arcot Ambedkar (present-day Vellore) districts.
• 14 September 1993: South Arcot District split into Cuddalore and Villupuram districts.
• 1 November 1995: Karur and Perambalur districts split from Tiruchirappalli District.
• 1996: Names of districts changed:
  • Kamarajar became Virudhunagar;
  • Madras became Chennai;
  • Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar became Sivaganga;
  • Periyar became Erode;
  • Tirunelveli-Kattabomman became Tirunelveli;
  • Tiruvannamalai-Sambuvarayar became Tiruvannamalai;
  • Tirupur District split from Coimbatore districts from Dec 2007
  • Chidambaranar became Tuticorin, later Thoothukudi;
  • North Arcot Ambedkar became Vellore.
  • Anna District became Dindigul;

Present districts of Tamil Nadu

Districts of Tamil Nadu 2009

More can be found on the sites of the individual districts which are linked from the site of the Tamil Nadu Government [1].

The serial numbers correspond to the numbers in the 2009 map.

SL.NO.	District	Area (sq.km)	Population (2011 Census)	Number of taluks	Names of taluks	District Map
1.	Ariyalur	1,944	7,52,481	3	Ariyalur, Udayarpalayam, Sendurai
2.	Chennai	174	46,81,087	5	Egmore-Nungambakkam taluk, Mylapore-Triplicane taluk, Mambalam-Guindy taluk, Fort-Tondiarpet taluk, Perambur-Purasawalkam taluk
3.	Coimbatore	572	34,72,578	8	Mettupalayam, Coimbatore-North, Coimbatore-South, Coimbatore-West, Pollachi, Annur, Kinathukadavu, Valparai.
4.	Cuddalore	617	26,00,880	6	Cuddalore, Panruti, Chidambaram, Kattumannarkoil, Vriddachalam, Titakudi, neyveli, nellikupam
5.	Dharmapuri	297	15,02,900	5	Dharmapuri, Palacode, Pennagaram, Harur and Pappireddipatti
6.	Dindigul	317	21,61,367	8	Dindigul, Kodaikanal, Natham taluk, Athoor taluk, Nilakottai taluk, Oddanchathiram taluk, Palani taluk, Vedasandhur taluk, Kodaikanal taluk.
7.	Erode	369	22,59,608	5	Bhavani taluk, Erode taluk, Gobichettipalayam taluk, Perundurai taluk, Sathyamangalam, Anthiyur taluk
8.	Kanchipuram	668	39,90,897	8	Chengalpattu, Cheyyur, Tambaram, Madurantakam, Sriperumbudur, Kanchipuram, Thirukazhukundram, Uthiramerur, Thiruporur
9.	Kanniyakumari	995	18,63,174	4	Agastheeswaram, Kalkovil, Vilavancode, Thovalai
10.	Karur	323	10,76,588	4	Aravakurichi, Karur, Krishnarayapuram, Kulithalai
11.	Krishnagiri	-	18,83,731	5	Krishnagiri, Hosur, Pochampalli, Uthangarai, Denkanikottai
12.	Madurai	747	30,41,038	7	Madurai North, Madurai South, Melur, Tirumangalam, Periyur, Usilampatti, Vadipatti
13.	Nagapattinam	616	16,14,069	8	Kilvelur, Kuthalam, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Sirkazhi, Tharangambadi, Thirukkuvalai, Vedaranyam
14.	Namakkal	439	17,21,179	4	Namakkal, Velur, Tiruchengode, Rasipuram
15.	Nilgiris	422	7,35,071	6
16.	Perambalur	282	5,64,511	3	Kunnam taluk, Perambalur taluk, Veppanthattai taluk, Alathur taluk
17.	Pudukkottai	314	16,18,725	9	Pudukkottai, Gandarvakottai, Ilupur, Kulatur, Tirumayam, Alangudi, Arangthangi, Avudaiyarkoil, Manamelkudi
18.	Ramanathapuram	284	13,37,560	7	Ramanathapuram, Tiruvadanai, Rameswaram, Paramakudi, Mudukulathur, Kamuthi, Kadaladi
19.	Salem	575	34,80,008	9	Attur, Edappadi, Gangavalli, Mettur, Omalur, Salem, Sankagiri, Valapady, Yercaud
20.	Sivaganga	279	13,41,250	6
21.	Thanjavur	638	24,02,781	8	Kumbakonam, Orathanadu, Papanasam, Pattukkottai, Peravurani, Thanjavur, Thiruvaiyaru, Thiruvidaimarudur
22.	Theni	381	12,43,684	5	Theni, Periyakulam, Andipatti, Bodinayakkanur, Uthamapalayam
23.	Thoothukudi	340	17,38,376	8	Tuticorin, Thiruchendur, Sathankulam, Srivaikundam, Ottapidaram, Kovilpatti, Ettayapuram, Vilathikulam
24.	Thiruvarur	492	12,68,094	7	Kudavasal, Mannargudi, Nannilam, Needamangalam, Thiruthiraipoondi, Tiruvarur, Valangaiman
25.	Tirunelveli	400	30,72,880	11	Alangulam, Ambasamudram, Nanguneri, Palayamkottai, Tenkasi, Shenkottai, Radhapuram, Sankarankoil, Sivagiri, Tirunelveli, Veerakeralamputhur
26.	Tiruchirappalli	536	27,13,858	8	Manapparai, Srirangam, Tiruchirapalli, Lalgudi, Manachanallu, Thuraiyur, Musiri, Thottiyam
27.	Thiruvallur	776	37,25,697	8	Ambattur, Gummidipoondi, Pallipattu, Ponneri, Poonamallee, Tiruvallur, Uthukkottai
28.	Tiruppur	-	24,71,222	7	Tiruppur, Avinashi, Palladam, Dharapuram, Kangeyam, Udumalaipettai, Madathukulam
29.	Tiruvannamalai	353	24,68,965	10	Thiruvannamalai, kizh-Pennathur, kalasapakkam, Javadi Hills, polur, Chengam, Thandarampattu, Arani, Vandavasi, Cheyyar.
30.	Vellore	573	39,28,106	9	Vellore, Arcot, Ambur, Vaniyambadi, Tiruppattur, Walajapet, Katpadi, Arakkanom, Gudiyatham.
31.	Villupuram	412	34,63,284	8	Kallakurichi, Sankarapuram, Ulundurpettai, Tirukoilur, Gingee, Vanur taluk, Villupuram, Tindivanam
32.	Virudhunagar	409	19,43,309	8	Aruppukkottai, Kariapatti, Rajapalayam, Sattur taluk, Sivakasi, Srivilliputhur, Tiruchuli, Virudhunagar