Tripura - A Brief Profile

The Location

Tripura is located in the southwest North Eastern Region. The state is connected with Guwahati, by National Highway(NH-44)the distance between Guwahati and Agartala being about 587 Km.

The distance of Agartala from Siliguri (which is considered the entry point to the North East)
is about 1065 Km.The significant aspect of the state’s location is that the State has about 856 Km long international border with Bangladesh, which is about 84% of total border of the State.
Most of the important cities of Bangladesh (including Dhaka) are within 150 km distance of the towns in Tripura. The direct distance between Agartala (Tripura) and Kolkata (through Bangladesh) is only about 350 km. The project for extension of railway line up to Agartala is under implementation. The state capital Agartala is connected by Air to Kolkata and Guwahati

The Land
Tripura is among the smaller State in the North Eastern Region, with a total area of about 10492 Sq. Km. only, out of which about 60% area is hilly and forested. The cultivated area is about 27% only. The State gets fairly high annual rainfall of about 210 cm, well spread over the year.

The People
The State has a total population of about 31.91 lakhs (2001 census), which is the 2nd highest in the North Eastern Region, after Assam. The average density of population is also fairly high, at 304 per Sq.km, particularly considering the fact that 60% of the area is sparsely populated being forested and hilly. The literacy rate in the State is 74%, which is much higher than national average and 2nd highest in the North Eastern Region, after Mizoram. The State has a good social infrastructure in terms of educational and health institutions. The main languages spoken in the State are Bangla, Hindi and English.

The Economy
The State has good agro-climatic conditions, suitable for a large variety of Agro/ horticultural crops. Further, industrial development has also been picked up over the past few years. In fact, during last about a decade, the state has recorded impressive growth rates.

The annual average growth rate of overall economy in real terms for Tripura during 2003-04 was 7.75% against national average of 5.70%. The sectoral share of Industries sector in the GSDP during the period 1993-94 to 2003-04 raised from 11% to 22.15%. The industries & Service sector together contribute 74.74% in the GSDP during 2003-04. The per capita income of the state rose from Rs. 5534/- in 1993-94 and further to Rs. 20,357/- in 2003-04. On the other hand, per capita income of India rose from Rs. 7690/- in 1993-94 to Rs. 20,989 in 2003-04.