According to the 2001 India census, Thrissur District had a population of 2,975,440. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Thrissur has a literacy rate of 86%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 87%, and female literacy is 85%. 10% of the population is under 6 years of age. Hindus, Christians and Muslims constitute the bulk of the population, with Hindus as the majority, with 59.24%, closely followed by Christians (24.21%) and Muslims .