The economy of
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
is the
11th largest in India, with an annual
gross state product
Gross regional domestic product (GRDP), gross domestic product of region (GDPR), or gross state product (GSP) is a statistic that measures the size of a region's economy. It is the aggregate of gross value added (GVA) of all resident producer unit ...
(GSP) of ₹13.11 lakh crore (US$157.45 billion) in 2024–2025. Per-capita GSP of
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
during the same period is , the sixth largest in India.
In 2019–20, the
tertiary sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...
contributed around 63% of the state's
GSVA, compared to 28% by
secondary sector
In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructi ...
, and 8% by
primary sector
The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining.
The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in d ...
.
Kerala's high
GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performance o ...
and productivity figures with higher development figures is often dubbed the "
Kerala Phenomenon" or the "Kerala Model" of development by economists, political scientists, and sociologists. This phenomenon arises mainly from Kerala's land reforms, social upliftment of entire communities initiated from the first democratic government of Kerala led by
E. M. S. Namboodiripad
Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad (13 June 1909 – 19 March 1998), popularly known as E.M.S. Namboodiripad or simply by his initials E. M. S., was an Indian communist politician and theorist, who served as the first Chief Minister of ...
and subsequently implemented by various governments ruled the state. Kerala's economy is based on a
social democratic
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
welfare state
A welfare state is a form of government in which the State (polity), state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal oppor ...
. Some, such as Financial Express, use the term "Money Order Economy". Kerala is the
second-most urbanised major state in the country with
47.7% urban population according to the
2011 Census of India, and has tried to maintain a pan-state economy rather than concentrating in some selected cities to develop.
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
is the
second-least impoverished state in India according to the Annual Report of
Reserve Bank of India
Reserve Bank of India, abbreviated as RBI, is the central bank of the Republic of India, and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system and Indian rupee, Indian currency. Owned by the Ministry of Finance (India), Min ...
published in 2013, only behind
Goa
Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
.
Kerala, which accounts for 2.8% of India's population and 1.2% of its land area, contributes more than 4% to the
GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performance o ...
of India. Thus, the southern state's per capita income is 60% higher than India's average. This has fuelled internal migration to Kerala for low-end jobs, even as Keralites have emigrated—mostly to the Gulf countries—in search of better-paying jobs. Around 3,000,000 Keralites are working abroad, mainly in
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
; to where migration started with the
Gulf Boom. The Kerala Economy is therefore largely dependent on trade in services and resulted
remittances
A remittance is a non-commercial transfer of money by a foreign worker, a member of a diaspora community, or a citizen with familial ties abroad, for household income in their home country or homeland.
Money sent home by migrants competes ...
.
In 2012, the state was the highest receiver of overall
remittances to India
Remittances to India are money transfers (called remittance) from non-resident Indians (NRIs) employed outside the country to family, friends or relatives residing in India. India is the world's top receiver of remittances, claiming more than ...
which stood at Rs. 49,965 Crore (31.2% of the State's GDP), followed by Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
The
Migrant labourers in Kerala
Migrant labourers in Kerala, India's southernmost States and union territories of India, state, are a significant economic force in the state; there were around 2.5 million internal Migrant worker, migrants in Kerala according to a 201 ...
are a significant
workforce
In macroeconomics, the workforce or labour force is the sum of people either working (i.e., the employed) or looking for work (i.e., the unemployed):
\text = \text + \text
Those neither working in the marketplace nor looking for work are out ...
in industrial and agricultural sectors of state. Kerala's economy was gradually shifting from an agrarian economy into a service-based one during the period between 1960 and 2020.
With
12.5% of the labour force unemployed in 2016, Kerala sank from being the 11th in unemployment in India in the year before to being 3rd in the country.
The 'Report on Fifth Annual Employment - Unemployment Survey for 2015-16' prepared by the Labour Bureau of the Union ministry of Labour and Employment indicates that Tripura had the highest unemployment rate of 19.7% in India, followed by Sikkim (18.1%) and Kerala (12.5%). In 2020 with unemployment rate around 5%, Kerala has managed to turn its fate around despite the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
affecting all sectors of the economy.
The state's poverty rate is exceptionally lowest in the country at 0.71%; and it houses the
Kottayam district
Kottayam () is one of List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. Kottayam district comprises six municipal towns: Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Kerala, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettu ...
which is the only one in the country with zero poor residents.
Macro-economic trend
The following table shows the annual growth in nominal GSDP for the
financial year
A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...
s 2001–02 to 2021–22, from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
This is a chart of trend of gross state domestic product of Kerala at market price
estimatedby ''Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation'' with figures in crores (1,00,00,000) of Indian Rupees. Kerala had recorded a growth rate of 6.49 per cent in 2013, which was above the national average (4.04) and the second highest among South Indian States. The state's growth rate was above that of Karnataka (5.79 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (5.97 per cent). During the period between 1960 and 2020, Kerala's economy was gradually shifting from an agrarian economy into a service-based economy as shown below:
Sources: Economic Review, Kerala (2016 and 2020)
In 2009, Kerala was the 8th greatest debt burden in India. In 2013, the state's debt was estimated at 35.53 per cent of GSP. State's debt liability recorded an increase of 14.4 per cent and rose from in 2013–14 to in 2014–15. This liability as a percentage of GSDP was 31.4 per cent, which is higher than the target of 29.8 per cent fixed in the Kerala Fiscal Responsibility Act.
The GDP growth rate that continuously stood above the national average, began to show a declining trend from 2012 to 2013, and it further slid to 8.59% in 2015–16, when the national average stood at 9.94%. The tax growth rate, which was 23.24% in 2010–11, fell to 10.68% in 2015–16.
GDDP by district
Sectors
The state's
service sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...
which accounts for around 65% of its revenue is mainly based upon its
Hospitality industry
The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, food and beverage services, event planning, theme parks, travel agency, tourism, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, and bars.
Sector ...
,
Tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
,
Ayurveda
Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...
and Medical Services, Pilgrimage,
Information technology
Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...
,
Transportation
Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...
, Financial sector, and
Education
Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
.
Major initiatives under the industrial sector include
Cochin Shipyard
Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) is the largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility in India. Cochin Shipyard is part of a line of maritime-related facilities in the port-city of Kochi, in the States and union territories of India, state of Kerala, ...
, Oil refinery, Shipbuilding, Software Industry, Coastal mineral industries, food processing, marine products processing, and Rubber based products. The primary sector of the state is mainly based upon
Cash crop
A cash crop, also called profit crop, is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate a marketed crop from a staple crop ("subsi ...
s. Kerala produces a significant amount of national output of the cash crops such as
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...
,
tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...
,
coffee
Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
,
pepper
Pepper(s) may refer to:
Food and spice
* Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plants
** Black pepper
** Long pepper
** Kampot pepper
* ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanacea ...
,
natural rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds.
Types of polyisoprene ...
,
cardamom
Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genus (biology), genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indon ...
, and
cashew
Cashew is the common name of a tropical evergreen tree ''Anacardium occidentale'', in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South America and is the source of the cashew nut and the cashew apple, an accessory fruit. The tree can grow as t ...
in India. The cultivation of food crops began to reduce since the 1950s. The
Migrant labourers in Kerala
Migrant labourers in Kerala, India's southernmost States and union territories of India, state, are a significant economic force in the state; there were around 2.5 million internal Migrant worker, migrants in Kerala according to a 201 ...
are a significant
workforce
In macroeconomics, the workforce or labour force is the sum of people either working (i.e., the employed) or looking for work (i.e., the unemployed):
\text = \text + \text
Those neither working in the marketplace nor looking for work are out ...
in its industrial and agricultural sectors. Being home to only 1.18% of the total land area of India and 2.75% of its population, Kerala contributes more than 4% to the
Gross Domestic Product
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...
of India.
Information technology
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
has focused more attention towards growth of
Information Technology
Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...
sector with formation of
Technopark,
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...
which is one of the largest IT employer in Kerala. It was the first technology park in India and with the inauguration of the Thejaswini complex on 22 February 2007, Technopark became the largest IT Park in India. Software giants like
Infosys
Infosys Limited is an Indian multinational corporation, multinational technology company that offers business consulting, information technology, and outsourcing services. Founded in 1981 in Pune, the company is headquartered in Bengaluru.
On ...
,
Oracle
An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination.
Descript ...
,
Tata Consultancy Services
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational technology company specializing in information technology services and consulting. Headquartered in Mumbai, it is a part of the Tata Group and operates in 150 ...
,
Capgemini
Capgemini SE is a French Multinational corporation, multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company, headquartered in Paris, France.
History
Capgemini was founded by Serge Kampf in 1967 as an enterprise management and d ...
,
HCL,
UST Global
UST, formerly known as UST Global, is a provider of digital technology and transformation, information technology and services, headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California, United States. Stephen J. Ross founded UST in 1998 in Laguna Hills. Th ...
, NeST and Suntec have offices in the state. The state has a second major IT hub, the
Infopark centred in Kochi with "spokes"(it acts as the "hub") in
Thrissur
Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...
and
Cherthala
Cherthala is a municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India and acts as a satellite town of Kochi. It is located north of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 20 ...
,
Alappuzha
Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...
. , Infopark generates one-third of total IT Revenues of the state
with key offices of IT majors like Tata Consultancy Services,
Cognizant
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational information technology consulting and outsourcing company originally founded in India. It is headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, United States. Co ...
,
Wipro
Wipro Limited () is an Indian multinational technology company based in Bengaluru. It provides information technology, consulting and business process services. It is one of India's Big Six IT services companies. Wipro's services include cloud ...
, UST Global, IBS Software Services etc. and
Multinational corporation
A multinational corporation (MNC; also called a multinational enterprise (MNE), transnational enterprise (TNE), transnational corporation (TNC), international corporation, or stateless corporation, is a corporate organization that owns and cont ...
s like
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
,
KPMG
KPMG is a multinational professional services network, based in London, United Kingdom. As one of the Big Four accounting firms, along with Ernst & Young (EY), Deloitte, and PwC. KPMG is a network of firms in 145 countries with 275,288 emplo ...
,
Ernst & Young
EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...
,
EXL Service
Exlservice Holdings, Inc. is a global analytics and digital solutions company serving industries including insurance, healthcare, banking and financial services, media, retail, and others. The company is headquartered in New York and has more ...
,
Etisalat DB Telecom,
Nielsen Audio
Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...
,
Xerox ACS, Tata ELXSI etc.
Kochi
Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
also has another major project
SmartCity under construction, built in partnership with Dubai Government. A third major IT Hub is under construction centred around
Kozhikode
Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature.
It is the nineteenth large ...
known as Cyberpark. Kerala is the first Indian state to make Internet access a basic right.
As of 2019, Kerala's Internet penetration rate is the second-highest in India, only behind
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
.
Tourism

Kerala is an established tourist destination for both Indians and non-Indians alike. Tourism contributes to nearly 10% of the state's GDP. Tourists mostly visit the
hill station
A hill station is a touristic town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The English term was originally used mostly in Western imperialism in Asia, colonial Asia, but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by ...
s of
Munnar
Munnar () is a town located in the Idukki district of the southwestern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. Munnar is situated at around above mean sea level, in the Western Ghats mountain range. This ancient plantat ...
,
Nelliampathi
Nelliyampathy (also spelled as Nelliampathi) is a hill station, located from Palakkad, state of Kerala, India.
Geography
* Nelliampathy is surrounded by tea and coffee plantations.
* The village has its own gram panchayat and forms a part ...
,
Wayanad
Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of the Indian state of Kerala, with its administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, ...
and
Ponmudi
Ponmudi (the Golden Peak) is a hill station in the Peringamala gramapanchayath of Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala in India. It is located 22km west of Vithura town, 53 km north-east of Thiruvananthapuram, Thiruvananthapuram City, ...
Beaches at
Varkala
Varkala is a major coastal municipality and a northern suburb of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. In legends and myths related to Kerala, texts like the Keralolpathi, Kerala Mahatmyam describe the Varkala reg ...
,
Kovalam
Kovalam is a beach and seaside resort in the city of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India. Kovalam is located southeast of the city center. The beaches around Kovalam are popular vacation destinations for both domestic and international travelle ...
,
Cherai
Cherai is a small town located in north side of Vypin island. It is a region in the suburb of the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. It is at a distance of about from the ''High Court Junction'', Kochi. Cherai has the longest bea ...
,
Kozhikode
Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature.
It is the nineteenth large ...
Historical centers at
Fort Kochi
Fort Kochi ( , ; Cochin Portuguese: ''Cochim de Baixo'', , Tamil: ''Koçhé Kōtàì''), formerly also known as Fort Cochin or British Cochin or Old Kochi, is a region of Kochi city in Kerala, India. Fort Kochi takes its name from the For ...
,
Kappad
Kappad, or Kappakadavu locally, is a beach and village near Koyilandy, in the Kozhikode district, Kerala, India.
A stone monument installed by government commemorates the "landing" by Vasco da Gama with the inscription, Vasco da Gama landed he ...
and national parks and wildlife sanctuaries such as
Periyar
Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 187924 December 1973), commonly known as Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician. He was the organizer of the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam and is considered the architect o ...
and
Eravikulam National Park
Eravikulam National Park is a 97 km2 national park located along the Western Ghats in the Idukki and Ernakulam districts of Kerala in India. The park is situated between 10º05'N and 10º20' north, and 77º0' and 77º10' east and is the ...
. The "
backwaters" region – an extensive network of interlocking rivers, lakes, and canals that center on
Ashtamudi,
Alleppey
Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...
,
Kumarakom
Kumarakom is a tourism destination near the city of Kottayam in Kerala, India. It is near the Vembanad Lake, the largest lake in the state of Kerala. In January 2023 ''The New York Times'' mentioned Kumarakom's backwater tourism.
Climate
Kum ...
, Veli,
Vembanad
Vembanad () is the longest lake in India, and the largest in the state of Kerala. The lake has an area of 2,033 square kilometers and a maximum length of 96.5 km.
Spanning three districts in the state of Kerala, it is known as Vembanad L ...
and Punnamada – also see heavy tourist traffic. Examples of Keralite architecture, such as the
Padmanabhapuram Palace
Padmanabhapuram Palace, also known as Kalkulam Palace, is a Travancore-era palace located in Padmanabhapuram in the Kanyakumari district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The palace is owned, controlled and maintained by the Kerala Governme ...
,
Malik Deenar Mosque Kasaragod
Kasaragod () is a municipal town and the administrative headquarters of the Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kera ...
,
Paradesi Synagogue
The Paradesi Synagogue or the Mattancherry Synagogue () is a synagogue located in Mattancherry Jew Town, a suburb of the city of Kochi, Kerala, in India. It was built in 1568 A.D. by Samuel Castiel, David Belila, and Joseph Levi for the flou ...
are also visited. cities like
Kozhikode
Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature.
It is the nineteenth large ...
(Land of Zamorins) and
Alappuzha
Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...
(called the "
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
of the East") are also popular destinations. Tourism plays an important role in the state's economy. Kerala is also a preferred destination for night dwellers and the nightlife districts in
Trivandrum
Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the largest and ...
,
Kovalam
Kovalam is a beach and seaside resort in the city of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India. Kovalam is located southeast of the city center. The beaches around Kovalam are popular vacation destinations for both domestic and international travelle ...
,
Kochi
Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
,
Kozhikode
Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature.
It is the nineteenth large ...
and
Varkala
Varkala is a major coastal municipality and a northern suburb of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. In legends and myths related to Kerala, texts like the Keralolpathi, Kerala Mahatmyam describe the Varkala reg ...
are the major centres. Along with tourism there is also a new trend of domestic pilgrimage tourism visible in Kerala in recent years during the annual
Sabarimala
The Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple () is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Ayyappan, who is also known as Dharma Shasta and is the son of the deities Shiva and Mohini (female avatar of the god Vishnu).
The temple is situated atop th ...
pilgrimage season and round the year to temples such as
Guruvayur Temple
Guruvayur Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Guruvayurappan (four-armed form of the Vishnu), located in the town of Guruvayur in Kerala, India. Administrated by the Guruvayur Devaswom Board, it is one of the most important places of wors ...
Thrissur
Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...
,
Padmanabhaswamy Temple Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...
, Vadakkunatha Temple, Parasseni kadavu temple in Kannur etc.
Education
Around 18% of the total employees in the organised sector of state, both public and private, are employed in the Educational sector as in March 2020.
Kerala is also one of the Indian states which spend a larger proportion of its revenue for human resource development including educational and healthcare uplifting.
According to the first economic census, conducted in 1977, 99.7% of the villages in Kerala had a primary school within , 98.6% had a middle school within and 96.7% had a high school or higher secondary school within .
In 1991, Kerala became the first state in India to be recognised as completely literate, although the effective literacy rate at that time was only 90%.
In 2006–2007, the state topped the Education Development Index (EDI) of the 21 major states in India. , enrolment in elementary education was almost 100%; and, unlike other states in India, educational opportunity was almost equally distributed among sexes, social groups, and regions.
According to the 2011 census, Kerala has a 93.9% literacy, compared to the national literacy rate of 74.0%.
In January 2016, Kerala became the first Indian state to achieve 100% primary education through its ''Athulyam'' literacy programme. Though the cost of education is generally considered low in Kerala, according to the 61st round of the National Sample Survey (2004–2005), per capita spending on education by the rural households was reported to be for Kerala, more than twice the national average. The survey also revealed that the rural-urban difference in household expenditure on education was much less in Kerala than in the rest of India. The
KITE Kerala
Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) is a state owned special purpose company under Department of General Education of the Government of Kerala. It was developed to support ICT enabled education for schools in Kerala. Th ...
is a state owned
special purpose company
A special-purpose entity (SPE), also called a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) or a financial vehicle corporation (FVC), is a legal entity (usually a limited company of some type or, sometimes, a limited partnership) created to fulfill narrow, speci ...
under education department of the
Government of Kerala
The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...
. It was developed to support
ICT enabled education for schools in the state. The erstwhile
IT@School Project was transformed into KITE for extending its scope of operations in August 2017. Kerala is the first Indian state to have ICT-enabled education with hi-tech classrooms in all public schools. Kerala topped in the ''School Education Quality Index'' published by
NITI Aayog
The NITI Aayog (; abbreviation for National Institution for Transforming India) serves as the apex public policy think tank of the Government of the Republic of India, and the nodal agency tasked with catalyzing economic development, and foste ...
in 2019.
Ship building

The
Cochin Shipyard
Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) is the largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility in India. Cochin Shipyard is part of a line of maritime-related facilities in the port-city of Kochi, in the States and union territories of India, state of Kerala, ...
in Kochi is the biggest ship building facility in India. Cochin Shipyard was incorporated in the year 1972 as a fully owned Government of India company. In the last three decades the company has emerged as a forerunner in the Indian shipbuilding & Shiprepair industry. This yard can build and repair the largest vessels in India. It can build ships up to 1,100,000 tonnes deadweight (DWT) and repair ships up to 1,250,000 DWT. The yard has delivered two of India's largest double hull Aframax tankers each of 95,000 DWT. CSL has secured shipbuilding orders from internationally renowned companies from Europe & Middle East and is nominated to build the country's first indigenously built Air Defence Ship. The Cochin Shipyard also builds ships for the Indian Navy.
Shipyard commenced ship repair operations in the year 1982 and has undertaken repairs of all types of ships including upgradation of ships of oil exploration industry as well as periodical lay up repairs and life extension of ships of Navy, UTL, Coast Guard, Fisheries and Port Trust besides merchant ships of SCI & ONGC. The yard has, over the years, developed adequate capabilities to handle complex and sophisticated repair jobs. Recently Cochin Shipyard won a major repair orders from ONGC. The order for major repairs of three rigs viz Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) Sagar Vijay, Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) Sagar Bhushan and Jack Up Rig (JUR) Sagar Kiran was secured by CSL against very stiff international competition.
Infrastructure
Kerala has of roads, which accounts for 5.6% of India's total.
This translates to about of road per one thousand people, compared to an average of in the country.
Roads in Kerala include:
* of national highway, 1.6% of the nation's total,
* of state highway, 2.5% of the nation's total,
* of district roads, 4.7% of the nation's total,
* of urban (municipal) roads, 6.3% of the nation's total, and
* of rural roads, 3.8% of the nation's total.
Most of Kerala's west coast is accessible through the
NH 66
National Highway 66, commonly referred to as NH 66 (erstwhile NH-17 and a part of NH-47), is a mostly 4 lane 1640 km (1020 miles) long busy National Highway that runs roughly north–south along the western coast of India, parallel to t ...
(previously NH 17 and 47); and the eastern side is accessible through state highways.
New projects for hill and coastal highways were recently announced under Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board
KIIFB. Virtually all of Kerala's villages are connected by road. Traffic in Kerala has been growing at a rate of 10–11% every year, resulting in high traffic and pressure on the roads. Total road length in Kerala increased by 5% between 2003 and 2004. The road density in Kerala is nearly four times the national average, and is a reflection of Kerala's unique settlement patterns. India's national highway network includes a Kerala-wide total of 1,524 km, which is only 2.6% of the national total. There are eight designated national highways in the state. Upgrading and maintenance of 1,600 km of state highways and major district roads has been taken up under the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP), which includes the
GIS
A geographic information system (GIS) consists of integrated computer hardware and software that store, manage, analyze, edit, output, and visualize geographic data. Much of this often happens within a spatial database; however, this is not ...
-based Road Information and Management Project (RIMS).
The
Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board
Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) was constituted by Government of Kerala as a Body Corporate financial institution in the Indian state of Kerala to mobilize funds for infrastructure development from outside the state revenue ...
is a government owned
financial institution
A financial institution, sometimes called a banking institution, is a business entity that provides service as an intermediary for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial ins ...
in the state to mobilize funds for infrastructure development from outside the state revenue, aiming at overall infrastructure development of the state.
Energy
Renewable energy sources constitute the bulk of electricity generated in Kerala. KSEB Ltd has 31 hydro-electric projects, 11 solar projects, 2 diesel power plants & 7 wind farms. Power generation is also undertaken by Captive Mode Projects, Independent Power Mode Projects & Co-generation mode projects other than KSEBL.
Oil refining and petrochemicals
The
Kochi Refinery
Kochi Refinery Limited (KRL) is a crude oil refinery in the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. It is the largest public sector refinery in India with a production capacity of 15.5 million tonnes per year. Formerly known as Cochin Refineries Limited ...
is a public crude oil refinery in the city of Kochi. It is the largest state owned refinery in India with a production capacity of 15.5 million tons per annum. Formerly known as Cochin Refineries Limited and later renamed as Kochi Refineries Limited, it was acquired by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited in the year 2006. Today Kochi Refinery is a frontline entity as the unit of the Fortune 500 company, BPCL. With a turnover of around US$2500 million, the refinery aims to strengthen its presence in refining and marketing of petroleum products and further grow into the energy and petrochemical sectors.
Kochi Refinery is engaged in Refining and marketing of petroleum products. Beginning with a capacity of 50,000 barrels per day, today the Refinery has a refining capacity of 310,000 bbl/d. The Company entered the petrochemical sector with benzene and toluene in 1989.
The oil and gas industry is a critical sector that plays a vital role in the global economy. Kochi, located in the southern state of Kerala in India, is home to several institutions that offer courses in oil and gas-related subjects.
Solar Power

* India's largest floating solar power plant is set up on the Banasura Sagar reservoir in
Wayanad
Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of the Indian state of Kerala, with its administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, ...
, Kerala. It is a 500 kWp (kilowatt peak) solar plant. It belongs to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB). It floats on 1.25 acres of water at the Banasura Sagar reservoir.
* India's first solar ferry used for public transport, "
Aditya
Aditya may refer to:
* Ādityas, a group of Hindu deities
* An alternative name for Surya
Surya ( ; , ) is the Sun#Dalal, Dalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta t ...
", operates in Kerala.
* The
Cochin International Airport
Cochin International Airport , popularly known as Kochi International Airport or Nedumbassery Airport, is an international airport serving the city of Kochi, Kerala, in southwestern India. It is located at Nedumbassery, about northeast of th ...
, the first airport in the world that runs entirely on solar power, is in Kerala.
* The
Kochi Metro is planning 78 solar-electric ferry boats for the city, which will be the largest integrated water transport system in the world.
Finance
As of March 2002, Kerala's banking sector comprised 3,341 local bank branches: each branch served 10,000 people, lower than the national average of 16,000; the state has the third-highest bank penetration among Indian states.
On 1 October 2011, Kerala became the first state in the country to have at least one banking facility in every village. Around 8% of the total number of employees in the organized sector of the state are employed in the financial and insurance industries as of March 2020.
Traditional Industries
Traditional industries manufacturing items;
coir
Coir (), also called coconut fibre, is a natural fibre extracted from the outer husk of coconut, and used in products such as floor mats, doormats, brushes, and mattresses. Coir is the fibrous material found between the hard, internal shell ...
,
handloom
A loom is a device used to weaving, weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the Warp (weaving), warp threads under tension (mechanics), tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of ...
s, and
handicraft
A handicraft is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid material ...
s employ around one million people.
Kerala supplies 60% of the total global produce of white coir fibre. India's first coir factory was set up in
Alleppey
Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...
in 1859–60. The Central Coir Research Institute was established there in 1959. As per the 2006–2007 census by
SIDBI
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is the apex regulatory body for overall licensing and regulation of Small and medium-sized enterprises, micro, small and medium enterprise finance companies in India. It is under the jurisdicti ...
, there are 1,468,104
micro, small and medium enterprises
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by many national agencies and international organizat ...
in Kerala employing 3,031,272 people.
The
KSIDC has promoted more than 650 medium and large manufacturing firms in Kerala, creating employment for 72,500 people.
A mining sector of 0.3% of GSDP involves extraction of
ilmenite
Ilmenite is a titanium-iron oxide mineral with the idealized formula . It is a weakly magnetic black or steel-gray solid. Ilmenite is the most important ore of titanium and the main source of titanium dioxide, which is used in paints, printi ...
,
kaolin
Kaolinite ( ; also called kaolin) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina (). ...
,
bauxite
Bauxite () is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...
,
silica
Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...
,
quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...
,
rutile
Rutile is an oxide mineral composed of titanium dioxide (TiO2), the most common natural form of TiO2. Rarer polymorphs of TiO2 are known, including anatase, akaogiite, and brookite.
Rutile has one of the highest refractive indices at vis ...
,
zircon
Zircon () is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates and is a source of the metal zirconium. Its chemical name is zirconium(IV) silicate, and its corresponding chemical formula is Zr SiO4. An empirical formula showing some of th ...
, and
sillimanite
Sillimanite or fibrolite is an aluminosilicate mineral with the chemical formula Al2SiO5. Sillimanite is named after the American chemist Benjamin Silliman (1779–1864). It was first described in 1824 for an occurrence in Chester, Connecticut ...
.
Agriculture and livestock

Agricultural sector contributes only 7% to the GSDP of Kerala.
Kerala produces 97% of national output of
pepper
Pepper(s) may refer to:
Food and spice
* Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plants
** Black pepper
** Long pepper
** Kampot pepper
* ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanacea ...
, and accounts for 85% of the area under
natural rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds.
Types of polyisoprene ...
in the country.
Coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...
, tea, coffee,
cashew
Cashew is the common name of a tropical evergreen tree ''Anacardium occidentale'', in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South America and is the source of the cashew nut and the cashew apple, an accessory fruit. The tree can grow as t ...
, and
spices
In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...
— including cardamom,
vanilla
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia'').
''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...
,
cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...
, and
nutmeg
Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus '' Myristica''; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ('' M. fragrans'') is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fru ...
— comprise a critical agricultural sector. Around 90% of the total cardamom produced in India is from Kerala.
India is the second-largest producer of cardamom in world.
A key agricultural staple is rice, with some six hundred varieties grown in Kerala's extensive paddy fields.
[.] Nevertheless,
home gardens comprise a significant portion of the agricultural sector. Related
animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...
is also important, and is touted by proponents as a means of alleviating rural poverty and unemployment among women, the marginalised, and the landless. Feeding, milking, breeding, management, health care, and concomitant micro-enterprises all provide work for around 3.2 million of Kerala's 5.5 million households. The state government seeks to promote such activity via educational campaigns and the development of new cattle breeds such as
Sunandini. About 20% of the total coffee produced in India are from Kerala.
Given below is a table of 2015 national output share of select agricultural crops and allied segments in Kerala based on 2011 prices
The most essential or the staple crop is the rice or paddy. About 600 varieties of rice are grown in the sprawling paddy fields of Kerala. In fact the Kuttanad region of the district of Kerala is known as the 'rice bowl of the state' and enjoys a significant status in the production of rice. Next to rice is Tapioca and is cultivated mainly in the drier regions. Tapioca is a major food of the Keralites. Besides production of the main crop, Kerala is also a major producer of spices that form the cash crops of the state. The important spices are cardamom, cinnamon, clove, turmeric, nutmeg and vanilla. Other cash crops that constitute the agricultural sector include tea, coffee cashew, pulses, areca nut, ginger and coconut. In fact coconut provides the principal source of income in Kerala- from coir industry to coconut shell artifacts. Cashew is also an essential cash crop. Kottayam district has extensive areas producing and processing rubber. Apart from rubber, other plantation crop likes plantains or bananas are also grown in plenty. In 1960–61, Kerala contributed to nearly 70% of the country's coconut production. In 2011–12, it was at 42%. It dropped further by 2.3% points the next year. According to the State Planning Board (2011) data, the state is producing only about 12% of its total requirement for rice. In 1960-61 Kerala produced more than 10 lakh tons of rice. By 2012-13 rice production was down to 5.08 lakh tons. By 2012–13, in just a single year, area under rice cultivation had declined by 5.2%, and the production itself dropped by 10.2%.
Fisheries
With of coastal belt, 400,000 hectares of inland water resources and approximately 220,000 active fishermen,
Kerala is one of the leading producers of fish in India.
According to 2003–04 reports, about 1.1 million people earn their livelihood from fishing and allied activities such as drying, processing, packaging, exporting and transporting fisheries. The annual yield of the sector was estimated as 608,000 tons in 2003–04. This contributes to about 3% of the total economy of the state. In 2006, around 22% of the total Indian marine fishery yield was from Kerala.
During the southwest monsoon, a suspended mud bank develops along the shore, which in turn leads to calm ocean water, peaking the output of the fishing industry. This phenomenon is locally called ''
chakara
A chakara (also Chaakara and in Malayalam ചാകര) is a natural marine phenomenon observed along the Malabar Coast of India, particularly in Kerala, where an extraordinary abundance of fish is brought close to the shore, sometimes even being ...
''.
The waters provide a large variety of fish:
pelagic species; 59%,
demersal species; 23%,
crustacean
Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...
s,
molluscs
Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...
and others for 18%.
Around 1.050 million fishermen haul an annual catch of 668,000 tonnes as of a 1999–2000 estimate; 222 fishing villages are strung along the coast. Another 113 fishing villages dot the hinterland.
Background radiation levels
Minerals including
Ilmenite
Ilmenite is a titanium-iron oxide mineral with the idealized formula . It is a weakly magnetic black or steel-gray solid. Ilmenite is the most important ore of titanium and the main source of titanium dioxide, which is used in paints, printi ...
,
Monazite
Monazite is a primarily reddish-brown phosphate mineral that contains rare-earth elements. Due to variability in composition, monazite is considered a group of minerals. The most common species of the group is monazite-(Ce), that is, the cerium ...
,
Thorium
Thorium is a chemical element; it has symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is a weakly radioactive light silver metal which tarnishes olive grey when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft, malleable, and ha ...
, and
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
, are found in the coastal belt of Kerala. Kerala's coastal belt of
Karunagappally
Karunagappally is a municipality in the Kollam district of Kerala, India. It is 24 km north of Kollam and south of Alappuzha. Karunagappally taluk consists of Alappad, Ochira, Adinad, Karunagappally, Thazhava, Pavumba, Thodiyoor, Kallalibh ...
is known for high background radiation from
thorium
Thorium is a chemical element; it has symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is a weakly radioactive light silver metal which tarnishes olive grey when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft, malleable, and ha ...
-containing
monazite
Monazite is a primarily reddish-brown phosphate mineral that contains rare-earth elements. Due to variability in composition, monazite is considered a group of minerals. The most common species of the group is monazite-(Ce), that is, the cerium ...
sand. In some coastal panchayats, median outdoor radiation levels are more than 4
mGy/yr and, in certain locations on the coast, it is as high as 70 mGy/yr.
Alcohol

The government enforces state monopoly over liquor sale in the state, after the state banned foreign liquor shops, through the government owned
Kerala State Beverages Corporation (KSBC). Every year, liquor sales have been rising and the total sales of liquor and beer during 2010-11 fiscal year was expected to be about Rs. 67 billion.
The government applies the highest state tax on liquor (around 247%).
Rum
Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...
and
brandy
Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...
are the preferred drinks in Kerala in a country where
whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...
outsells every other liquor.
Taxes on alcohol was a major source of revenue for the state government, but of late, it has been showing a declining trend. Only 4.2% of revenues for its annual budget come from liquor sales. Revenues from alcohol to the state's exchequer have registered a 100% rise over the past four years.
Liquor sales stood at 201 lakh cases worth Rs. 11,577 crore during 2015–16, down from 220 lakh cases worth Rs. 10,013 crore during the previous year. Gross sales during the first three months of 2016 were around Rs. 4,000 crore.
Numbers from the Kerala State Beverages Corporation analyzed by the Alcohol and Drug Information Center (AIDIC), show that alcohol consumption dropped by 20.27 per cent since April 2014, this in a market that registered an annual growth of 12 per cent to 67 per cent for the last 30 years.
In 2018–19, the turnover from the sale of liquor in Kerala stood at over Rs 14,500 crore and the revenue earned by way of tax was in excess of Rs 12,400 crore.
Another source of income for the Kerala Government is lotteries. In 2020-21, the revenue from lottery sales was Rs.4911.52 crores, resulting in a profit of Rs 472.70 crores.
Foreign remittances
1.6 million Keralites work overseas out of a population of 32 million. As of 2008, the Keralites in the Gulf countries send home a sum of
USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...
9.25 billion annually, which is about 10% of
Remittance to India. Large numbers work in construction. High literacy allows Keralites to secure administrative employment & white-collar jobs. Migrants' families are three times as likely as those of nonmigrants to live in superior housing, and about twice as likely to have telephones, refrigerators, and cars.
Malappuram district
Malappuram (), is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala, with a coastline of . The most populous district of Kerala, Malappuram is home to around 13% of the tot ...
has the largest proportion of emigrant households in state.
Pathanamthitta
Pathanamthitta (), is a municipality, city in southern Kerala, India, spread over an area of . It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The town has a population of 37,538 (as of 2011 census). The Hindu pilgrim centre Sab ...
and
Thrissur
Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...
districts have on an average one member from each household a non-resident Indian.
Of the $71 billion in remittances sent to India in 2012, Kerala still received the highest among the states: $11.3 billion, which is nearly 20%. The foreign remittances in 2014 were estimated to be , which dropped to in 2016. The annual remittance received by the state in 2017 was estimated as , which constituted 35% of the state's total income in the year. In 2018, there were 2.1 million emigrants from the state who made a remittance of . There was a decline of about 3 lakh emigrants from the state during 2013–18. However, the overall remittances showed an increase compared to those of the previous years.
There is also another interesting observation made by Kerala Migration Survey in its previous studies, which is, there is a steady rise in migration of highly qualified women professionals from Kerala from the 1990s to 2004. These women migrants were more educated and skilled and are earning more compared to unskilled migrants. There was a diversification of source and destinations among female migrants their migration isn't entirely
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
oriented and they are predominantly hailing from Central Kerala compared to male migrants who are overwhelmingly from
Malabar region and migrate to GCC. There is also more permanent nature of employment for female migrants compared to male migrants. This diversification provided a cushioning from both increasing naturalisation of West Asian countries and tightened immigration laws of Western countries in the 2010s this helped to sustain remittance inflow. The women migrants are mainly trained in
Nursing
Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
.
According to a study commissioned by the
Kerala State Planning Board, the state should look for other reliable sources instead of relying on remittances to finance its expenditure.
Other
Kerala is the single largest originator of education loans for the country as a whole. Total disbursal of education loans amount to Rs. 60 billion.
Aluva
Aluva () is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality and a northern suburb of the city of Kochi in Kerala. It is located about north of the city centre.
Aluva is known for the Aluva Sivarathri festival, Sivarathri festival, which is celebra ...
is the largest industrial belt in Kerala. There are more than 247 industries viz. Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT), Travancore Cochin Chemicals, Indian Rare Earths Limited, Hindustan Insecticides Limited and many others manufacturing a range of products like chemical and petrochemical products, pesticides, rare-earth elements, rubber processing chemicals, fertilizers, zinc/chromium compounds and leather products.
Publicly-listed companies from Kerala

The following companies headquartered in or primarily operating from Kerala are listed on the
Bombay Stock Exchange
BSE Limited, also known as the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), is an Indian stock exchange based in Mumbai. It is the 6th largest stock exchange in the world by total market capitalization, exceeding $5 trillion in May 2024.
Established with t ...
and
National Stock Exchange includes:
# Muthoot Capital Services Limited
#
Geojit Financial Services
Geojit Financial Services Ltd. is an investment services company in India headquartered in Kochi, Kerala. It operates a network of offices across India and the Middle East. Geojit was the first company in India to launch online-trading facilitie ...
#
V-Guard Industries Ltd
#
Federal Bank
Federal Bank Limited is an Indian private sector bank headquartered in Aluva, Kerala. The bank has 1588+ banking outlets and, 2079+ ATMs/ CDMS spread across different states in India and overseas representative offices at Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
...
#
Dhanlaxmi Bank
#
South Indian Bank
The South Indian Bank Limited (SIB) is a major private-sector bank headquartered at Thrissur in Kerala, India. As of 31 December 2024, the bank had a network of 955 banking outlets (954 branches and 1 service branch) and 1290 ATMs/CRMs (1159 A ...
#
Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited
# Manappuram Finance Limited
#
Muthoot Finance
#
Harrisons Malayalam
Harrisons Malayalam is an Indian agricultural business corporation, based in Kochi, Kerala and a part of the RPG Group. It has a history that goes back to over 150 years. It cultivates between 14,000 ha – 26,000 ha (information varies) of its ...
# Accel Transmatic Limited
# GTN Textiles Limited
# Kitex Garments
# Nitta Gelatin India Ltd
# Eastern Treads Limited
# Rubfila International LTD
# Kerala Ayurveda Ltd
# Vertex Securities Ltd
# Sree Sakthi Paper Mills
# AVT Natural Products
# Victory Paper and Boards (India) Limited
#
Cochin Shipyard Limited
Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) is the largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility in India. Cochin Shipyard is part of a line of maritime-related facilities in the port-city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. The shipyard builds platform sup ...
# Aster DM Healthcare Limited
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Wonderla
Wonderla is the largest chain of amusement parks in India. It is owned and operated by Wonderla Holidays Limited which is headquartered near Bidadi, from Bengaluru, Karnataka. It operates 4 amusement parks in Kochi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and B ...
Holidays Ltd
# Catholic Syrian bank
# TCM Ltd (Formerly Travancore Chemical & Manufacturing Company Ltd)
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Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT)
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Kalyan Jewellers
Kalyan Jewellers is an Indian multinational jewellery company, headquartered in Thrissur, Kerala. It was founded in 1993 by T. S. Kalyanaraman. As of July 2024, Kalyan Jewellers operates 277 showrooms across India and the Middle East.
Histor ...
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ESAF Small Finance Bank
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Apollo Tyres
Apollo Tyres Limited is an Indian multinational tyre manufacturing company headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana. It was incorporated in 1972, and its first plant was commissioned in Perambra in Thrissur, Kerala. The company now has five manufac ...
The structure of unemployment and job seekers in the southwestern state of
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
varies significantly from the rest of
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. K. P. Kannan, a development economist in Kerala, calls it as Educated Unemployment, in which a person can't find desired job according to his educational qualification.
Other varying factor of Kerala with respect to rest of India is the higher number of female job seekers with respect to its male counterpart. More than 60% of the total job seekers in Kerala are women, with most of them are well-educated.
It is also seen that the unemployment rate among the women job seekers is much higher than that among the male job seekers.
Around 25% of the
Postgraduates
Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...
are unemployed while nearly 17% of each of those who have attained either a technical degree or vocational training are unemployed.
The
labour force
In macroeconomics, the workforce or labour force is the sum of people either working (i.e., the employed) or looking for work (i.e., the unemployed):
\text = \text + \text
Those neither working in the marketplace nor looking for work are out ...
utilized for the primary and secondary sectors of the state are mainly the
Migrant labourers in Kerala
Migrant labourers in Kerala, India's southernmost States and union territories of India, state, are a significant economic force in the state; there were around 2.5 million internal Migrant worker, migrants in Kerala according to a 201 ...
, who come from other states of India, for higher wages.
A portion of the male workforce of the state have emigrated—mostly to the Gulf countries—in search of better-paying jobs, known as
Kerala Gulf diaspora
The Kerala Gulf diaspora refers to the people of Kerala living in the West Asian Arab states of the Persian Gulf. A report presented in 2014, estimates that 90 percent of Kerala's 2.36 million-strong diaspora resides in the Middle East. Nearly 80 ...
. However the female work force doesn't do so resulting in higher unemployment rate among the women, who are more than 60% of the total job seekers in Kerala.
See also
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Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board
Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) was constituted by Government of Kerala as a Body Corporate financial institution in the Indian state of Kerala to mobilize funds for infrastructure development from outside the state revenue ...
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Kerala Startup Mission
Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), formerly known as Technopark TBI, is a state-level agency under the Government of Kerala, India, dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship and incubation activities. Established primarily to manage the Technology ...
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Kerala Model
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Public sector undertakings in Kerala
Public sector undertakings in Kerala are of two types, public sector units in which majority shares are owned by Union Government and public sector units in which majority shares are owned by State Government. Public sector undertakings in K ...
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Unemployment in Kerala
Unemployment in Kerala discusses the causes and measures of Kerala unemployment and strategies for reducing it. Job creation and unemployment are affected by factors such as economic conditions, global competition, education, automation, and demo ...
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Migrant labourers in Kerala
Migrant labourers in Kerala, India's southernmost States and union territories of India, state, are a significant economic force in the state; there were around 2.5 million internal Migrant worker, migrants in Kerala according to a 201 ...
*
Kerala Gulf diaspora
The Kerala Gulf diaspora refers to the people of Kerala living in the West Asian Arab states of the Persian Gulf. A report presented in 2014, estimates that 90 percent of Kerala's 2.36 million-strong diaspora resides in the Middle East. Nearly 80 ...
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Emerging Kerala
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Invest Kerala Global Summit
Invest Kerala Global Summit is a major event organized by the Government of Kerala in India to attract domestic and international investments across various sectors, aiming to showcase the state's potential as a business hub and promote economic ...
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Demographics of Kerala
Notes
References
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Further reading
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Economic Review 2020by State Planning Board,
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...
,
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
External links
Conundrum of Kerala's struggling economy BBC NewsKerala Economic Association's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Economy of Kerala