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:: KERALA - KERALA AT A GLANCE

Along a sun drenched coastline, to the extreme south west of the Indian peninsula, lies Kerala, beautiful and benign. Flanked by the Arabian sea on the west and the mountains of the Western Ghats on the east, this land of Parasurama stretch north-south along a coast line of 580 kms with a varying width of 35 to 120 kms.Cascading delicately down the hills to the golden coasts covered by verdant coconut groves, the topography

and physical characteristics change distinctly from east to west. Located between north latitudes 8 degree 18' and 12 degree 48' and east longitudes 74 degree 52' and 72 degree 22', this land of eternal beauty encompasses 1.18 per cent of the country.

The Western Ghats, bordering the eastern boundary of the State, form an almost continuous mountain wall, except near Palakkad where there is a natural mountain pass known as the Palakkad Gap. The average elevation of the Ghats is about 1500 meters above sea level, occasionally soaring to peaks of 2000 to 2500 m. From the Ghats, the land slopes to west on to the plains, into an unbroken coastline.

The nature of the terrain and its physical features, divides an east west cross section of the state into three distinct regions - hills and valleys , midland plains and coastal region.

Capital	Thiruvananthapuram
No. of Rivers	44
Corporations	5
Municipalities	52
Panchayaths	992
Districts	14
Blocks	152
Per Capita Income	1999-2000 (in Rs) 19,461
Literacy rate	90.92%
Principal Language	Malayalam
Coastal line in km.	590
Water bodied area in ha.	108,760
Forest area in ha.	1,081,509
Population	3,1838,619
Area (in Sq.km)	38,863

Major Agriculture Products

Rice
Cashewnut
Sugarcane
Tapioca
Pepper
Coconut
Ginger
Rubber
Turmeric
Tea
Cardamom
Coffee

Educational Institutions

Schools	Govt.	Aided	Unaided	Total
Lower Primary Schools	2521	4039	166	6726
Upper Primary Schools	961	1873	134	2968
High Schools	975	1395	210	2580
Higher Secondary Schools	417	506	8	931
Vocational H.S.S	248	126	-	374

Arts and Science Colleges

Government	Aided	Unaided	Universities
38	148	5	8

Professional Colleges

Medical College	7
Pharmacy College	20
Dental College	3
Homeo College	4
Engineering College	32
Nursing College	3
Poly Technics	59
Food Craft Institute	7

Health/Hospitals

Allopathy	Ayurveda	Homeopathy
1281	113	31