Solapur Guide

According to the Indian Census in 2001, the Solapur District had a population of 3,849,543. It would seem from this study that the male population was slightly higher than the female population. Females constitute 49% and males 51%. Solapur has an infant mortality rate of approximately 14%, which could be explained by the fact that a whopping 77.7% of the population are living below the poverty line. It should be noted that there is no minimum wage in Solapur.

The literacy rate on average in Solapur is an incredible 71.2%, 7.5% higher than the national average of 59.5%. Again males seem to dominate the percentage in this area with male literacy at 82% and females at 59.8%. We should remember though that there are more males than females in Solapur and that these results may have changed since 2001. The same study undertaken back in 2001 showed that 13% of the population in Solapur were under six years of age.

The main language spoken in Solapur is Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language, official language of the state of Maharashtra. It is estimated that there are approximately ninety million fluent Marathi speakers worldwide. It is believed that Marathi derives its grammar and syntax from Pali and Prakrit, with a history going back some fifteen hundred years. – Also known through the ages as Marthi, Maharashtri, Malhatee and Maharathi.

Other languages used in Solapur, especially in border areas are Telugu and Kannada. Both of which are Dravidian Languages. Telugu is primarily spoken in Andhra Pradesh as national languages. Kannada is spoken predominantly in Karnataka, although it has been reported to be the 27th most spoken language in the world, whereas out of all the Dravidian languages Telugu has the largest population of fluent speakers, closely followed by Hindi.

Solapur ranks seventh in the Maharashtra state and stands fourth in terms of size. It would seem that Solapur is one of the urbanised districts in the state, with about a third of its population living in urban areas. Solapurs urban population in 2001 stood at 1,225,284, with 2,624,259 people living in rural areas.

When you look at the Solapur district consisting of approximately 1,989,623 males and 1,859,920 females, we can surmise that the people in Solapur are becoming urbanised quicker that their counterparts in the rest of the country. This may be due to Solapurs location, with two airports within a 250Km distance and a third 402Kms away.

The two nearest airports are at Kolhapur and Pune, Mumbai is the third and most distant. Solapur is also connected by rail, with a station in Solapur. This is a mixed rail line with both broad and narrow gauge lines.

Finally, Solapur is linked by state highways 9 and 13 and minor roads to all 11 sub districts and towns, contributing to Solapurs urbanisation and status.