Over 33,000 atheists in India: Census

New Delhi, July 28 (IANS) India has over 33,000 atheists, Census 2011 data has revealed. The 33,304 listed in the report include 22,828 from rural and 10,476 from urban areas.

Maharashtra tops the list with 9,652 atheists, followed by Meghalaya (9,089) and Kerala (4,896). Delhi has 541 atheists. The Census 2011 data puts India's population at 1.2 billion.

In its first such listing, the Census department says only 0.0027 per cent of the population is atheist.