70 Facts About Kerala

The Malabar region, in the northern part of Kerala, had been a part of the Madras province of British India, which later became a part of the Madras State post-independence.

Kerala has the lowest positive population growth rate in India, 3.

Kerala is the second-least impoverished state in India according to the Annual Report of Reserve Bank of India published in 2013.

Kerala is the second-most urbanised major state in the country with 47.

Kerala is one of the prominent tourist destinations of India, with coconut-lined sandy beaches, backwaters, hill stations, Ayurvedic tourism and tropical greenery as its major attractions.

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One folk etymology derives Kerala from the Malayalam word 'coconut tree' and 'land'; thus, 'land of coconuts', which is a nickname for the state used by locals due to the abundance of coconut trees.

Kerala was alternatively called Malabar in the foreign trade circles.

Kerala won the war against the Devas, driving them into exile.

The most likely location on the coast of Kerala conjectured to be Ophir is Poovar in Thiruvananthapuram District.

Kerala's spices attracted ancient Arabs, Babylonians, Assyrians and Egyptians to the Malabar Coast in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE.

Arabs had trade links with Kerala, starting before the 4th century BCE, as Herodotus noted that goods brought by Arabs from Kerala were sold to the Israelis [Hebrew Jews] at Eden.

Under Kulasekhara rule, Kerala witnessed a developing period of art, literature, trade and the Bhakti movement of Hinduism.

Kerala describes Kozhikode as "one of the great ports of the district of Malabar" where "merchants of all parts of the world are found".

Kerala makes note of the 20 or 30 mosques built to cater to the religious needs of the Muslims, the unique system of calculation by the merchants using their fingers and toes, and the matrilineal system of succession (Marumakkathayam).

Kerala defeated the Zamorin of Kozhikode, as well as the ruler of Kollam around 1443.

Travancore became the dominant state in Kerala by defeating the powerful Zamorin of Kozhikode in the battle of Purakkad in 1755.

The smaller princely states in northern and north-central parts of Kerala including Kolathunadu, Kottayam, Kadathanadu, Kozhikode, Tanur, Valluvanad, and Palakkad were unified under the rulers of Mysore and were made a part of the larger Kingdom of Mysore.

Kerala forged tributary alliances with Kochi in 1791 and Travancore in 1795.

Geographically, Kerala can be divided into three climatically distinct regions: the eastern highlands; rugged and cool mountainous terrain, the central mid-lands; rolling hills, and the western lowlands; coastal plains.

Kuttanad, known as The Rice Bowl of Kerala, has the lowest altitude in India, and is one of the few places in world where cultivation takes place below sea level.

Kerala's fauna are notable for their diversity and high rates of endemism: it includes 118 species of mammals, 500 species of birds, 189 species of freshwater fish, 173 species of reptiles (10 of them endemic), and 151 species of amphibians (36 endemic).

Kerala's birds include the Malabar trogon, the great hornbill, Kerala laughingthrush, darter and southern hill myna.

Kerala's taluks are further sub-divided into 1, 674 revenue villages.

However, the Kerala Municipality Act envisages a single-tier system for urban areas, with the institution of municipality designed to par with the Gram panchayat of the former system.

Kerala was declared as the first digital state of India on 27 February 2016.

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Kerala produces a significant amount of national output of the cash crops such as Coconut, Tea, Coffee, pepper, Natural rubber, Cardamom, and Cashew in India.

The Migrant labourers in Kerala are a significant workforce in its industrial and agricultural sectors.

Kerala's economy depends significantly on emigrants working in foreign countries, mainly in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, and the remittances annually contribute more than a fifth of GSDP.

In 2012, Kerala still received the highest remittances of all states: US$11.

Around 600 varieties of rice, which is Kerala's most used staple and cereal crop, are harvested from 3105.

On 1 October 2011, Kerala became the first state in the country to have at least one banking facility in every village.

Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board is a government owned financial institution in the state to mobilize funds for infrastructure development from outside the state revenue, aiming at overall infrastructure development of the state.

Kerala has focused more attention towards growth of Information Technology sector with formation of Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram which is one of the largest IT employer in Kerala.

Kerala is the first Indian state to make Internet access a basic right.

Major change in agriculture in Kerala occurred in the 1970s when production of rice fell due to increased availability of rice all over India and decreased availability of labour.

Kerala has 331, 904 kilometres of roads, which accounts for 5.

Kerala State Road Transport Corporation is a state-owned road transport corporation.

Kerala has one major port, four intermediate ports, and 13 minor ports.

Kerala is the second-most urbanised major state in the country with 47.

Kerala is one of the first states in India to form a welfare policy for the transgender community.

In June 2019, the Kerala government passed a new order that members of the transgender community should not be referred to as the "third gender" or "other gender" in government communications.

Kerala is widely regarded as the cleanest and healthiest state in India.

Kerala has undergone a "demographic transition" characteristic of such developed nations as Canada, Japan, and Norway;.

Kerala has the lowest homicide rate among Indian states, with 1.

In 2015 Kerala became the first "complete digital state" by implementing e-governance initiatives.

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Kerala is a pioneer in implementing the universal health care program.

In 2014, Kerala became the first state in India to offer free cancer treatment to the poor, via a program called Sukrutham.

People in Kerala experience elevated incidence of cancers, liver and kidney diseases.

Kerala is very religiously diverse with Hindus, Muslims and Christians having a significant population throughout the state, Kerala is often regraded as one of the most diverse state in all of India.

Kerala was instrumental in establishing four mathas at Sringeri, Dwarka, Puri and Jyotirmath.

Kerala'storians do not rule out the possibility of Islam being introduced to Kerala as early as the seventh century CE.

Kerala's grave is believed to be located on the island of Andrott.

The Muslims were a major financial power to be reckoned within the kingdoms of Kerala and had great political influence in the Hindu royal courts.

The origin of the Latin Catholic Christians in Kerala is the result of the missionary endeavours of the Portuguese Padroado in the 16th century.

Kerala has the highest population of Christians among all the states of India.

KITE Kerala is a state owned special purpose company under education department of the Government of Kerala.

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 in 2019.

Culture of Kerala is composite and cosmopolitan in nature and it is an integral part of Indian culture.

The Malayalam calendar, a solar sidereal calendar started from 825 CE in Kerala, finds common usage in planning agricultural and religious activities.

Development of classical music in Kerala is attributed to the contributions it received from the traditional performance arts associated with the temple culture of Kerala.

Kerala has given birth to numerous actors, such as Mohanlal, Mammootty, Satyan, Prem Nazir, Madhu, Sheela, Sharada, Miss Kumari, Jayan, Adoor Bhasi, Seema, Bharath Gopi, Thilakan, Vijaya Raghavan, Kalabhavan Mani, Indrans, Shobana, Nivin Pauly, Sreenivasan, Urvashi, Manju Warrier, Suresh Gopi, Jayaram, Murali, Shankaradi, Kavya Madhavan, Bhavana Menon, Prithviraj, Parvathy, Jayasurya, Dulquer Salmaan, Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Jagathy Sreekumar, Nedumudi Venu, KPAC Lalitha, Innocent and Fahad Fazil.

Resul Pookutty, who is from Kerala, is only the second Indian to win an academy award for sound design, for the breakthrough film Slumdog Millionaire.

Kerala cuisine includes a wide variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes prepared using fish, poultry, and meat.

Kerala is home to the largest domesticated population of elephants in India—about 700 Indian elephants, owned by temples as well as individuals.

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The elephant is the state animal of Kerala and is featured on the emblem of the Government of Kerala.

Until the early 1980s, Kerala was a relatively unknown destination compared to other states in the country.

In 1986 the government of Kerala declared tourism an important industry and it was the first state in India to do so.

Kerala tourism is a global brand and regarded as one of the destinations with highest recall.

Kerala is known for its ecotourism initiatives which include mountaineering, trekking and bird-watching programmes in the Western Ghats as the major activities.