States and Union Territories of India: A Complete Guide

India is a union of 28 states and 8 union territories. States have their own elected governments and legislatures, while union territories are administered more directly by the Union Government. Understanding this structure makes it much easier to follow Indian news, elections and government services.

States and union territories: what is the difference?

Each state has a Governor appointed by the President, a Chief Minister and council of ministers, and a Legislative Assembly elected by the people. Six states also have an upper house, the Legislative Council.

Union territories are governed by an Administrator or Lieutenant Governor appointed by the President. Three of them – Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir – have their own elected legislatures and ministers, with powers defined by Parliament.

How the map has changed

At independence, India inherited provinces of British India and hundreds of princely states. The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 redrew boundaries largely along linguistic lines, and further states were created in later decades, including:

• Gujarat and Maharashtra (1960), formed from Bombay State
• Haryana (1966), carved out of Punjab
• Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand (2000)
• Telangana (2014), formed from Andhra Pradesh

In 2019 the former state of Jammu and Kashmir was reorganised into two union territories, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, and in 2020 Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu were merged into a single union territory.

Representation in Parliament

Seats in the Lok Sabha are allocated to states and union territories broadly in proportion to population. Uttar Pradesh has the most seats (80), while several smaller states and union territories have one. Rajya Sabha members are elected by the elected members of state legislatures (and the legislatures of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir).

Explore each state

StateIcon has a dedicated page for every state and union territory with its capital, area, population (with census year), districts, symbols, legislature and places to visit. Start with the list of states and union territories or compare them by population and area.