North Eastern Council Draft Annual Plan 1987-88

Abstract

From Introduction: The North Eastern Region comprises the five States of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland and the two Union Territories of Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram. The region accounts for 7.7% of the country's total land area and has a population of 266 lakhs (1981 census) representing 3.8% of the country's total population 70% of the area is hilly and 90% people lives in villages. The average population density is low i.e. 102 against the all-India average of 221; the density is very low in the mountainous terrain though the plains of Assam Si Tripura are thickly populated. The literacy rate in the region is above the all-India average of 36-2(1981) except for Arunachal Pradesh (20.1) and Meghalaya (33.2). The region is economically more backward than other regions in terms of key development indicators.