Kerala
About Kerala: Information on Tourism Industry, Agriculture, Economy & Geography


Introduction

Kerala is one of the few states to have marketed its natural beauty successfully to the leisure tourism sector. The state's unique heritage and cultural diversity has attracted tourists from around the world. BBC Travel survey has rated Kerala as the top favorite tourist destination among foreign travelers in 2018.
At current prices, Kerala’s total GSDP was estimated to be Rs. 999,643 crore (US$ 134.05 billion) in 2022-23, an increase of 10.8% over FY22. The state’s GSDP recorded a CAGR of 8.57% between 2015-16 and 2022-23.
In December 2020, Kerala Government announced that development projects worth Rs. 10,000 crore (US$ 1.36 billion) will either be completed or launched in the state in the next 100 days. Of these, a total of 5,526 projects will be completed or inaugurated, amounting to Rs. 5700 crore (US$ 774.89 million), and 646 projects worth Rs. 4,300 crore (US$ 584.57 million) will be launched.
Kerala has a wide range of fiscal and policy incentives for businesses under the Industrial and Commercial Policy and has well-drafted sector-specific policies.
As of March 2022, the state had a total installed power generation capacity of 3,220.74 MW, of which 2,200.36 MW was accounted by state utilities, 409.58 MW by central utilities and 610.80 MW by the private sector.
According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), cumulative FDI inflows in Kerala stood at US$ 574.27 million between October 2019-December 2021.
Exports from the state stood at US$ 3.94 billion in FY21 and US$ 4.03 billion in FY22 (until February).
Key Sectors
- As per the State Budget 2022-23, the government has allocated funds worth Rs. 7,737 crore (US$ 1.01 billion) for agriculture and allied activities.
- In 2019-20, the total production of horticulture crops in the state was expected to be 10219.76 thousand metric tonnes and area under production was 1590.56 thousand hectares. In 2019-20, the total production of vegetables and fruits were estimated at 2757.05 thousand metric tonnes and 1731.44 thousand metric tonnes, respectively.
- In 2019-20, tea production in Kerala stood at 59.26 million kgs. Tea export from the state stood at US$ 75.65 million during 2020-21 (until January 2021).
- The state has a techno park in Thiruvananthapuram, which has been instrumental in attracting global electronics manufacturers, and has an info park in Kochi and a cyber-park in Kozhikode.
- In FY22 (until February 2022), the total marine products exports from Kerala accounted for US$ 678.33 million, which was 17% of the total exports.
Note: * - As per 3rd Advance Estimates
FACTFILE
Capital
ThiruvananthapuramGeographical Area (sq km)
38,863State Language
Malayalam, Hindi, English and TamilLiteracy Rate
94.6 per centKey Industries:
Handlooms and power looms
Rubber
Bamboo
Coir, Khadi and village
Sericulture
Tourism

Cashew
Mining
Food processing
Spice and spice extracts
IT & Electronics
Seafood and other marine products
Related News
MORE