Pathanamthitta is a true tropical diversity adorned with fertile agricultural land, plantations and forest. Paddy, tapioca, varieties of vegetables and spices like cardamom, pepper etc. are extensively cultivated. The district also abounds in extensive rubber plantations.
It is presumed that the regions presently under the district were formerly under the Pandalam reign which had connections with the Pandya Kingdom.
Pathanamthitta now includes portions of the erstwhile Kollam, Alappuzha and Idukki Districts. Pathanamthitta, Adoor, Ranny, Konni and Kozhencherry are some of the important places taken from Kollam District, where as Thiruvalla and Mallappally are the major places taken from Alappuzha District.Pathanamthitta is a combination of two words Pathanam and Thitta which mean an array of houses on the river side. This district was formed on 1st November 1982 in the interest of the hastening process of development. The total area of the district is 2642 sq. km., of this 1390.73 sq.km., come under forest.
BAREFACTS
District Pathanamthitta
Area (in Sq.km) 2,642
Population 1,231,577
Males 588,035
Females 643,542
Sex ratio : Females/1000 1,094
Density of Population 467
Per Capita Income (in Rs) 17,980
Literacy rate 95.09%; Male 96.62%; Female 93.71%
Coastal line in km. Nil
Water bodied area in ha. 4,100
Forest area in ha. 1,55,214
Assembly Constituencies
1. Thiruvalla
2. Kallooppara
3. Adoor
4. Aranmula
5. Ranni
6. Pathanamthitta
7. Konni
RELIGION DATA 2001 CENSUS
Religion Persons Presentage
Hindus 694560 56.2845
Muslims 56457 4.5751
Christians 481602 39.0272
Buddhists 64 0.0052
Jains 42 0.0034
Sikhs 81 0.0068
Others 45 0.0036
Religion not stated 1165 0.0944
Taluks Head Quarters No. of Villages
Kozhancheri Pathanamthitta 21
Thiruvalla Thiruvalla 11
Mallappally Mallappally 9 Ranni Ranni 11
Adoor Adoor 15
Livestock Population (1996 Census)
Cattle Buffaloes Goats Sheep Pigs
201085 3269 84706 55 1675
Major Agricultural Products
Products Area under cultivation (ha.) Production in tonne
Rice 8267 18354
Sugar Cane 275 1615
Pepper 4253 1394
Ginger 471 1214
Cardamom 664 39
Cashewnut 1188 591
Coconut 22056 1107 million nuts
Tapioca 6605 152215
Rubber 47429 59131
(Source : Farm Guide 2000)
Local Self Government
District Panchayats 1
Block Panchayats 9
Grama Panchayats 53
Educational Institutions
Schools
Schools Govt. Private Aided Private Unaided Total
L P School 165 243 13 421
U P School 43 83 15 141
High School 47 113 7 167
Higher Secondary Schools 14 35 - 49
Vocational H.S.S. 10 17 - 27
Arts and Science Colleges
Government Private Unaided
Nil 9 Nil
Professional Colleges
Type of Institutions Number
Engineering College 2 Poly Technics 4
I.T.I. 1
I.T.C. 24
T.T.I. 11
Training College 3
Health (Hospitals)
Allopathy Ayurveda Homeopathy
Hospitals 64 5 1
Beds 1072 100 25
Industries and Infrastructure
No. of registered working factories 473 No. of SSI Units 1209
Roads (Distribution of P W D Roads (in kms) as on 01.04.2000
State Highways Major Districts Roads Other Districts Roads Village Roads Total
217.776 573.695 620.952 43.440 1455.853
Vehicles registered and its classification
Goods Vehicles Buses Cars Taxis Jeeps Auto Rickshaw Two Wheelers Others Total
8808 1584 13251 6530 3396 9858 42569 780 86776
Communication
No. of Post Offices 325
No. of Telephone Exchanges 53
The district consists of three natural divisions, viz., the lowland, the midland and the highland. The highland stretches through the western ghats and descends to the midland in the centre, down to the lowland and coconut gardens on the western borders of Alappuzha district. The topography of the district is highly undulating. It starts from the tall hillslopes covered with thick forests on the East along the mountains down to the valleys and small hills to the flat and of coconut trees in the West.
The district has more or less the same climate conditions as prevalent elsewhere in the State, viz., dry seasons from December to February and hot seasons from March to May. The south west monsoon from June to September and the north west monsoon from October to November provide fairly good rain. The south west monsoon is usually very heavy and about 75% of the annual rain is received during this season. The climate is generally moderate, the temperature rising from 20 to 39 degree Celsius.
FOREST
Forest covers an area of 1390.73 sq.kms. in the district. This is more than 50% of the total area of the district, while the optimum area fixed by experts is only 33%. The total cropped area in Pathanamthitta district is 1086.53 sq.kms. The forests in the districts can broadly be classified as evergreen, semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forest.
Timber is the most important forest produce in the district. In fact, forest is the main source of raw materials for wood based industrial units. Teak, rosewood, jack tree, manjakadambu, anjili, pala etc. are some of the important varieties of timber available. Apart from providing raw materials for rayon, newsprint, plywood etc., these forests are a source for a number of useful minor product like bamboo, reeds, honey, medicinal plants and herbs.
RIVERS
Three important rivers flow through this district. They are Pampa, Achankovil and Manimala Rivers. The Pampa river is formed by the confluence of Pambayar, Aruthayar, Kakkadayar, Kakkar and Kallar. It descends from Sabarimala, flows through various parts of Ranny taluk, enters Alappuzha district after joining with river Manimala and river Achankovil and empties itself into the Vembanad lake. The river Achankovil is formed by the confluence of several small streams originating from Rishimala, Pasukidamettu and Ramakkalteri and joins the Pamba at Veeyapuram in Alappuzha district.One third of the electricity produced by the State comes from this district. Power is generated from the Sabarigiri Hydro-electric Project situated at the Pamba basin in the district.
The abundant water resource in the district is also utilised for irrigation purposes through the Kallada Irrigation Project and the Pamba Irrigation Project.
POPULATION
The district has a total population of 1231577 as per 2001 census. The female population is 643542 and male population is 588035.
ADMINISTRATION
The district has two revenue divisions, viz., Thiruvalla and Adoor. The district consists of five taluks, viz., Ranni, Kozhencherry, Adoor, Thiruvalla and Mallappally. There are sixty eight villages in the district.
The headquarters of the District Panchayat is at Pathanamthitta. There are nine block panchayats. They are Parakode, Pandalam, Kulanada, Elanthoor, Konni, Mallappally, Ranni, Koipuram and Pulikkeezhu. The number of Grama Panchayats in the district are 53. Adoor, Thiruvalla and Pathanamthitta are the municipalities. The actual area of each taluk in Pathanamthitta is tabulated as below Kozhencherry taluk Area of Pathanamthitta municipality + Konni block+ Kulanada block+ (Elanthoor block – Cherkole Panchayat) Adoor taluk Area of Pandalam block + Parakode block + Kadambanad Panchayat + Peringanad Village Thiruvalla taluk Area of Thiruvalla municipality + Pulikeezhu block + (Koipuram block – Puramattom, Ezhumattoor panchayats) Ranni taluk Area of Ranny block + Ayroor Panchayat from Koipuram block + Cherukole panchayat from Elanthoor block
Pathanamthitta district does not have any full-fledged Parliament constituency in its purview. Its eight Assembly constituencies are segmented and made parts of different Parliamentary constituencies. Adoor and Konni are made part of Adoor Parliamentary constituency. Thiruvalla, Kalloopara, Aranmula and parts of Pandalam Assembly constituencies belong to Mavelikkara Parliamentary constituency and Ranni and Pathanamthitta come under Idukki Parliamentary constituency. 
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