The correct descending order of districts in Rajasthan based on total literacy rate (census 2011) is
- (1)Jaipur, Jhunjhunu, Kota, Sikar, Alwar
- (2)Kota, Jaipur, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Alwar
- (3)Jhunjhunu, Kota, Sikar, Jaipur, Alwar
- (4)Kota, Jhunjhunu, Jaipur, Alwar, Sikar
Answer
Why
Correct — option (2), Kota, Jaipur, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Alwar.
The Census 2011 total literacy rates for the five districts are:
Kota — 76.6%
Jaipur — 75.5%
Jhunjhunu — 74.1%
Sikar — 71.9%
Alwar — 70.7%
Sorted from highest to lowest, that is Kota, Jaipur, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Alwar — option (2). These are also the top five districts of the state on total literacy, against a state figure of 66.1%.
The gaps at the top are narrow: Kota leads Jaipur by about one point, and Jaipur leads Jhunjhunu by about one and a half.
The word that decides the order is "total". Jhunjhunu tops the state on male literacy and on rural literacy, but on total (person) literacy it comes third.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)Jaipur, Jhunjhunu, Kota, Sikar, Alwar — This puts Jaipur first and drops Kota to third. Kota's 76.6% is above both Jaipur (75.5%) and Jhunjhunu (74.1%), so Kota must lead.
Jaipur is the most populous district of Rajasthan (Census 2011), which can make it look like the natural leader, but population and literacy are different tables. Sikar and Alwar are placed correctly.
- (3)Jhunjhunu, Kota, Sikar, Jaipur, Alwar — This puts Jhunjhunu first and Jaipur fourth. Jhunjhunu's first place would suit male literacy (86.9%) or rural literacy (73.4%), where it leads the state.
On total literacy it has 74.1%, behind Kota (76.6%) and Jaipur (75.5%). Sikar (71.9%) above Jaipur (75.5%) is a second error; only Alwar at fifth is right.
- (4)Kota, Jhunjhunu, Jaipur, Alwar, Sikar — Kota at the top is right, but the order then makes two swaps. Jhunjhunu (74.1%) is placed above Jaipur (75.5%), and Alwar (70.7%) above Sikar (71.9%).
Nor does it match female literacy: there the five fall in the same order as option (2) — Kota 65.9%, Jaipur 64.0%, Jhunjhunu 61.0%, Sikar 58.2%, Alwar 56.3%.
Concept
The literacy rate in the Census is the percentage of literates among people aged seven and above. It is published three ways — total (persons), male and female — and each is split again into rural and urban.
A district can rank very differently on each measure. In Rajasthan in 2011, Kota led on total and female literacy, Jhunjhunu on male and rural literacy, and Udaipur on urban literacy.
At the other end, Jalore had the lowest total literacy (54.9%), followed by Sirohi and Pratapgarh. The state figure was 66.1%, with male literacy at 79.2% and female at 52.1%.
RPSC's 2024 syllabus lists "Population-Growth, Density, Literacy, Sex-ratio & Major Tribes" under the Geography of Rajasthan. The figures for this question come from the Census 2011 district tables.
This question could be solved from the top five districts and their approximate values; it did not need the full list of 33. The census counted 33 districts, so its tables do not line up with districts created after 2011.
A useful habit is to fix which measure the stem names — total, male, female, rural or urban — before recalling any ranking.
Key facts
- Census 2011 total literacy: Kota 76.6%, Jaipur 75.5%, Jhunjhunu 74.1%, Sikar 71.9%, Alwar 70.7% — the top five districts of Rajasthan.
- Rajasthan's literacy rate in 2011 was 66.1%: male 79.2%, female 52.1%.
- Jalore had the lowest total literacy in Rajasthan in 2011 (54.9%), followed by Sirohi (55.3%) and Pratapgarh (56.0%).
- Jhunjhunu had the highest male literacy (86.9%) and highest rural literacy (73.4%) among Rajasthan's districts in 2011.
- Kota had the highest female literacy (65.9%) and Udaipur the highest urban literacy (87.5%) among Rajasthan's districts in 2011.
Source: Census of India 2011, district-level literacy rates (population aged seven and above).
Study next
Common traps
- Total, male, female, rural and urban literacy produce different leaders. Jhunjhunu tops male and rural literacy but is third on total literacy.
- Jaipur leads on population, but population rank is not literacy rank; Kota is ahead of Jaipur on total literacy.
- Census figures belong to the 33 districts of 2011. A district created later has no 2011 census row of its own, so it cannot be ranked from this table.
One shape gives four or five districts and asks for the correct descending or ascending order on one census measure, as here.
Another can ask for the single highest or lowest district on a measure — total, female, rural — where the leader changes with the measure.
A third can set state figures against national ones, or male against female, and ask which statement is correct.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2023 and 2016 here once those papers are published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
According to Census 2011, which district of Rajasthan had the lowest total literacy rate?
- (a)Sirohi
- (b)Jalore
- (c)Pratapgarh
- (d)Banswara
Answer(2) — Jalore had 54.9%, the lowest in the state. Option (1), Sirohi, was just above it at 55.3%. Option (3), Pratapgarh, had 56.0%. Option (4), Banswara, had 56.3%. All four are in the bottom five, so the question turns on the exact order at the foot of the table. - practice — not a real PYQ
According to Census 2011, which district of Rajasthan had the highest male literacy rate?
- (a)Kota
- (b)Jaipur
- (c)Jhunjhunu
- (d)Sikar
Answer(3) — Jhunjhunu had 86.9% male literacy, the highest in the state. Option (1), Kota, had 86.3%; it leads on total and female literacy, not male. Option (2), Jaipur, had 86.1%. Option (4), Sikar, had 85.1%.