Kerala

Kerala, officially Keralam (Malayalam: [ˈkeːɾɐɭɐm] Kēraḷam), is a state on the Malabar Coast of southern India. It was formed on 1 November 1956 under the States Reorganisation Act, which unified the country's Malayalam-speaking regions into a single state. Covering 38,863 km2 (15,005 sq mi), Kerala is primarily a strip of coastal plains sandwiched by the Western Ghats and the Laccadive Sea, bound by Karnataka to the northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east, and the Lakshadweep islands in the western vicinity. With 33 million inhabitants according to the 2011 census, Kerala is the 13th-most populous state in India. Thiruvananthapuram is the capital city while the Kochi metropolitan area is the state's most populated region. Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and, alongside English, serves as an official language of the state. Kerala has been a prominent exporter of spices since 3000 BCE. The Chera dynasty, the first major kingdom in the region, rose to prominence through maritime commerce but often faced invasions from the neighbouring Chola and Pandya dynasties. In the 15th century, the spice trade attracted Portuguese traders to Kerala, initiating European colonisation in India. After Indian independence in 1947, the kingdoms Travancore and Cochin acceded to the newly formed republic and were merged in 1949 to form the state of Travancore-Cochin. In 1956, the modern state of Kerala was instituted by exchanging peripheral areas with the former Madras State; Malabar district and the Kasargod taluk of South Canara district were merged with Travancore-Cochin to form Kerala, while Kanyakumari district and parts of Shenkottai taluk were annexed to Madras State. Kerala consists of 14 districts since 1984. Kerala has the highest Human Development Index, at 0.784 in 2018; the highest literacy rate, 96.2% in 2018; the highest life expectancy, at 77.3 years; and the highest sex ratio, with 1,084...