Over 35% of Kerala’s population holds passports, highest in India

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : In Kerala, a passport is more than a travel document. For decades, it has represented a job in the Gulf, a university admission abroad, a family reunion or the prospect of building a life beyond India’s shores.

Now, new data offers a striking measure of just how deeply international mobility has become embedded in the state: more than 35% of Kerala’s population holds a passport, the highest proportion in India.

Recent estimates based on active passport data put Kerala’s passport penetration at around 35.3%, far above the national average and ahead of other states and Union Territories with traditionally high levels of overseas migration.

It is a remarkable statistic for a state of more than 35 million people and reflects a migration story stretching back generations, particularly Kerala’s relationship with the Gulf.

For thousands of families from Malappuram and Kozhikode in the north to Ernakulam, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Thiruvananthapuram further south, overseas migration has long shaped household incomes, education, housing and aspirations.

Official figures underline the scale.

Data from India’s Ministry of External Affairs showed Kerala had 9.89 million valid passports at the end of 2023, the highest number among Indian states at the time, narrowly exceeding Maharashtra’s 9.81 million. That was despite Maharashtra having a population several times larger than Kerala’s.

Of Kerala’s valid passports, about 5.68 million were held by men and 4.22 million by women, illustrating how international mobility is no longer overwhelmingly a male phenomenon.

The number of passports being issued also surged after the pandemic. Kerala recorded 1.51 million passport issuances in 2022, rising to nearly 1.55 million in 2023, according to government data. The 2023 figure was even higher than Maharashtra’s 1.51 million and Uttar Pradesh’s 1.37 million.

The numbers are especially striking because Kerala accounts for only a small fraction of India’s population.

A passport culture built over generations

The explanation lies partly in Kerala’s distinctive migration history.

From the oil boom in the Gulf in the 1970s onwards, hundreds of thousands of Malayalis travelled to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain in search of employment.

Those migration networks grew over subsequent decades. A relative or neighbour already working abroad could help another person find a job, accommodation or contacts, creating migration corridors connecting individual Kerala towns and villages with cities across the Gulf.

But Kerala’s overseas story is changing.

While the Gulf remains deeply important, a younger generation is increasingly looking towards Europe, Canada, Australia, Britain and other destinations for education and professional opportunities. Nurses, healthcare workers, engineers, IT professionals and students have broadened the state’s international footprint.

That shift means the passport is increasingly being obtained well before a person has definite plans to leave India.

Demand remains enormous

The workload at Kerala’s passport offices provides another indication of that appetite for overseas mobility.

The Regional Passport Office in Cochin received 690,398 applications in 2025 and rendered 684,834 passport and miscellaneous services during the year.

Further north, the Kozhikode office received 742,250 applications and rendered 737,984 services in 2025. It covers Kozhikode, Kannur, Kasaragod, Wayanad, Malappuram and Mahe.

Taken together, those two regional offices alone received more than 1.43 million applications in a single year, although the figure includes applications for miscellaneous passport services and should not be treated as the number of new passports issued.

The passport infrastructure is expanding too. A new Post Office Passport Seva Kendra at Thavanur became operational in July 2026, extending access to services in the state.

More than a statistic

Kerala’s passport numbers tell a larger story about the state itself.

For an earlier generation, obtaining a passport was often associated with a journey to Dubai, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Riyadh or Kuwait City and the prospect of sending money home.

For today’s generation, the destination could just as easily be London, Berlin, Dublin, Melbourne or Toronto.

The motivations may have changed, but the instinct to look beyond India’s borders remains powerful.

That is why Kerala’s 35% figure is more than an unusual demographic statistic. It captures decades of migration, remittances and global connections that have transformed the state’s economy and society.

In much of India, a passport remains something held by a relatively small section of the population.