demography
The Gujarat economy is characterized by strong macro fundamentals and good performance over the Eleventh Plan period. This percolates to tribal areas and would result in faster growth in these areas. Inevitably, there are some weaknesses that need to be addressed and also new challenges that need to be faced. Progress towards tribal development is difficult to assess, because it is a multi-dimensional concept.
Gujarat accounts for 8.1% of the Scheduled Tribe population of the country. The tribal population of Gujarat, numbering 89.17 lakh, constitute 14.8% of the state’s population. They are concentrated in the eastern districts, from Mt. Abu on the Rajasthan border in the north to Dahanu district on the Maharashtra border in the south. The TSP area constitutes 18% of the state’s geographical area. There are 11 major tribes in Gujarat; the largest Bhil, constituting 47.89% of the state’s tribal population. The 5 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups number about 1,44,593 (as per Census 2011).
Figure - 1 Tribal Areas in Gujarat
As per the 2011 census, the effective literacy rate is 62.5% in ST population, which is 14.8% higher than that of 2001. The most impressive improvement can be noted in the female literacy rate which improved by 17.2%. The literacy gap reduced from 21% to around 15% in a short span of time.