According to the 2011 Census there are 7,935 towns in the country, an increase of 2,774, or about 53.75 percent, since 2001. The growth has been most noticeable in census towns, at 185.90 percent.

Many of the towns recorded by the Census are part of an urban agglomeration. The 2011 Census identified 475 urban agglomerations with 981 outgrowths, against 384 urban agglomerations with 962 outgrowths in the 2001 Census. The number of census towns rose sharply from the 2001 figure.

The Census found that about 31.16 percent of the country's population lives in urban areas. Urban agglomerations and towns with a population of at least 100,000 are classed as Class I. In 2011 there were 468 such Class I urban agglomerations and towns, and a majority of 70 percent, or 264.9 million, of the total urban population lives in them.