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Tribals in Kerala (known in Malayalam as the Adivasi) are the tribal population found in the Indian state of Kerala. Most of the tribals of Kerala live in the forests and mountains of Western Ghats, bordering Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Tribals in Kerala are officially designated as "Scheduled Tribes" for affirmative action purposes.^[1] Kerala Public Service Commission, Government of Kerala, lists thirty-seven of Scheduled Tribes in Kerala.^[1] Tribals in Kerala are classified by Scheduled Tribes Development Department, Government of Kerala into three sub-sets (Particularly Vulnerable, Marginalised and Minorities).^[2]

According to the 2011 Census of India, the Scheduled Tribe population in Kerala is 484.839 (1.5 % of the total population).^[2] Wayanad district has the highest number of tribals (1,51,443) in Kerala, followed by Idukki (55,815), Palakkad (48,972) and Kasaragod (48,857) and Kannur districts (41,371).^[2] Paniyar, Irular, Kattunaikan, Oorali and Adiyar are some of the major "communities" among Kerala tribals.^[2] A. K. Balan, Member of the Legislative Assembly from Tarur, is the current Kerala Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes.^[3]

Tribals in Kerala - main

Source: 2008 (Tribal Survey)^[2]
No.	Community	Population	District
Particularly Vulnerable Scheduled Tribes (PVTGs)^[2]
1	Kadar	1974	Thrissur, Palakkad
2	Kattunaikan	19995	Wayanad, Kozhikode Palakkad, Malappuram
3	Koraga	1644	Kasaragod
4	Kurumbar/Kurumbas	2251	Palakkad
5	Cholanaikan	409	Malappuram
Marginalised^[2]
1	Adiyan	11221	Wayanad
2	Eravalan	4418	Palakkad
3	Hill Pulaya	3415	Idukki
4	Irula	26525	Palakkad
5	Malasar Tribe	4201	Palakkad
6	Malayan	5550	Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad
7	Mundugur	4668	Palakkad
8	Paniyan	92787	Wayanad, Kannur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode
Minorities^[2]
1	Arandan/Aranadan	247	Malappuram
2	Wayanadankadar	673	Wayanad
3	Kudiya, Melakudi	911	Kasaragod
4	Mahamalasar	143	Palakkad
5	Palleyan/Palliyan/Paliyan	1484	Idukki
6	ThachanadanMoopan	1649	Wayanad
7	Malapanickar	982	Malappuram
8	Malampandaram	1662	Kollam, Pathanamthitta

Kerala tribals - distribution

Source: 2011 census ^[2]
District	Scheduled Tribe population (2011)	%
Kasaragod	48857	3.8
Kannur	41371	1.6
Wayanad	151443	18.5
Kozhikode	15228	0.5
Malappuram	22990	0.6
Palakkad	48972	1.7
Thrissur	9430	0.3
Ernakulam	16559	0.5
Idukki	55815	5.0
Kottayam	21972	1.1
Alappuzha	6574	0.3
Pathanamthitta	8108	0.7
Kollam	10761	0.4
Thiruvananthapuram	26759	0.8
Kerala	484839	1.5

List of Scheduled Tribes in Kerala

As amended by the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment Act) 1976.^[1]
As amended by the Indian Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Second Amendment) Act, 2002 (Act 61 of 2002) vide Part VIII - Kerala - Schedule I notified in the Gazette of India, dated 18 December, 2002.^[1]
As amended by the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act, 2002 (Act 10 of 2003) vide Part VII - Kerala - Schedule II notified in the Gazette of India, dated 08 January, 2003.^[1]


Kerala Public Service Commission^[1]	Scheduled Tribe Development Department (Government of Kerala)	REPORT ON THE SOCIO ECONOMIC STATUS (2013)
Adiyan	Adiyan	Adiyan
Aranda Arandan	Aranadan Aranadan	Arandan Aranadan
Eravallan	Ervallan	Eravallan
Hill Pulaya Mala Pulayan Kurumba Pulayan Karavazhi Pulayan Pamba Pulayan	Hill Pulaya Mala Pulayan Kurumba Pulayan Karavazhi Pulayan Pamba Pulayan	Hill Pulaya Mala Pulayan Kurumba Pulayan Karavazhi Pulayan Pamba Pulaya
Irular Irulan	Irular Irulan	Irular Irulan
Kadar Wayanad Kadar	Kadar Wayanad Kadar	Kadar Wayanad Kadar
Kanikkaran Kanikar	Kanikaran Kanikkar	Kanikaran Kanikkar
Karimpalan	Karimpalan	Karimpalan
Kattunayakan	Kattunayakan	Kattunayakan
Kochuvelan	Kochuvelan	Kochuvelan
Koraga	Koraga	Koraga
Kudiya Melakudi	Kudiya Melakudi	Kudiya Melakudi
Kurichchan Kurichiyan	Kurichchan Kurichiyan	Kurichchan Kurichiyan
Kurumans Mullu Kuruman Mulla Kuruman Mala Kuruman	Kurumans Mullu Kuruman	Kurumans Mullu Kuruman
Kurumbas Kurumbar Kurumban	Kurumbas Kurumbar Kurumban	Kurumbas Kurumbar Kurumban
Mahamalasar	Maha Malasar	Maha Malasar
Malai Arayan Mala Arayan	Malai Arayan Mala Arayan	Malai Arayan Mala Arayan
Malai Pandaran	Malai Pandaram	Malai Pandaram
Malai Vedan Mala Vedan	Malai Vedan Malavedan	Malai Vedan Malavedan
Malakkuravan	Malakkuravan	Malakkuravan
Malasar	Malasar	Malasar
Malayan Nattu Malayan Konga Malayan Excluding the areas comprising the Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad and Kozhikode districts)	Malayan Nattu Malayan Konga Malayan Excluding the areas comprising the Kasargode, Cannanore, Wayanad and Kozhikode districts	Malayan Nattu Malayan Konga Malayan Excluding the areas comprising the Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad and Kozhikode districts
Mavilan	Mavilan	Mavilan
Malayarayar	Malayarayar	Malayarayar
Mannan (to be spelt in Malayalam script in parentheses)	Mannan (to be spelt in Malayalam script in parentheses)	Mannan (to be spelt in Malayalam script in parentheses)
Muthuvan Mudugar Muduvan	Muthuvan Mudugar Muduvan	Muthuvan, Mudugar, Muduvan
Palleyan Palliyan Paliyar Palliya	Palleyan Palliyan Palliyar Palliyan	Palleyan Palliyan Palliyar Paliyan
Paniyan	Paniyan	Paniyan
Ulladan Ullatan	Ulladan Ullatan	Ulladan Ullatan
Uraly	Uraly	Uraly
Mala Vettuvan (in Kasaragod and Kannur districts)	Mala Vettuvan (in Kasargode and Kannur districts)	Mala Vettuvan (in Kasaragod and kannur Districts)
Ten Kurumban Jenu Kurumban	Ten Kurumban Jenu Kurumban	Ten Kurumban Jenu Kurumban
Thachenadan Thachenadan Moopan	Thachanadan Thachanadan Moopan	Thachanadan Thachanadan Moopan
Cholanaickan	Cholanaickan	Cholanaickan
Malapanickar	Mala Panickar	Mala Panickar
Vettakuruman	Vetta Kuruman	Vetta Kuruman
	Marati (of the Housdrug and Kasargode taluk of Kasargode district)