The distribution of urban population in the state is not uniform in the three regions of the state. The Telangana region (including Hyderabad urban agglomeration) is the most urbanised with 44%. However, if the Hyderabad urban agglomeration is excluded from Telangana region, as the city is the capital of the state, the percentage of urban population

Year	No. of Towns Population (Millions)	Total urban	Levels of Urbanisation	Annual % Growth Rate
1961	212	6.27	17.43	1.47
1971	207	8.40	19.31	2.97
1981	234	12.46	23.39	4.05
1991	213	17.88	26.89	4.50

comes down to only 13.5 percent. The coastal Andhra region has an urban population of 41 percent. The Rayalaseema region appears to be the least urbanised with only 15 percent. Interestingly enough, six out of the nine largest towns in the state are located in coastal Andhra.

The three regions have witnessed decline in the decadal growth rates between 1971-81 and 1981-91. The state as a whole, witnessed a decline from 3.96 to 3.55 over the last decade, coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema witnessed a decline from 3.65 to 2.96 and 4.02 to 3.23 respectively. The Telangana region, more or less, maintained its growth rate. The Hyderabad urban agglomeration, however, witnessed a substantial decline from 5.03 to 3.47, indicating the significance of Hyderabad metropolitan area. Of the 23 districts in the state, the Hyderabad district encompassing the MCH, has hundred percent urban population. Four districts, namely, Guntur, Krishna, Ranga Reddy and Visakhapatnam have urban population higher than the state average1.