[citation needed] Additional ancestries derive from millennia of trade links across the Arabian Sea, whereby people of Arab, Jewish, Syrian, Portuguese, English and other ethnicities settled in Kerala.

Many of these immigrants intermarried with native Malayalam speakers resulting in formation of many Muslim and Christian groups in Kerala.

[2][3] Some Muslims and Christians thus take lineage from Middle Eastern and European settlers who mixed with native population.

[5] These groups, including the Paniyars, Mooppans, Irulars, Kurumbars, and Mudugars,[6] speak their own native languages.

[12] Kerala's people are most densely settled in the coastal region, leaving the eastern hills and mountains comparatively sparsely populated.

[citation needed] Kerala is the second-most urbanised major state in the country with 47.7% urban population according to the 2011 Census of India.

[15] Kerala also had a tiny Jewish population until recently, said to date from 587 BC when they fled the occupation of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.

[citation needed] Source:[18] Kerala ranks highest in India with respect to social development indices such as elimination of poverty, primary education and healthcare.

This resulted from significant efforts begun in 1911 by the erstwhile Princely states of Cochin and Travancore to boost healthcare and education among the people.

[21] Kerala's unusual socioeconomic and demographic situation was summarised by author and environmentalist Bill McKibben:[26] As of 2011, a total of 2,280,000 Keralites reside outside India.

[27] The major concentrations of expat Keralites are in the following nations: (figures as of 2011)[28] There are more than 2,500,000 migrants living in Kerala,[29] mostly from Assam and West Bengal, constituting more than 8% of the population.

[30][29][31] Studies indicate that by the time of 2026 state elections, migrants will become a crucial voting block in many of the constituencies in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kochi, Kozhikode, Thrissur and Kannur districts.

[32] According to 2011 Census of India, Kerala has six 1.5 million-plus urban agglomerations: Kochi, Kozhikode, Kollam, Malappuram, Thiruvananthapuram, and Kannur, all of which has a population of at least 1.5 million.

Cities in India are officially ranked in terms of these numbers) The vast majority of residents of Kerala are Malayalis, but there are many smaller ethnic groups including Tuluvas, Tamils, Kannadigas and Konkanis.

The Paniyan, who are the numerically dominant tribe, live in north east of the state and practice settled cultivation.

Palleyan, Palliyan and Palliyar inhabit the Idukki region not far from the Anamalai and Palani hills of Tamil Nadu where you find the same population.

The same is the case of the Kudiya and Koraga living in the northern most tip of the state next to Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada region of Karnataka.