The economy of Kerala is the 11th largest in India, with an annual gross state product (GSP) of ₹13.11 lakh crore (US$157.45 billion) in 2024–2025.

[10] Kerala is the second-most urbanised major state in the country with 47.7% urban population according to the 2011 Census of India, and has tried to maintain a pan-state economy rather than concentrating in some selected cities to develop.

[19] The following table shows the annual growth in nominal GSDP for the financial years 2001–02 to 2021–22, from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

[22] This is a chart of trend of gross state domestic product of Kerala at market prices estimated by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation with figures in crores (1,00,00,000) of Indian Rupees.

Kerala had recorded a growth rate of 6.49 per cent in 2013, which was above the national average (4.04) and the second highest among South Indian States.

[30] Kerala produces a significant amount of national output of the cash crops such as coconut, tea, coffee, pepper, natural rubber, cardamom, and cashew in India.

[33] Software giants like Infosys, Oracle, Tata Consultancy Services, Capgemini, HCL, UST Global, NeST and Suntec have offices in the state.

and Multinational corporations like IBM, KPMG, Ernst & Young, EXL Service, Etisalat DB Telecom, Nielsen Audio, Xerox ACS, Tata ELXSI etc.

The "backwaters" region – an extensive network of interlocking rivers, lakes, and canals that center on Ashtamudi, Alleppey, Kumarakom, Veli, Vembanad and Punnamada – also see heavy tourist traffic.

Examples of Keralite architecture, such as the Padmanabhapuram Palace, Malik Deenar Mosque Kasaragod, Paradesi Synagogue are also visited.

cities like Kozhikode (Land of Zamorins) and Alappuzha(called the "Venice of the East") are also popular destinations.

Kerala is also a preferred destination for night dwellers and the nightlife districts in Trivandrum, Kovalam, Kochi, Kozhikode and Varkala are the major centres.

[7] Kerala is also one of the Indian states which spend a larger proportion of its revenue for human resource development including educational and healthcare uplifting.

CSL has secured shipbuilding orders from internationally renowned companies from Europe & Middle East and is nominated to build the country's first indigenously built Air Defence Ship.

[56] New projects for hill and coastal highways were recently announced under Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board KIIFB.

With a turnover of around US$2500 million, the refinery aims to strengthen its presence in refining and marketing of petroleum products and further grow into the energy and petrochemical sectors.

Kochi, located in the southern state of Kerala in India, is home to several institutions that offer courses in oil and gas-related subjects.

[67] Around 8% of the total number of employees in the organized sector of the state are employed in the financial and insurance industries as of March 2020.

[72] A mining sector of 0.3% of GSDP involves extraction of ilmenite, kaolin, bauxite, silica, quartz, rutile, zircon, and sillimanite.

[74] Coconut, tea, coffee, cashew, and spices — including cardamom, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg — comprise a critical agricultural sector.

[7] A key agricultural staple is rice, with some six hundred varieties grown in Kerala's extensive paddy fields.

Related animal husbandry is also important, and is touted by proponents as a means of alleviating rural poverty and unemployment among women, the marginalised, and the landless.

[citation needed] The state government seeks to promote such activity via educational campaigns and the development of new cattle breeds such as Sunandini.

In fact the Kuttanad region of the district of Kerala is known as the 'rice bowl of the state' and enjoys a significant status in the production of rice.

Other cash crops that constitute the agricultural sector include tea, coffee cashew, pulses, areca nut, ginger and coconut.

With 590 kilometres (370 miles) of coastal belt,[77] 400,000 hectares of inland water resources[78] and approximately 220,000 active fishermen,[79] Kerala is one of the leading producers of fish in India.

[80] According to 2003–04 reports, about 1.1 million people earn their livelihood from fishing and allied activities such as drying, processing, packaging, exporting and transporting fisheries.

[82] During the southwest monsoon, a suspended mud bank develops along the shore, which in turn leads to calm ocean water, peaking the output of the fishing industry.

[82] Around 1.050 million fishermen haul an annual catch of 668,000 tonnes as of a 1999–2000 estimate; 222 fishing villages are strung along the 590-kilometre (370-mile) coast.

However the female work force doesn't do so resulting in higher unemployment rate among the women, who are more than 60% of the total job seekers in Kerala.