Districts are the major administrative units of a state which are further sub-divided into revenue divisions and taluks.

The States Reorganisation Act of 1 November 1956 elevated Kerala to statehood through the unification of Malayalam-speaking territories in the southwestern Malabar Coast of India.

The state comprises three parts – the Northern Kerala districts of Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram; the Central Kerala districts of Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Idukki Kottayam; and the Southern Kerala districts of Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram.

The regions of South Malabar and Kingdom of Cochin, both of which share many historical, geographical, and cultural similarities, together constitute the districts of Central Kerala.

[4][5] The Travancore region is incorporated in the districts of South Kerala.

A district is administered by a District Collector, who is an officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of Kerala cadre, and is appointed by the State Government of Kerala.

The Collector serves as both the agent of the state Government and also as the representative of the people in the district.

The districts are divided into revenue divisions which comprises several taluks under its jurisdiction.

These urban local bodies are governed by elected municipal councils, headed by mayor/chairperson and deputy mayor/vice chairperson respectively.

A taluk consists of urban units such as statutory towns and census towns and rural units called gram panchayats (for revenue purposes).

Each department's district-level offices oversee their respective areas of administration.

[8] At the time of formation, Kerala had only five districts: Malabar, Thrissur, Kottayam, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram.

Thiruvananthapuram has the highest population density at 1509 persons per sq.km, followed closely by Alappuzha and Kozhikode districts.