According to the 1991 census, Kolkata had a population of 4,309,819, with an extremely high population density of 23,720 persons per sq km (61,970 persons per sq mi). The metropolitan area had a population of 11 million and a density of 8761 persons per sq km (22,661 persons per sq mi). The growth rate of the metropolitan area population was 18.7 percent between 1981 and 1991, down from the 1971 to 1981 growth rate of 23.9 percent. The population of the city of Kolkata grew more slowly than the CMD. Since India's first census in 1872, Kolkata has generally been India's largest city, although in 1991 it lost that status to Mumbai. Of the total population of Kolkata's metropolitan area in 1981, more than 30 percent lived in slums; many other Kolkata residents are so-called pavement dwellers (homeless). Mother Teresa, a Roman Catholic nun who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 to help the poorest of the poor in Kolkata and all over the world.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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