Economy of Kerala

Kerala has the thirteenth largest economy in India. Service industry dominates the Kerala economy. Kerala's per capita GDP in 2013-14 is Rs. 103820. Kerala's low GDP and productivity figures juxtaposed with higher development figures than in most Indian states is often dubbed the "Kerala Phenomenon" or the "Kerala Model" of development by economists, political scientists, and sociologists. This phenomenon arises mainly from Kerala's land reforms, social upliftment of entire communities and reforms introduced by the communist party which held the state for a long period of time. Some describe Kerala's economy as a "democratic socialist welfare state". Some, such as Financial Express, use the term "Money Order Economy". Kerala's economic progress is above the national average, but relatively few major corporations and manufacturing plants are headquartered in Kerala. Estimates of the 2013 Tendulkar Committee Report on poverty suggest that percentages of population below poverty line in rural and urban Kerala are 9.14% and 4.97%

Around 3,000,000 Keralites are working abroad, mainly in Persian Gulf; to where migration started with the Gulf Boom. The Kerala Economy is therefore largely dependent on trade in services and resulted remittances. In 2012, the state was the highest receiver of overall remittances to India which stood at Rs.49,965 Crore (31.2% of the State's GDP), followed by Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. S. Irudaya Rajan describes the situation as "Remittances from global capitalism are carrying the whole Kerala economy". With 11.8% of the labour force unemployed in 2015, Kerala is 11th in unemployment in India.Underemployment, low employability of youths, and a 13.5% female participation rate are chronic issues. The 'Report on Fifth Annual Employment - Unemployment Survey for 2015-16' prepared by the labour bureau of the Union ministry of labour and employment indicates that Tripura had the highest unemployment rate of 19.7% in India, followed by Sikkim (18.1%) and Kerala (12.5%).