Kottayam

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Kottayam
Municipality[1]
Top to bottom, left to right: MC Mathew memorial at Thirunakkara, Aksharashilpam, Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral, Kodimatha Boat Jetty, Kottayam Government Medical College, CMS College Kottayam
Kottayam Kottayam (Kerala) Show map of Kerala Kottayam Kottayam (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 9°35′29.8″N 76°31′19.9″E / 9.591611°N 76.522194°E / 9.591611; 76.522194[1]
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Kottayam
Region	Central Travancore
Incorporated	1921
Official Language	Malayalam
Native Language	Malayalam
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Body	Kottayam Municipality
• Municipal Chairperson	Bincy Sebastian
Area
• Municipality[1]	108 km2 (42 sq mi)
• Land	179.54 km2 (69.32 sq mi)
• Water	5.46 km2 (2.11 sq mi)
• Urban	185 km2 (71 sq mi)
• Metro	220 km2 (80 sq mi)
• Rank	7th in Kerala
Elevation	47.96 m (157.35 ft)
Population
• Municipality[1]	489,615
• Rank	5
• Density	4,500/km2 (12,000/sq mi)
• Urban	571,856
• Urban density	3,100/km2 (8,000/sq mi)
• Metro	802,419
• Metro density	3,600/km2 (9,400/sq mi)
Demonym	Kottayamkar
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	686001
Telephone code	Kottayam:0481
Vehicle registration	KL-05 Kottayam, KL- 33 Changanassery, KL- 34 Kanjirappally, KL - 35 Pala, KL - 36 Vaikom, KL- 67 Uzhavoor
Sex ratio	1075 female(s)/1000 male(s)/ ♂/♀
Literacy rate	99.66 %
HDI	0.831
Website	www.kottayammunicipality.lsgkerala.gov.in kottayam.nic.in

Kottayam (IPA: [ko:ʈ:ayam]) is a municipality^[2] in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about 129 km (80.2 mi) north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of 489,615 people, and a population density of 4,533/km² (11,740/sq mi). The total Kottayam Metropolitan area (the combined area of Kottayam municipality and its adjacent suburbs) has a population of 802,419 people, and a population density of 3,647/km² (9,450/sq mi).

Kottayam is also referred to as "the City of Letters" as many of the first Malayalam daily newspapers, such as Deepika, Malayala Manorama, and Mangalam, were started and are headquartered in Kottayam, as are a number of publishing houses.^{[citation needed]}