Idikarai is located in Coimbatore North taluk of Coimbatore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.[1] Spread across an area of 4.7km2 (1.8sqmi), it is one of the 33 panchayat towns in the district.[2][3] It is located in the western part of the state.[4] Idikarai is situated on the banks of two rain-fed canals, which led to the name "Irukarai" meaning two banks in Tamil, which later became Idikarai.[5]
As per the 2011 census, Idikarai had a population of 8,686 individuals across 2,491 households.[1] The population saw a marginal increase compared to the previous census in 2001 when 6,333 inhabitants were registered. The population consisted of 4,372
males and 4,314 females.[3][8] About 776 individuals were below the age of six years.[1] The entire population is classified as urban. The town has an average literacy rate of 79.7%. About 16.1% of the population belonged to scheduled castes.[3][1]
About 48.5% of the eligible population were employed full-time, of which majority were involved in agriculture and allied activities.[3][1]Hinduism was the majority religion which was followed by 96.8% of the population, with Christianity (2.2%) and Islam (0.6%) being minor religions.[9] Sri Villeswarar temple dedicated to Shiva is a notable Hindu pilgrimage site in the region.[5]
