Demographics

Demographics
As per 1991Census of India, the Samastipur has a population of 2.72 million. About 95.0% of the population lives in the rural arrears and 5.0% of the population lives in the urban areas respectively. Overall, there were 928 females per 1000 males. The District is lacking in its educational infrastructure and the Literacy rate is only 36.37 % and male average literacy rate is 50.39%, where as female literacy rate is 21.17%.

Culture
The main language of the district is Hindi and the main festival is Chhat Puja, which is celebrated after the festival of Diwali.Thaneshwar Temple is a very famous temple of Lord Shiva, and is situated at the heart of the city. Its a beautiful town located on the bank of river Gandank.

Visiting places
There are number of places situated in Samastipur .

They are:
Vidyapatinagar:The place, situated in Dalsinghsarai block near the bank of River Ganges, is named after the most revered Maithili poet Vidyapati. It is believed to be the place where the renowned Poet breathed his last in search of Lord Shiva. As the myth goes, Lord Shiva was associated with him since long in the guise of his servant named Ugna. It is said that he wanted to breath his last at the banks of Ganges and was travelling towards it. But due to his failing health, he was not able to reach the banks of Ganges and so the river changed its course to reach him. There is a big old temple of Lord Shiva known as Vidyapati Dham in commemoration of the same.