According to the Census of 2011, what is the rank of Madhya Pradesh in the…

Any Census-based state population rank is simply an ordering of that year's recorded population counts from highest (rank 1) to lowest, using the political boundaries that existed at the time of that Census.

India's 2011 Census was conducted while Andhra Pradesh was still undivided — Telangana was carved out of it only in 2014 — so every population-rank comparison drawn from the 2011 Census uses this pre-bifurcation list of states.

Ordering the eight most populous states as recorded in the 2011 Census gives:

Madhya Pradesh, with about 7.26 crore people recorded in the 2011 Census, occupies rank 6 — just behind undivided Andhra Pradesh (≈8.46 crore) and just ahead of Tamil Nadu (≈7.21 crore).

This is independently confirmed by both the Census of India's official 2011 data catalogue and NITI Aayog's state profile of Madhya Pradesh, each of which records it as the country's sixth most populous state as per the 2011 Census.

• Fourth belongs to West Bengal (≈9.13 crore), a state with a noticeably larger 2011 population than Madhya Pradesh.

• Fifth belongs to undivided Andhra Pradesh (≈8.46 crore), the state immediately ahead of Madhya Pradesh in the 2011 ordering.

• Seventh belongs to Tamil Nadu (≈7.21 crore), the state immediately behind Madhya Pradesh — its population is close to but slightly lower than Madhya Pradesh's.

Hence, as per the 2011 Census, Madhya Pradesh's population rank in the country is Sixth.