T.Ranganathan Street Nagar is usually packed with pedestrian shoppers. Residents Chennai are called Chennaiites. In 2001, Chennai city had a population of 4.34 million, while the metropolitan population was 7.04 million. The metropolitan population is estimated in 2006 to 7.5 million. In 2001, the population density of the city has 24682 inhabitants per square km (9534 mi ² par), while the population density in the metropolitan area was 5922 persons per sq km (2287 mi ²), which makes the 'one of the most densely populated in the world. The sex ratio is 951 females per 1000 males, slightly higher than the national average of 934. The average literacy rate is 80.14%, much higher than the national average of 64.5%. The city has the fourth highest population of slum dwellers in the big cities of India, with about 820000 people (18.6% of the population) live in slums. This figure represents about 5% of the total population of the slums of India. In 2005, the crime rate in the city was 313.3 per 100000 population, which represents 6.2% of all crimes reported in all major cities in India. The number of crimes in the city showed a significant increase of 61.8% over 2004.

According to the 2001 census, Hindus constitute about 82.27% of the city's population, and Muslims (8.37%), Christians (7.63%) and Jains (1.05%) are the other major religious groups. The majority of people in Chennai are Tamils and speak Tamil. English is also widely spoken, especially in business, education and white-collar professions. Telugu and important Malayalee communities living in the city. Chennai also has a large population of migrants from other parts of Tamil Nadu and elsewhere in the country. In 2001, about 937000 migrants (21.57% of the population) in the city, 74.5% were from other parts of the state, 23.8% were from India and the rest of 1 , 7% came from outside the country. Chennai's culture reflects its diverse population. The city is known for its classical dance shows and Hindu temples. Every December, Chennai holds a five-week long Music Season 1927 celebrating the opening of the Madras Music Academy.It features performances (kutcheries) of traditional Carnatic music by hundreds of artists in and around the city. Chennai is also known for Bharatanatyam, a classical dance form that originated in Tamil Nadu. An important cultural centre for Bharatanatyam is Kalakshetra, on the beach in the south of the city.

Among the festivals Chennai, Pongal, celebrated for five days in January, is the most important. Tamil New Year's Day, which marks the beginning of Tamil year falls on April 14. Virtually every major religious festivals such as Deepavali, Eid and Christmas are celebrated in Chennai. Chennai in Tamil includes a vegetarian cuisine and non-vegetarian dishes. Many restaurants in the city offering light meals or tiffin, which usually include rice-based dishes like pongal, dosai, idli and vadai, served with steaming hot coffee filter. The IT Highway in Chennai with the MRTS passing overhead.The the international airport in Chennai, which includes Anna and the international airport in the national airport of Kamaraj, handles domestic as well as international flights and is the the third busiest airport in India. The city is connected to the main crossroads of South Asia, South-East Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America with more than 30 national and international carriers. The airport is the second cargo terminal in the country. The existing airport is being upgraded and expanded, and a new greenfield airport, with four runways, is to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 2000 crore in Sriperumbudur. The city is served by two major ports, Chennai Port, the world's largest artificial ports, and Ennore Port. The port of Chennai, India is the second busiest container hub, handling automotive and general industrial cargo. The Ennore port handles cargo such as coal, ore and other bulk commodities. A small port Royapuram is used by fishing boats and trawlers.