It occupies an area of 4,102 square kilometres (1,584 sq mi) in the Western Ghats of southwestern Karnataka. As of 2001, the population was 548,561, 13.74% of which resided in the district's urban centres, making it the least populous of the 30 districts in Karnataka. Kodagu is well known in the world for coffee and its "brave warriors", like Field Marshal K. Madikeri (English: Mercara) is the hea
dquarters of the Kodagu. The district is bordered by Dakshina Kannada district to the northwest, Hassan district to the north, Mysore district to the east, Kannur district of Kerala to the southwest, and the Wayanad district of Kerala to the south. As per 1991 census, the speakers of Kodava made up 0.25% of the total population of Karnataka.[citation needed] According to Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy, apart from Kodavas, 18 other ethnic groups speak Kodava Takk in and outside the district including Heggade, Iri, Koyava, Banna, Madivala, Hajama, Kembatti, and Meda. Though the language has no script, recently German linguist Gregg M. Cox developed a new writing system for the language known as the Coorgi-Cox alphabet, used by a number of individuals within Kodagu. Lately, some organizations including the Codava National Council and Kodava Rashtriya Samiti are demanding Kodava homeland status and autonomy to Kodagu district.
