Demographics of India

This article is about the people from the republic of India. For other uses, see Indian.

India is the most populous country in the world with one-sixth of the world's population. According to estimates from the United Nations (UN), India has overtaken China as the country with the largest population in the world, with a population of 1,425,775,850 at the end of April 2023.

Demographics of India
Population pyramid of India in 2020
Population	1,425,775,850 (April 2023 est.) 1,428,627,663 (Mid-year 2023 est.)
Density	473.42 people per km2 (2021 est.)
Growth rate	0.68% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	16.1 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate	6.6 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Life expectancy	72.03 years (2023 est.)
• male	70.5 years (2023 est.)
• female	73.6 years (2023 est.)
Fertility rate	2.00 children born per woman (2023)
Infant mortality rate	29.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2018)
Net migration rate	0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	25.68% (male 183,695,000/female 166,295,000) (2021 est.)
15–64 years	67.49% (male 472,653,000/female 447,337,000) (2021 est.)
65 and over	6.83% (male 44,275,000/female 48,751,000) (2021 est.)
Sex ratio
Total	1.06 male(s)/female (2023)
At birth	1.1 male(s)/female (2023)
Under 15	1.11 male(s)/female (2023)
15–64 years	1.07 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
65 and over	0.85 male(s)/female (2023)
Nationality
Nationality	Indian
Major ethnic	See Ethnic groups of India
Minor ethnic	See Ethnic groups of India
Language
Official	See Languages of India
Spoken	Hindi 43.6% Bengali 8% Marathi 6.9% Telugu 6.8% Tamil 6.7% Gujarati 4.6% Urdu 4.2% Kannada 3.6% Odia 3.1% Malayalam 2.9% Punjabi 2.7% Assamese 1.3% Maithili 1.1% other 5.6% (2011)

Between 1975 and 2010, the population doubled to 1.2 billion, reaching the billion mark in 2000. According to the UN's World Population dashboard, India's population now stands at slightly over 1.428 billion, edging past China's population of 1.425 billion people, as reported by the news agency Bloomberg. In 2015, India's population was predicted to reach 1.7 billion by 2050. In 2017 its population growth rate was 0.98%, ranking 112th in the world; in contrast, from 1972 to 1983, India's population grew by an annual rate of 2.3%.

In 2023, the median age of an Indian was 29.5 years, compared to 39.8 for China and 49.5 for Japan; and, by 2030; India's dependency ratio will be just over 0.4. However, the number of children in India peaked more than a decade ago and is now falling. The number of children under the age of five peaked in 2007, and since then the number has been falling. The number of Indians under 15 years old peaked slightly later (in 2011) and is now also declining.

India has many ethnic groups, and every major religion is represented, as are four major families of languages (Indo-European, Dravidian, Austroasiatic and Sino-Tibetan languages) as well as two language isolates: the Nihali language, spoken in parts of Maharashtra, and the Burushaski language, spoken in parts of Jammu and Kashmir. 1,000,000 people in India are Anglo-Indians and between 25,000 and 70,000 people are Siddhis,who are descendants of Bantu slaves brought by Arabs, Persians and Portuguese to the western coast of India during the Middle Ages and the colonial period. They represent over 0.1% of the total population of India. Overall, only the continent of Africa exceeds the linguistic, genetic and cultural diversity of the nation of India.

The sex ratio was 944 females for 1000 males in 2016, and 940 per 1000 in 2011. This ratio has been showing an upwards trend for the last two decades after a continuous decline in the 20th century.

History

See also: Economic history of India

Historical population of India and China since 1100 with projection to 2100

Prehistory to early 19th century

See also: Estimates of historical world population

The following table lists estimates for the population of India (including what are now Pakistan and Bangladesh) from prehistory up until 1820. It includes estimates and growth rates according to five economic historians, along with interpolated estimates and overall aggregate averages derived from their estimates.

Year	Maddison (2001)		Clark (1967)		Biraben (1979)		Durand (1974)		McEvedy (1978)		Aggregate average		Period	Average  % growth / century
	Population	% growth / century	Population	% growth / century	Population	% growth / century	Population	% growth / century	Population	% growth / century	Population	% growth / century
10,000 BC	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	100,000	—	100,000	—	Stone Age	3.9
4000 BC	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1,000,000	3.9	1,000,000	3.9
2000 BC	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6,000,000	9.4	6,000,000	9.4	Bronze Age	9.4
500 BC	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	25,000,000	10	25,000,000	10	Iron Age	10.2
400 BC	—	—	—	—	30,000,000	—	—	—	26,600,000	6.3	28,300,000	13.2
200 BC	—	—	—	—	55,000,000	35.4	—	—	30,000,000	6.3	42,500,000	22.5	Maurya era	22.5
1 AD	75,000,000	—	70,000,000	—	46,000,000	–9.3	75,000,000	—	34,000,000	6.5	60,000,000	18.8	Classical era	5.3
200	75,000,000	0	72,500,000	1.7	45,000,000	–1.1	75,000,000	0	39,000,000	7.1	61,300,000	1.1
400	75,000,000	0	75,000,000	1.7	32,000,000	–18.6	75,000,000	0	45,000,000	7.4	60,400,000	–0.7
500	75,000,000	0	75,000,000	0	33,000,000	3.1	75,000,000	0	48,000,000	6.5	61,200,000	1.3
600	75,000,000	0	75,000,000	0	37,000,000	12.1	75,000,000	0	51,000,000	6.5	62,600,000	2.3	Early medieval era	1.9
700	75,000,000	0	75,000,000	0	50,000,000	35.1	75,000,000	0	56,500,000	10.3	66,300,000	5.9
800	75,000,000	0	75,000,000	0	43,000,000	–16.3	75,000,000	0	62,000,000	10.3	66,000,000	–0.5
900	75,000,000	0	72,500,000	–3.5	38,000,000	–13.2	75,000,000	0	69,500,000	11.4	66,000,000	0
1000	75,000,000	0	70,000,000	–3.5	40,000,000	5.3	75,000,000	0	77,000,000	11.4	67,400,000	2.1
1100	81,000,000	8	72,500,000	3.5	51,000,000	27.5	81,300,000	8.4	80,000,000	3.9	73,200,000	8.6	Late medieval era	8.1
1200	87,500,000	8	75,000,000	3.5	65,100,000	27.5	88,200,000	8.4	83,000,000	3.8	79,800,000	9
1300	94,500,000	8	75,000,000	0	83,000,000	27.5	95,700,000	8.4	88,000,000	6	87,200,000	9.3
1400	102,000,000	8	77,000,000	3.3	88,800,000	7	103,700,000	8.4	94,000,000	6.8	92,900,000	7
1500	110,000,000	8	79,000,000	3.3	95,000,000	7	112,500,000	8.4	100,000,000	6.4	99,300,000	7
1600	135,000,000	22.8	100,000,000	26.6	145,000,000	52.6	135,800,000	20.7	130,000,000	30	129,200,000	30.1	Mughal era	31.9
1650	150,000,000	22.2	150,000,000	125	160,000,000	20.7	149,100,000	20.7	145,000,000	24.4	150,800,000	36.2
1700	165,000,000	22.2	200,000,000	77.8	175,000,000	20.7	163,900,000	20.7	160,000,000	21.8	172,800,000	31.3
1750	182,100,000	21.8	200,000,000	0	182,700,000	9	180,000,000	20.7	170,000,000	12.9	183,000,000	12.1	Colonial era	12.2
1800	200,900,000	21.8	190,000,000	–10.8	190,700,000	9	—	—	185,000,000	18.4	190,400,000	8
1820	209,000,000	21.8	190,000,000	0	194,000,000	9	—	—	200,000,000	47.7	198,300,000	22

The population grew from the South Asian Stone Age in 10,000 BC to the Maurya Empire in 200 BC at a steadily increasing growth rate, before population growth slowed down in the classical era up to 500 AD, and then became largely stagnant during the early medieval era era up to 1000 AD. The population growth rate then increased in the late medieval era (during the Delhi Sultanate) from 1000 to 1500.

Under the Mughal Empire, India experienced a high economic and demographic upsurge, due to Mughal agrarian reforms that intensified agricultural production. 15% of the population lived in urban centres, higher than the percentage of the population in 19th-century British India and contemporary Europe up until the 19th century. These estimates by Abraham Eraly and Paolo Malanima have been criticised by Tim Dyson, who considers them exaggerations and estimates urbanisation of the Mughal Empire to be less than 9% of the population.

Under the reign of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605) in 1600, the Mughal Empire's urban population was up to 17 million people, larger than the urban population in Europe. By 1700, Mughal India had an urban population of 23 million people, larger than British India's urban population of 22.3 million in 1871. Nizamuddin Ahmad (1551–1621) reported that, under Akbar's reign, Mughal India had 120 large cities and 3,200 townships. A number of cities in India had a population between a quarter-million and half-million people, with larger cities including Agra (in Agra Subah) with up to 800,000 people and Dhaka (in Bengal Subah) with over 1 million people. Mughal India also had a large number of villages, with 455,698 villages by the time of Aurangzeb (reigned 1658–1707).

Late 19th century to early 20th century

The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. It is based on fairly good data for the entire years. Sources: Our World in Data and Gapminder Foundation.

Years	1880	1881	1882	1883	1884	1885	1886	1887	1888	1889	1890	1902
Total Fertility Rate in India	5.95	5.92	5.89	5.86	5.82	5.79	4.38	5.76	5.76	5.75	5.75	5.75

Years	1921	1922	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930
Total Fertility Rate in India	5.761	5.77	5.78	5.79	5.8	5.81	5.82	5.83	5.85	5.86

Life expectancy from 1881 to 1950

Years	1881	1891	1901	1905	1911	1915	1921	1925	1931	1935	1941	1950
Life expectancy in India	25.4	24.3	23.5	24.0	23.2	24.0	24.9	27.6	29.3	31.0	32.6	35.4

The population of India under the British Raj (including what are now Pakistan and Bangladesh) according to censuses:

Census year	Population	Growth (%)
1871	238,830,958	—
1881	253,896,330	6.3
1891	287,223,431	13.1
1901	293,550,310	2.2
1911	315,156,396	7.4
1921	318,942,480	1.2
1931	352,837,778	10.6
1941	388,997,955	10.2

Studies of India's population since 1881 have focused on such topics as total population, birth and death rates, geographic distribution, literacy, the rural and urban divide, cities of a million, and the three cities with populations over eight million: Delhi, Greater Mumbai (Bombay), and Kolkata (Calcutta).

Mortality rates fell in the period 1920–45, primarily due to biological immunisation. Suggestions that it was the benefits of colonialism are refuted by academic thinking: "There can be no serious, informed belief... that... late colonial era mortality diminished and population grew rapidly because of improvements in income, living standards, nutrition, environmental standards, sanitation or health policies, nor was there a cultural transformation...".

Characteristics

Crude birth rate trends in India
(per 1000 people, national average)

Infant mortality rate trends in India
(per 1000 births, under age 1, national average)

India occupies 2.41% of the world's land area but supports over 18% of the world's population. At the 2001 census 72.2% of the population lived in about 638,000 villages and the remaining 27.8% lived in more than 5,100 towns and over 380 urban agglomerations.

India's population exceeded that of the entire continent of Africa by 200 million people in 2010. However, because Africa's population growth is extremely high compared to the rest of the world, it is expected to surpass both China and India by the early 2030s.

Comparative demographics

Comparative demographics

Category	Global ranking	References
Area	7th
Population	1st
Population growth rate	102nd of 212	in 2010
Population density	24th of 212	in 2010
Male to Female ratio, at birth	12th of 214	in 2009

List of states and union territories by demographics

Main article: List of States and Union Territories by demographics

Population growth of India per decade

Census year	Population	Change (%)
1951	361,088,003	–
1961	439,235,000	21.6
1971	548,160,000	24.8
1981	683,329,000	24.7
1991	846,387,888	23.9
2001	1,028,737,436	21.5
2011	1,210,193,422	17.7

Population distribution by states/union territories (2011)

Rank	State/UT	Population	Percent (%)	Male	Female	Difference between male and female	Sex ratio	Rural	Urban	Area (km2)	Density (per km2)
1	Uttar Pradesh	199,812,341	16.50	104,480,510	95,331,831	9,148,679	930	155,111,022	44,470,455	240,928	828
2	Maharashtra	112,374,333	9.28	58,243,056	54,131,277	4,111,779	929	61,545,441	50,827,531	307,713	365
3	Bihar	104,099,452	8.60	54,278,157	49,821,295	4,456,862	918	92,075,028	11,729,609	94,163	1,102
4	West Bengal	91,276,115	7.54	46,809,027	44,467,088	2,341,939	950	62,213,676	29,134,060	88,752	1,030
5	Madhya Pradesh	72,626,809	6.00	37,612,306	35,014,503	2,597,803	931	52,537,899	20,059,666	308,245	236
6	Tamil Nadu	72,147,030	5.96	36,137,975	36,009,055	128,920	996	37,189,229	34,949,729	130,058	555
7	Rajasthan	68,548,437	5.66	35,550,997	32,997,440	2,553,557	928	51,540,236	17,080,776	342,239	201
8	Karnataka	61,095,297	5.05	30,966,657	30,128,640	838,017	973	37,552,529	23,578,175	191,791	319
9	Gujarat	60,439,692	4.99	31,491,260	28,948,432	2,542,828	919	34,670,817	25,712,811	196,024	308
10	Andhra Pradesh	49,386,799	4.08	24,738,068	24,648,731	89,337	996	34,776,389	14,610,410	160,205	308
11	Odisha	41,974,218	3.47	21,212,136	20,762,082	450,054	979	34,951,234	6,996,124	155,707	269
12	Telangana	35,193,978	2.91	17,704,078	17,489,900	214,178	988	21,585,313	13,608,665	114,840	307
13	Kerala	33,406,061	2.76	16,027,412	17,378,649	−1,351,237	1084	17,445,506	15,932,171	38,863	859
14	Jharkhand	32,988,134	2.72	16,930,315	16,057,819	872,496	948	25,036,946	7,929,292	79,714	414
15	Assam	31,205,576	2.58	15,939,443	15,266,133	673,310	958	26,780,526	4,388,756	78,438	397
16	Punjab	27,743,338	2.29	14,639,465	13,103,873	1,535,592	895	17,316,800	10,387,436	50,362	550
17	Chhattisgarh	25,545,198	2.11	12,832,895	12,712,303	120,592	991	19,603,658	5,936,538	135,191	189
18	Haryana	25,351,462	2.09	13,494,734	11,856,728	1,638,006	879	16,531,493	8,821,588	44,212	573
19	Delhi (UT)	16,787,941	1.39	8,887,326	7,800,615	1,086,711	868	944,727	12,905,780	1,484	11,297
20	Jammu and Kashmir	12,541,302	1.04	6,640,662	5,900,640	740,022	889	9,134,820	3,414,106	222,236	56
21	Uttarakhand	10,086,292	0.83	5,137,773	4,948,519	189,254	963	7,025,583	3,091,169	53,483	189
22	Himachal Pradesh	6,864,602	0.57	3,481,873	3,382,729	99,144	972	6,167,805	688,704	55,673	123
23	Tripura	3,673,917	0.30	1,874,376	1,799,541	74,835	960	2,710,051	960,981	10,486	350
24	Meghalaya	2,966,889	0.25	1,491,832	1,475,057	16,775	989	2,368,971	595,036	22,429	132
25	Manipur	2,855,794	0.24	1,438,687	1,417,107	21,580	985	1,899,624	822,132	22,327	128
26	Nagaland	1,978,502	0.16	1,024,649	953,853	70,796	931	1,406,861	573,741	16,579	119
27	Goa	1,458,545	0.12	739,140	719,405	19,735	973	551,414	906,309	3,702	394
28	Arunachal Pradesh	1,383,727	0.11	713,912	669,815	44,097	938	1,069,165	313,446	83,743	17
29	Puducherry (UT)	1,247,953	0.10	612,511	635,442	−22,931	1037	394,341	850,123	479	2,598
30	Mizoram	1,097,206	0.09	555,339	541,867	13,472	976	529,037	561,997	21,081	52
31	Chandigarh (UT)	1,055,450	0.09	580,663	474,787	105,876	818	29,004	1,025,682	114	9,252
32	Sikkim	610,577	0.05	323,070	287,507	35,563	890	455,962	151,726	7,096	86
33	Andaman and Nicobar Islands (UT)	380,581	0.03	202,871	177,710	25,161	876	244,411	135,533	8,249	46
34	Dadra and Nagar Haveli (UT)	343,709	0.03	193,760	149,949	43,811	774	183,024	159,829	491	698
35	Daman and Diu (UT)	243,247	0.02	150,301	92,946	57,355	618	60,331	182,580	112	2,169
36	Lakshadweep (UT)	64,473	0.01	33,123	31,350	1,773	946	14,121	50,308	32	2,013
–	Total (India)	1,210,854,977	100	623,724,248	586,469,174	35,585,741	943	833,087,662	377,105,760	3,287,240	382

Religious demographics

Main article: Religion in India

The table below summarises India's demographics (excluding the Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul subdivisions of Senapati district of Manipur state due to cancellation of census results) according to religion at the 2011 census in per cent. The data are "unadjusted" (without excluding Assam and Jammu and Kashmir); the 1981 census was not conducted in Assam and the 1991 census was not conducted in Jammu and Kashmir. Missing citing/reference for "Changes in religious demagraphics over time" table below.

Religious populations' numbers (2011)

Religion	Population	Percentage (%)
Hindus	966,378,868	79.80%
Muslims	172,245,158	14.23%
Christians	27,819,588	2.30%
Sikhs	20,833,116	1.72%
Buddhists	8,442,972	0.70%
Jains	4,451,753	0.37%
Others	7,937,734	0.66%
Not Stated	2,867,303	0.24%

Changes in religious demographics over time

Year	Hindus	Muslims	Christians	Sikhs	Buddhists	Jainis	Zoroastrians	Others/ Religion not specified
1951	84.1%	9.8%	2.3%	1.79%	0.74%	0.46%	0.13%	0.43%
1961	83.45%	10.69%	2.44%	1.79%	0.74%	0.46%	0.09%	0.43%
1971	82.73%	11.21%	2.60%	1.89%	0.70%	0.48%	0.09%	0.41%
1981	82.30%	11.75%	2.44%	1.92%	0.70%	0.47%	0.09%	0.42%
1991	81.53%	12.61%	2.32%	1.94%	0.77%	0.40%	0.08%	0.44%
2001	80.46%	13.43%	2.34%	1.87%	0.77%	0.41%	0.06%	0.72%
2011	79.80%	14.23%	2.30%	1.72%	0.70%	0.37%	—	0.9%

Characteristics of religious groups

Religious group	Population (2011) %	Growth (2001–2011)	Sex ratio (2011)				Literacy (2011) (%)	Work participation (2011) (%)
			total	rural	urban	child
Hinduism	79.80%	16.8%	939	946	921	913	73.3%	41.0%
Islam	14.23%	24.6%	951	957	941	943	68.5%	32.6%
Christianity	2.30%	15.5%	1023	1008	1046	958	84.5%	41.9%
Sikhism	1.72%	8.4%	903	905	898	828	75.4%	36.3%
Buddhism	0.70%	6.1%	965	960	973	933	81.3%	43.1%
Jainism	0.37%	5.4%	954	935	959	889	94.9%	35.5%
Others/Religion Not Specified	0.90%	n/a	959	947	975	974	n/a	n/a

Percentage of total population of India's administrative divisions made up by Muslims (2011)

Neonatal and infant demographics

Male to female sex ratio for India, based on its official census data, from 1941 through 2011. The data suggest the existence of high sex ratios before and after the arrival of ultrasound-based prenatal care and sex screening technologies in India.

The table below represents the infant mortality rate trends in India, based on sex, over the last 15 years. In the urban areas of India, average male infant mortality rates are slightly higher than average female infant mortality rates.

Infant mortality rate trend (deaths per 1000) As per NFHS & UNICEF Data.

Year	Male	Female	Total
1998	69.8	73.5	71.6
2005	56.3	58	57
2009	49	52	—
2014	43.7	37.90	40.7
2018	29.95	29.88	29.94

India's 2011 census shows a serious decline in the number of girls under the age of seven – activists posit that eight million female fetuses may have been aborted between 2001 and 2011.

Population within the age group of 0–6

Population between age 0–6 by state/union territory

State or UT code	State or UT	Total	Male	Female	Difference
1	Jammu and Kashmir	2,008,670	1,080,662	927,982	152,680
2	Himachal Pradesh	763,864	400,681	363,183	37,498
3	Punjab	2,941,570	1,593,262	1,348,308	244,954
4	Chandigarh	117,953	63,187	54,766	8,421
5	Uttarakhand	1,328,844	704,769	624,075	80,694
6	Haryana	3,297,724	1,802,047	1,495,677	306,370
7	Delhi	1,970,510	1,055,735	914,775	140,960
8	Rajasthan	10,504,916	5,580,212	4,924,004	656,208
9	Uttar Pradesh	29,728,235	15,653,175	14,075,060	1,578,115
10	Bihar	18,582,229	9,615,280	8,966,949	648,331
11	Sikkim	61,077	31,418	29,659	1,759
12	Arunachal Pradesh	202,759	103,430	99,330	4,100
13	Nagaland	285,981	147,111	138,870	8,241
14	Manipur	353,237	182,684	170,553	12,131
15	Mizoram	165,536	83,965	81,571	2,394
16	Tripura	444,055	227,354	216,701	10,653
17	Meghalaya	555,822	282,189	273,633	8,556
18	Assam	4,511,307	2,305,088	2,206,219	98,869
19	West Bengal	10,112,599	5,187,264	4,925,335	261,929
20	Jharkhand	5,237,582	2,695,921	2,541,661	154,260
21	Odisha	5,035,650	2,603,208	2,432,442	170,766
22	Chhattisgarh	3,584,028	1,824,987	1,759,041	65,946
23	Madhya Pradesh	10,548,295	5,516,957	5,031,338	485,619
24	Gujarat	7,564,464	3,974,286	3,519,890	454,396
25	Daman and Diu	25,880	13,556	12,314	1,242
26	Dadra and Nagar Haveli	49,196	25,575	23,621	1,954
27	Maharashtra	12,848,375	6,822,262	6,026,113	796,149
28	Andhra Pradesh	8,642,686	4,448,330	4,194,356	253,974
29	Karnataka	6,855,801	3,527,844	3,327,957	199,887
30	Goa	139,495	72,669	66,826	5,843
31	Lakshadweep	7,088	3,715	3,373	342
32	Kerala	3,322,247	1,695,889	1,626,358	69,531
33	Tamil Nadu	6,894,821	3,542,351	3,352,470	189,881
34	Puducherry	127,610	64,932	62,678	2,254
35	Andaman and Nicobar Islands	39,497	20,094	19,403	691
–	Total (India)	158,789,287	82,952,135	75,837,152	7,114,983

Population above the age of seven

Population above the age of seven by state/union territory

State or UT code	State or UT	Total	Male	Female
1	Jammu and Kashmir	–	–	–
2	Himachal Pradesh	–	–	–
3	Punjab	–	–	–
4	Chandigarh	–	–	–
5	Uttarakhand	–	–	–
6	Haryana	22,055,357	11,703,083	10,352,274
7	Delhi	14,782,725	7,920,675	6,862,050
8	Rajasthan	58,116,096	30,039,874	28,076,222
9	Uttar Pradesh	169,853,242	88,943,240	80,910,002
10	Bihar	85,222,408	44,570,067	40,652,341
11	Sikkim	546,611	290,243	256,368
12	Arunachal Pradesh	1,179,852	616,802	563,050
13	Nagaland	1,694,621	878,596	816,025
14	Manipur	2,368,519	1,187,080	1,181,439
15	Mizoram	925,478	468,374	457,104
16	Tripura	3,226,977	1,644,513	1,582,464
17	Meghalaya	2,408,185	1,210,479	1,197,706
18	Assam	26,657,965	13,649,839	13,008,126
19	West Bengal	81,235,137	41,740,125	39,495,012
20	Jharkhand	27,728,656	14,235,767	13,492,889
21	Odisha	36,911,708	18,598,470	18,313,238
22	Chhattisgarh	21,956,168	11,002,928	10,953,240
23	Madhya Pradesh	62,049,270	32,095,963	29,953,307
24	Gujarat	52,889,452	27,507,996	25,381,456
25	Daman and Diu	217,031	136,544	80,487
26	Dadra and Nagar Haveli	293,657	167,603	126,054
27	Maharashtra	99,524,597	51,539,135	47,985,462
28	Andhra Pradesh	76,022,847	38,061,551	37,961,296
29	Karnataka	54,274,903	27,529,898	26,745,005
30	Goa	1,318,228	668,042	650,186
31	Lakshadweep	57,341	29,391	27,950
32	Kerala	–	–	–
33	Tamil Nadu	65,244,137	32,616,520	32,627,617
34	Puducherry	1,116,854	545,553	571,301
35	Andaman and Nicobar Islands	340,447	182,236	158,211
–	Total (India)	1,051,404,135	540,772,113	510,632,022

Literacy rate

Literacy rate map of India, 2011.

Literacy rate by state/union territory

State or UT code	State or UT	Overall (%)	Male (%)	Female (%)
1	Jammu and Kashmir	68.74%	76.75%	58.01%
2	Himachal Pradesh	83.78%	90.83%	76.60%
3	Punjab	86.60%	81.48%	71.34%
4	Chandigarh	86.43%	90.54%	81.38%
5	Uttarakhand	79.63%	88.33%	70.70%
6	Haryana	76.64%	85.38%	66.77%
7	Delhi	86.34%	91.03%	80.93%
8	Rajasthan	67.06%	80.51%	52.66%
9	Uttar Pradesh	69.72%	79.24%	59.26%
10	Bihar	63.82%	73.39%	53.33%
11	Sikkim	82.20%	87.29%	76.43%
12	Arunachal Pradesh	66.95%	73.69%	59.57%
13	Nagaland	80.11%	83.29%	76.69%
14	Manipur	79.85%	86.49%	73.17%
15	Mizoram	91.58%	93.72%	89.40%
16	Tripura	87.75%	92.18%	83.15%
17	Meghalaya	75.48%	77.17%	73.78%
18	Assam	73.18%	78.81%	67.27%
19	West Bengal	77.08%	82.67%	71.16%
20	Jharkhand	67.63%	78.45%	56.21%
21	Odisha	72.90%	82.40%	64.36%
22	Chhattisgarh	71.04%	81.45%	60.59%
23	Madhya Pradesh	70.63%	80.53%	60.02%
24	Gujarat	79.31%	87.23%	70.73%
25	Daman and Diu	87.07%	91.48%	79.59%
26	Dadra and Nagar Haveli	77.65%	86.46%	65.93%
27	Maharashtra	83.20%	89.82%	75.48%
28	Andhra Pradesh	67.35%	74.77%	59.96%
29	Karnataka	75.60%	82.85%	68.13%
30	Goa	87.40%	92.81%	81.84%
31	Lakshadweep	92.28%	96.11%	88.25%
32	Kerala	93.91%	96.02%	91.98%
33	Tamil Nadu	80.33%	86.81%	73.86%
34	Puducherry	86.55%	92.12%	81.22%
35	Andaman and Nicobar Islands	86.27%	90.11%	81.84%
–	Overall (India)	74.03%	82.14%	65.46%

Linguistic demographics

Main article: List of languages by number of native speakers in India

Mother tongue languages of India (2011)

  Hindi (26.6%)

  Bengali (7.94%)

  Marathi (6.84%)

  Telugu (6.68%)

  Tamil (5.69%)

  Gujarati (4.55%)

  Urdu (4.19%)

  Bhojpuri (4.18%)

  Kannada (3.59%)

  Malayalam (2.87%)

  Others (26.87%)

According to the 2001 census, 41.03% of the Indians spoke Hindi natively, while the rest spoke Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Maithili, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and a variety of other languages. There are a total of 122 languages and 234 mother tongues spoken in India. Of these, 22 languages are specified in the Eighth Schedule of Indian Constitution, while 100 are non-specified.

The table below excludes Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul subdivisions of Senapati District of Manipur state due to cancellation of census results.

Languages of India by number of native speakers at the 2001 census

Rank	Language	Speakers	Percentage (%)
1	Hindi	422,048,642	41.030%
2	Bengali	83,369,769	8.110%
3	Telugu	74,002,856	7.190%
4	Marathi	71,936,894	6.990%
5	Tamil	60,793,814	5.910%
6	Urdu	51,536,111	5.010%
7	Gujarati	46,091,617	4.480%
8	Kannada	37,924,011	3.690%
9	Malayalam	33,066,392	3.210%
10	Odia	33,017,446	3.210%
11	Punjabi	29,102,477	2.830%
12	Assamese	13,168,484	1.280%
13	Maithili	12,179,122	1.180%
14	Bhili/Bhilodi	9,582,957	0.930%
15	Santali	6,469,600	0.630%
16	Kashmiri	5,527,698	0.540%
17	Nepali	2,871,749	0.280%
18	Gondi	2,713,790	0.260%
19	Sindhi	2,535,485	0.250%
20	Konkani	2,489,015	0.240%
21	Dogri	2,282,589	0.220%
22	Khandeshi	2,075,258	0.200%
23	Kurukh	1,751,489	0.170%
24	Tulu	1,722,768	0.170%
25	Meitei (Manipuri)	1,466,705	0.140%
26	Bodo	1,350,478	0.130%
27	Khasi – Garo	1,128,575	0.112%
28	Mundari	1,061,352	0.105%
29	Ho	1,042,724	0.103%
30	Tripuri	1,011,294	0.103%

Largest cities of India

For a more comprehensive list, see List of cities in India by population.

Largest cities or towns in India 2011 Census of India
	Rank	Name	State/UT	Pop.	Rank	Name	State/UT	Pop.
Mumbai Delhi	1	Mumbai	Maharashtra	12,478,447	11	Kanpur	Uttar Pradesh	2,920,067	Chennai Bangalore
	2	Delhi	Delhi	11,007,835	12	Lucknow	Uttar Pradesh	2,901,474
	3	Chennai	Tamil Nadu	8,696,010	13	Nagpur	Maharashtra	2,405,421
	4	Bangalore	Karnataka	8,425,970	14	Indore	Madhya Pradesh	1,960,521
	5	Hyderabad	Telangana	6,809,970	15	Thane	Maharashtra	1,818,872
	6	Ahmedabad	Gujarat	5,570,585	16	Bhopal	Madhya Pradesh	1,795,648
	7	Kolkata	West Bengal	4,486,679	17	Visakhapatnam	Andhra Pradesh	1,730,320
	8	Surat	Gujarat	4,462,002	18	Pimpri-Chinchwad	Maharashtra	1,729,359
	9	Pune	Maharashtra	3,115,431	19	Patna	Bihar	1,683,200
	10	Jaipur	Rajasthan	3,073,350	20	Ludhiana	Punjab	1,613,878

Vital statistics

UN estimates

United Nations, World Population Prospects: The 2022 revision – India

Year	Mid-year population	Births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Crude migration rate (per 1000)	Total Fertility rate	Infant mortality (per 1000)	Life expectancy
1950	357,021,000	15,651,000	7,942,000	7,709,000	43.8	22.68	21.6		5.73	181.2	41.7
1951	364,922,000	16,042,000	8,171,000	7,871,000	44.0	22.53	21.6	0.5	5.77	180.1	41.7
1952	372,997,000	16,458,000	8,293,000	8,165,000	44.1	22.24	21.9	0.2	5.82	177.5	42.0
1953	381,228,000	16,857,000	8,442,000	8,415,000	44.2	22.07	22.1	0	5.87	175.3	42.2
1954	389,731,000	17,247,000	8,414,000	8,833,000	44.2	21.45	22.7	-0.4	5.91	172.2	43.0
1955	398,578,000	17,549,000	8,468,000	9,081,000	44.0	21.07	22.8	-0.1	5.91	169.7	43.4
1956	407,657,000	17,844,000	8,533,000	9,310,000	43.8	20.74	22.8	0	5.91	167.3	43.8
1957	416,935,000	18,128,000	8,618,000	9,510,000	43.5	20.49	22.8	0	5.91	165.0	44.1
1958	426,296,000	18,370,000	8,673,000	9,696,000	43.1	20.14	22.7	-0.2	5.90	162.7	44.4
1959	435,900,000	18,593,000	8,688,000	9,905,000	42.6	19.72	22.7	-0.2	5.89	160.3	44.9
1960	445,955,000	18,958,000	8,756,000	10,201,000	42.5	19.42	22.9	0.2	5.92	158.2	45.2
1961	456,352,000	19,301,000	8,874,000	10,427,000	42.3	19.23	22.8	0.5	5.94	156.4	45.4
1962	467,024,000	19,663,000	8,969,000	10,693,000	42.1	18.98	22.9	0.5	5.95	154.5	45.7
1963	477,934,000	20,031,000	9,064,000	10,966,000	41.9	18.73	22.9	0.5	5.97	152.7	45.9
1964	489,059,000	20,407,000	9,177,000	11,230,000	41.7	18.51	23.0	0.3	5.98	151.1	46.2
1965	500,114,000	20,679,000	9,824,000	10,855,000	41.3	19.36	21.7	0.9	5.94	156.4	45.0
1966	510,993,000	20,913,000	9,886,000	11,027,000	40.9	19.06	21.6	0.2	5.88	154.7	45.3
1967	521,987,000	21,193,000	9,963,000	11,231,000	40.6	18.78	21.5	0	5.83	153.1	45.7
1968	533,432,000	21,454,000	9,486,000	11,968,000	40.2	17.52	22.4	-0.5	5.76	145.0	47.5
1969	545,315,000	21,704,000	9,551,000	12,154,000	39.8	17.27	22.3	0	5.68	143.3	47.9
1970	557,501,000	22,043,000	9,606,000	12,437,000	39.5	17.01	22.3	-0.1	5.62	141.7	48.2
1971	569,999,000	22,483,000	9,658,000	12,825,000	39.4	16.81	22.5	-0.1	5.57	139.9	48.6
1972	582,838,000	22,835,000	9,702,000	13,133,000	39.2	16.60	22.5	0	5.48	138.5	49.0
1973	596,107,000	23,230,000	9,701,000	13,529,000	39.0	16.31	22.7	0.1	5.40	136.3	49.5
1974	609,722,000	23,559,000	9,628,000	13,931,000	38.6	15.89	22.8	0	5.33	133.3	50.2
1975	623,524,000	23,660,000	9,592,000	14,068,000	37.9	15.53	22.6	0	5.20	130.7	50.8
1976	637,451,000	24,021,000	9,572,000	14,449,000	37.7	15.18	22.7	-0.4	5.13	127.9	51.4
1977	651,686,000	24,042,000	9,555,000	14,487,000	36.9	14.82	22.2	0.1	5.01	124.9	51.9
1978	666,268,000	24,243,000	9,520,000	14,723,000	36.4	14.43	22.1	0.3	4.89	121.7	52.5
1979	681,248,000	24,699,000	9,515,000	15,184,000	36.3	14.07	22.3	0.2	4.81	118.4	53.1
1980	696,828,000	25,235,000	9,530,000	15,705,000	36.2	13.75	22.5	0.4	4.78	115.2	53.6
1981	712,869,000	25,683,000	9,532,000	16,151,000	36.0	13.42	22.7	0.3	4.70	112.1	54.2
1982	729,169,000	25,964,000	9,512,000	16,452,000	35.6	13.09	22.6	0.3	4.62	109.3	54.7
1983	745,827,000	26,329,000	9,487,000	16,842,000	35.3	12.77	22.6	0.2	4.57	106.7	55.3
1984	762,890,005	26,777,000	9,471,000	17,307,000	35.1	12.47	22.7	0.2	4.52	104.2	55.8
1985	780,242,000	27,001,000	9,444,000	17,558,000	34.6	12.16	22.5	0.2	4.43	101.8	56.3
1986	797,879,000	27,522,000	9,434,000	18,088,000	34.5	11.88	22.7	-0.1	4.40	99.4	56.8
1987	815,716,000	27,478,000	9,400,000	18,077,000	33.7	11.58	22.2	0.2	4.31	97.0	57.3
1988	833,730,000	27,654,000	9,369,000	18,286,000	33.2	11.29	21.9	0.2	4.22	94.6	57.8
1989	852,013,000	27,733,000	9,335,000	18,398,000	32.5	11.00	21.6	0.3	4.13	92.2	58.2
1990	870,452,000	27,692,000	9,306,000	18,386,000	31.8	10.73	21.1	0.5	4.05	89.8	58.7
1991	888,942,000	27,937,000	9,295,000	18,642,000	31.4	10.47	21.0	0.2	3.96	87.6	59.1
1992	907,574,000	28,057,000	9,285,000	18,772,000	30.9	10.22	20.7	0.3	3.88	85.5	59.5
1993	926,351,000	28,055,000	9,283,000	18,772,000	30.3	10.00	20.3	0.4	3.80	83.5	59.8
1994	945,262,000	28,207,000	9,270,000	18,937,000	29.8	9.78	20.0	0.4	3.72	81.4	60.2
1995	964,279,000	28,314,000	9,269,000	19,044,000	29.4	9.57	19.7	0.4	3.65	79.3	60.6
1996	983,281,000	28,305,000	9,262,000	19,043,000	28.8	9.37	19.4	0.3	3.58	77.1	61.0
1997	1,002,335,000	28,341,000	9,251,000	19,090,000	28.3	9.17	19.0	0.4	3.51	74.8	61.4
1998	1,021,435,000	28,381,000	9,245,000	19,136,000	27.8	8.99	18.7	0.4	3.45	72.5	61.8
1999	1,040,500,000	28,365,000	9,235,000	19,130,000	27.3	8.80	18.4	0.3	3.38	70.2	62.2
2000	1,059,634,000	28,615,000	9,221,000	19,394,000	27.0	8.63	18.3	0.1	3.35	67.8	62.7
2001	1,078,971,000	28,843,000	9,235,000	19,608,000	26.7	8.48	18.2	0	3.30	65.4	63.1
2002	1,098,313,000	28,648,000	9,186,000	19,462,000	26.1	8.29	17.7	0.2	3.22	63.1	63.6
2003	1,117,415,000	28,356,000	9,150,000	19,206,000	25.4	8.13	17.2	0.2	3.12	60.8	64.1
2004	1,136,265,000	28,099,000	9,136,000	18,963,000	24.7	7.98	16.7	0.2	3.05	58.6	64.5
2005	1,154,639,000	27,646,000	9,096,000	18,550,000	23.9	7.82	16.1	0.1	2.96	56.3	65.0
2006	1,172,374,000	27,229,000	9,080,000	18,149,000	23.2	7.67	15.5	-0.1	2.86	54.1	65.4
2007	1,189,692,000	27,030,000	9,095,000	17,935,000	22.7	7.54	15.1	-0.3	2.78	51.9	65.8
2008	1,206,735,000	26,890,000	9,123,000	17,767,000	22.3	7.41	14.7	-0.4	2.72	49.6	66.1
2009	1,223,640,000	26,848,000	9,154,000	17,694,000	21.9	7.29	14.5	-0.5	2.67	47.4	66.5
2010	1,240,614,000	26,599,000	9,162,000	17,437,000	21.4	7.16	14.1	-0.2	2.60	45.2	66.9
2011	1,257,621,191	26,342,000	9,139,000	17,203,000	20.9	7.05	13.7	0	2.54	43.0	67.4
2012	1,274,487,215	26,027,000	9,072,000	16,954,000	20.4	6.95	13.3	0.1	2.47	40.8	67.9
2013	1,291,132,063	25,740,000	8,987,000	16,753,000	19.9	6.86	13.0	0.1	2.41	38.7	68.5
2014	1,307,246,509	24,899,000	8,876,000	16,023,000	19.0	6.77	12.3	0.2	2.31	36.7	69.1
2015	1,322,866,505	24,828,000	8,826,000	16,003,000	18.8	6.73	12.1	-0.2	2.29	34.7	69.6
2016	1,338,636,340	24,783,000	8,839,000	15,944,000	18.5	6.70	11.9	0	2.27	32.8	70.1
2017	1,354,195,680	24,254,000	8,928,000	15,326,000	17.9	6.67	11.3	0.3	2.20	31.1	70.5
2018	1,369,003,306	24,168,000	9,098,000	15,070,000	17.7	6.67	11.0	-0.1	2.18	29.4	70.7
2019	1,383,112,050	23,583,000	9,281,000	14,302,000	17.0	6.67	10.3	0	2.11	27.9	70.9
2020	1,396,387,127	23,139,000	10,262,000	12,876,000	16.6	7.21	9.2	0.4	2.05	26.6	70.1
2021	1,407,563,842	23,114,000	13,511,232	9,602,768	16.4	9.26	7.0	-1.0	2.03	25.5	67.2
2022	1,417,173,173	23,056,027	12,862,015	10,194,012	16.3	6.58	7.2	-0.4	2.01		67.7
2023	1,428,627,663	23,162,866	11,222,240	11,940,626	16.1	6.61	9.5	-1.4	2.00(e)		72.0

Census of India: sample registration system

Total fertility rate map: average births per woman by districts, 2011

Census of India: sample registration system

Year	Average population	Live births1	Deaths1	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate
1981	716,493,000	24,289,000	8,956,000	15,333,000	33.9	12.5	21.4	4.52
1982	733,152,000	24,781,000	8,725,000	16,056,000	33.8	11.9	21.9	4.5
1983	750,034,000	25,276,000	8,925,000	16,351,000	33.7	11.9	21.8	4.5
1984	767,147,000	26,006,000	9,666,000	16,340,000	33.9	12.6	21.3	4.5
1985	784,491,000	25,810,000	9,257,000	16,553,000	32.9	11.8	21.1	4.3
1986	802,052,000	26,147,000	8,903,000	17,244,000	32.6	11.1	21.5	4.15
1987	819,800,000	26,316,000	8,936,000	17,380,000	32.1	10.9	21.2	4.1
1988	837,700,000	26,388,000	9,215,000	17,173,000	31.5	11.0	20.5	4.0
1989	855,707,000	26,185,000	8,814,000	17,371,000	30.6	10.3	20.3	3.9
1990	873,785,000	26,388,000	8,476,000	17,912,000	30.2	9.7	20.5	3.8
1991	891,910,000	26,133,000	8,741,000	17,392,000	29.3	9.8	19.5	3.64
1992	910,065,000	26,392,000	9,192,000	17,200,000	29.0	10.1	18.9	3.6
1993	928,226,000	26,640,000	8,633,000	18,007,000	0	9.3	19.4	3.5
1994	946,373,000	27,161,000	8,801,000	18,360,000	28.7	9.3	19.4	3.5
1995	964,486,000	27,295,000	8,680,000	18,615,000	28.3	9.0	19.3	3.5
1996	982,553,000	26,824,000	8,745,000	18,079,000	27.3	8.9	18.4	3.40
1997	1,000,558,000	27,215,000	8,905,000	18,310,000	27.2	8.9	18.3	3.3
1998	1,018,471,000	26,989,000	9,166,000	17,823,000	26.5	9.0	17.5	3.2
1999	1,036,259,000	26,943,000	9,015,000	17,928,000	26.0	8.7	17.3	3.2
2000	1,053,898,000	27,191,000	8,958,000	18,233,000	25.8	8.5	17.3	3.2
2001	1,071,374,000	27,213,000	9,000,000	18,213,000	25.4	8.4	17.0	3.10
2002	1,088,694,000	27,217,000	8,818,000	18,399,000	25.0	8.1	16.9	3.0
2003	1,105,886,000	27,426,000	8,847,000	18,579,000	24.8	8.0	16.8	3.0
2004	1,122,991,000	27,064,000	8,422,000	18,642,000	24.1	7.5	16.6	2.9
2005	1,140,043,000	27,133,000	8,664,000	18,469,000	23.8	7.6	16.2	2.9
2006	1,157,039,000	27,190,000	8,678,000	18,512,000	23.5	7.5	16.0	2.79
2007	1,134,024,000	26,195,954	8,391,778	17,804,176	23.1	7.4	15.7	2.7
2008	1,150,196,000	26,224,469	8,511,450	17,713,019	22.8	7.4	15.4	2.6
2009	1,166,228,000	26,240,130	8,513,464	17,726,666	22.5	7.3	15.2	2.6
2010	1,182,108,000	26,124,587	8,511,178	17,613,409	22.1	7.2	14.9	2.5
2011	1,197,658,000	26,108,944	8,503,372	17,605,572	21.8	7.1	14.7	2.44
2012	1,212,827,000	26,197,063	8,489,789	17,707,274	21.6	7.0	14.6	2.38
2013	1,227,012,000	26,258,057	8,589,084	17,668,973	21.4	7.0	14.4	2.34
2014	1,243,542,000	25,904,377	8,264,730	17,639,647	21.0	6.7	14.3	2.32
2015	1,259,108,000	26,189,446	8,184,202	18,005,244	20.8	6.5	14.3	2.27
2016	1,273,986,000	25,989,314	8,153,510	17,835,804	20.4	6.4	14.0	2.26
2017	1,288,522,000	26,028,144	8,117,689	17,910,455	20.2	6.3	13.9	2.18
2018	1,324,609,000	26,492,180	8,212,576	18,279,604	20.0	6.2	13.8	2.15
2019	1,338,995,000	24,820,886	7,641,076	17,179,810	18.5	5.7	12.8	2.08
2020	1,353,378,000	24,222,444	8,115,882	16,106,562	17.9	6.0	11.9	2.03
1 The numbers of births and deaths were calculated from the birth and death rates and the average population.

Life expectancy

See also: List of Indian states by life expectancy at birth

Life Expectancy at birth in India by district based on the analysis of NFHS-5 data (2019–2021)

Life expectancy at birth in India since 1960 with calculated sex gap

Period	Life expectancy at birth	Life expectancy at age 15	Life expectancy at age 65	Life expectancy at age 80
1950–1955	41.7	45.0	10.9	4.8
1955–1960	43.4	45.6	11.1	4.8
1960–1965	45.2	46.4	11.2	4.9
1965–1970	45.0	46.1	11.2	4.9
1970–1975	48.2	48.0	11.2	5.1
1975–1980	50.8	49.8	12.3	6.0
1980–1985	53.6	51.0	12.2	5.8
1985–1990	56.3	52.4	12.3	5.8
1990–1995	58.7	53.3	12.6	5.9
1995–2000	60.6	54.1	13.0	6.2
2000–2005	62.7	54.9	13.6	6.6
2005–2010	65.0	56.0	13.9	6.4
2010–2015	66.9	56.6	14.1	6.4
2015-2020	69.6	58.2	15.3	7.5
2020-2025	70.1	57.8	14.7	7.1

Source 1: UN World Population Prospects

Source 2: Our World in Data

Structure of the population

Structure of the population (Census 9.II.2011)

Population by age group

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percentage (%)	Cumulative Percentage
0–4	58,632,074	54,174,704	112,806,778	9.32	9.32
5–9	66,300,466	60,627,660	126,928,126	10.48	19.8
10–14	69,418,835	63,290,377	132,709,212	10.96	30.76
15–19	63,982,396	56,544,053	120,526,449	9.95	40.71
20–24	57,584,693	53,839,529	111,424,222	9.20	49.91
25–29	51,344,208	50,069,757	101,413,965	8.38	58.29
30–34	44,660,674	43,934,277	88,594,951	7.32	65.61
35–39	42,919,381	42,221,303	85,140,684	7.03	72.64
40–44	37,545,386	34,892,726	72,438,112	5.98	78.62
45–49	32,138,114	30,180,213	62,318,327	5.15	83.77
50–54	25,843,266	23,225,988	49,069,254	4.05	87.82
55–59	19,456,012	19,690,043	39,146,055	3.23	91.05
60–64	18,701,749	18,961,958	37,663,707	3.11	94.16
65–69	12,944,326	13,510,657	26,454,983	2.18	96.34
70–74	9,651,499	9,557,343	19,208,842	1.59	97.93
75–79	4,490,603	4,741,900	9,232,503	0.76	98.69
80–84	2,927,040	3,293,189	6,220,229	0.51	99.2
85–89	1,120,106	1,263,061	2,383,167	0.20	99.4
90–94	652,465	794,069	1,446,534	0.12	99.52
95–99	294,759	338,538	633,297	0.05	99.57
100+	289,325	316,453	605,778	0.05	99.62
Unknown	2,372,881	2,116,921	4,489,802	0.37	99.99
Total	623,270,258	587,584,719	1,210,854,977	100.00
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	194,351,375	178,092,741	372,444,116	30.76
15–64	394,175,879	373,559,847	767,735,726	63.40
65+	32,370,123	33,815,210	66,185,333	5.47

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (03.III.2016) (Data are projections based on the 2011 Population Census.):

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	664,184,000	626,890,000	1,291,074,000	100
0–4	62,872,000	56,038,000	118,910,000	9.21
5–9	61,499,000	56,969,000	118,468,000	9.18
10–14	65,142,000	59,682,000	124,824,000	9.67
15–19	67,223,000	60,871,000	128,094,000	9.92
20–24	63,521,000	57,356,000	120,877,000	9.36
25–29	57,272,000	53,357,000	110,629,000	8.57
30–34	50,782,000	49,250,000	100,032,000	7.75
35–39	45,318,000	44,787,000	90,105,000	6.98
40–44	41,280,000	40,497,000	81,777,000	6.33
45–49	36,602,000	35,107,000	71,709,000	5.55
50–54	30,738,000	29,016,000	59,754,000	4.63
55–59	24,403,000	23,307,000	47,710,000	3.70
60–64	19,133,000	19,288,000	38,421,000	2.98
65–69	15,198,000	16,114,000	31,312,000	2.43
70–74	11,002,000	11,723,000	22,725,000	1.76
75–79	7,703,000	8,367,000	16,070,000	1.24
80+	4,496,000	5,161,000	9,657,000	0.75
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	189,513,000	172,689,000	362,202,000	28.05
15–64	436,272,000	412,836,000	849,108,000	65.77
65+	38,399,000	41,365,000	79,764,000	6.18

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.III.2021) (Includes data for the Indian-held part of Jammu and Kashmir, the final status of which has not yet been determined. Data are projections based on the 2011 Population Census.):

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	700 623 000	662 383 000	1 363 006 000	100
0–4	60 153 000	54 120 000	114 273 000	8.38
5–9	62 276 000	55 390 000	117 666 000	8.63
10–14	61 266 000	56 785 000	118 051 000	8.66
15–19	64 862 000	59 420 000	124 282 000	9.12
20–24	66 770 000	60 474 000	127 244 000	9.34
25–29	62 944 000	56 956 000	119 900 000	8.80
30–34	56 614 000	52 961 000	109 575 000	8.04
35–39	50 027 000	48 836 000	98 863 000	7.25
40–44	44 450 000	44 315 000	88 765 000	6.51
45–49	40 204 000	39 903 000	80 107 000	5.88
50–54	35 235 000	34 331 000	69 566 000	5.10
55–59	29 082 000	28 062 000	57 144 000	4.19
60–64	22 465 000	22 079 000	44 544 000	3.27
65–69	16 823 000	17 583 000	34 406 000	2.52
70–74	12 546 000	13 904 000	26 450 000	1.94
75–79	8 269 000	9 294 000	17 563 000	1.29
80+	6 637 000	7 970 000	14 607 000	1.07
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	183 695 000	166 295 000	349 990 000	25.68
15–64	472 653 000	447 337 000	919 990 000	67.50
65+	44 275 000	48 751 000	93 026 000	6.83

Fertility rate

From the Demographic Health Survey:

TFR of India to 2016

Crude birth rate and total fertility rate (wanted fertility rate)

Year	Total		Urban		Rural
	CBR	TFR1	CBR	TFR1	CBR	TFR1
1992–1993	28.7	3.39 (2.64)	24.1	2.70 (2.09)	30.4	3.67 (2.86)
1998–1999	24.8	2.85 (2.13)	20.9	2.27 (1.73)	26.2	3.07 (2.28)
2005–2006	23.1	2.68 (1.90)	18.8	2.06 (1.60)	25.0	2.98 (2.10)
2015–2016	19.0	2.18 (1.8)	15.8	1.75 (1.5)	20.7	2.41 (1.9)
2019–2021	17.1	1.99 (1.6)	14.0	1.63 (1.4)	18.6	2.14 (1.7)
CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman). 1Number in parentheses represents the wanted fertility rate.

Total fertility rate (wanted fertility rate) by religion

Year	Hindu	Muslim	Christian	Sikh	Buddhist/ Neo-Buddhist	Jain	Other
2019–2021	1.94 (1.6)	2.36 (1.8)	1.88 (1.7)	1.61 (1.4)	1.39 (1.2)	1.60 (1.5)	2.15 (1.7)
CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman). 1Number in parentheses represents the wanted fertility rate.

Crude birth rate and total fertility rate (wanted fertility rate) 2015–2016

State (Population 2011)	Total		Urban		Rural
	CBR	TFR1	CBR	TFR1	CBR	TFR1
Uttar Pradesh (199 812 341)	22.6	2.74 (2.06)	18.6	2.08 (1.62)	24.0	2.99 (2.22)
Maharashtra (112 374 333)	16.6	1.87 (1.57)	15.5	1.68 (1.41)	17.5	2.06 (1.73)
Bihar (104 099 452)	27.1	3.41 (2.48)	20.4	2.42 (1.83)	28.0	3.56 (2.58)
West Bengal (91 276 115)	16.6	1.77 (1.53)	14.0	1.57 (1.38)	18.0	1.85 (1.58)
Madhya Pradesh (72 626 809)	20.2	2.32 (1.82)	17.7	1.95 (1.61)	21.3	2.48 (1.91)
Tamil Nadu (72 147 030)	15.5	1.70 (1.51)	13.9	1.54 (1.38)	17.2	1.86 (1.63)
Rajasthan (68 548 437)	20.8	2.40 (1.81)	17.5	1.94 (1.52)	22.0	2.56 (1.91)
Karnataka (61 095 297)	15.9	1.81 (1.42)	15.2	1.65 (1.30)	16.5	1.92 (1.50)
Gujarat (60 439 692)	16.7	2.03 (1.54)	15.3	1.82 (1.39)	17.9	2.19 (1.64)
Andhra Pradesh (49 386 799)	16.1	1.83 (1.64)	13.9	1.53 (1.39)	17.0	1.96 (1.75)
Odisha (41 974 218)	18.1	2.05 (1.69)	15.6	1.73 (1.50)	18.7	2.12 (1.72)
Telangana (35 193 978)	17.1	1.79 (1.59)	17.1	1.67 (1.53)	17.2	1.88 (1.64)
Kerala (33 406 061)	11.2	1.56 (1.47)	11.4	1.57 (1.47)	11.0	1.55 (1.46)
Jharkhand (32 988 134)	21.7	2.55 (2.06)	16.3	1.78 (1.47)	23.5	2.83 (2.27)
Assam (31 205 576)	19.5	2.21 (1.78)	13.2	1.45 (1.25)	20.5	2.34 (1.87)
Punjab (27 743 338)	13.8	1.62 (1.37)	13.5	1.59 (1.32)	14.0	1.63 (1.39)
Chhattisgarh (25 545 198)	20.7	2.23 (1.88)	17.9	1.78 (1.58)	21.5	2.37 (1.97)
Haryana (25 351 462)	18.7	2.05 (1.63)	16.3	1.78 (1.44)	20.2	2.22 (1.75)
Jammu and Kashmir (12 541 302)	17.7	2.01 (1.67)	13.9	1.58 (1.39)	19.4	2.18 (1.77)
Uttarakhand (10 086 292)	19.0	2.07 (1.60)	17.1	1.80 (1.43)	20.0	2.24 (1.71)
Himachal Pradesh (6 864 602)	15.3	1.88 (1.55)	12.0	1.43 (1.15)	15.7	1.92 (1.59)
Tripura (3 673 917)	15.3	1.69 (1.55)	12.7	1.40 (1.34)	16.4	1.80 (1.62)
Meghalaya (2 966 889)	24.6	3.04 (2.79)	16.1	1.67 (1.57)	26.7	3.47 (3.18)
Manipur (2 855 794)	21.2	2.61 (2.33)	17.5	2.14 (1.96)	23.7	2.92 (2.57)
Nagaland (1 978 502)	21.4	2.74 (2.35)	16.3	1.78 (1.58)	24.1	3.38 (2.86)
Goa (1 458 545)	12.8	1.66 (1.37)	13.4	1.72 (1.37)	11.7	1.55 (1.37)
Arunachal Pradesh (1 383 727)	17.9	2.12 (1.64)	17.0	1.69 (1.26)	18.2	2.29 (1.79)
Mizoram (1 097 206)	18.7	2.26 (2.15)	16.9	1.97 (1.89)	21.2	2.71 (2.54)
Sikkim (610 577)	11.4	1.17 (0.88)	12.1	1.11 (0.82)	11.1	1.21 (0.91)
CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman). 1Number in parentheses represents the wanted fertility rate.

Crude birth rate and total fertility rate (wanted fertility rate) 2019–2021

State (Population 2011)	Total		Urban		Rural
	CBR	TFR1	CBR	TFR1	CBR	TFR1
Uttar Pradesh (199 812 341)	20.5	2.35 (1.77)	16.7	1.88 (1.49)	21.8	2.50 (1.86)
Maharashtra (112 374 333)	13.8	1.71 (1.43)	12.6	1.50 (1.27)	15.0	1.89 (1.58)
Bihar (104 099 452)	25.9	2.98 (2.25)	20.4	2.35 (1.88)	27.0	3.11 (2.31)
West Bengal (91 276 115)	15.5	1.64 (1.42)	12.4	1.39 (1.24)	17.0	1.73 (1.48)
Madhya Pradesh (72 626 809)	17.2	1.99 (1.61)	13.7	1.61 (1.34)	18.5	2.12 (1.69)
Tamil Nadu (72 147 030)	13.7	1.76 (1.59)	12.7	1.61 (1.50)	14.6	1.89 (1.66)
Rajasthan (68 548 437)	18.7	2.01 (1.61)	15.3	1.67 (1.42)	19.8	2.11 (1.65)
Karnataka (61 095 297)	14.2	1.67 (1.38)	13.2	1.50 (1.25)	14.9	1.79 (1.46)
Gujarat (60 439 692)	15.0	1.86 (1.53)	13.3	1.65 (1.39)	16.3	2.0 (1.60)
Andhra Pradesh (49 386 799)	13.8	1.68 (1.55)	12.5	1.47 (1.36)	14.3	1.78 (1.64)
Odisha (41 974 218)	15.9	1.82 (1.52)	13.1	1.48 (1.26)	16.5	1.89 (1.57)
Telangana (35 193 978)	15.3	1.75 (1.55)	16.0	1.75 (1.57)	15.3	1.74 (1.54)
Kerala (33 406 061)	11.8	1.79 (1.68)	11.9	1.82 (1.71)	11.6	1.76 (1.65)
Jharkhand (32 988 134)	20.2	2.26 (1.87)	14.2	1.56 (1.32)	22.0	2.48 (2.04)
Assam (31 205 576)	16.8	1.87 (1.56)	13.1	1.50 (1.37)	17.4	1.93 (1.59)
Punjab (27 743 338)	13.3	1.63 (1.35)	12.1	1.55 (1.29)	14.0	1.68 (1.38)
Chhattisgarh (25 545 198)	16.4	1.82 (1.57)	13.6	1.42 (1.28)	17.2	1.94 (1.66)
Haryana (25 351 462)	16.4	1.91 (1.54)	14.1	1.65 (1.38)	17.5	2.04 (1.62)
Jammu and Kashmir (12 541 302)	13.1	1.41 (1.3)
Uttarakhand (10 086 292)	16.7	1.85 (1.46)	16.8	1.84 (1.47)	16.6	1.86 (1.47)
Himachal Pradesh (6 864 602)	12.7	1.66 (1.43)	11.2	1.43 (1.36)	12.9	1.69 (1.44)
Tripura (3 673 917)	14.5	1.70 (1.49)	11.0	1.39 (1.29)	15.8	1.81 (1.56)
Meghalaya (2 966 889)	24.2	2.91 (2.66)	14.8	1.57 (1.43)	26.5	3.31 (3.04)
Manipur (2 855 794)	17.4	2.17 (1.98)	14.7	1.84 (1.73)	19.1	2.38 (2.13)
Nagaland (1 978 502)	15.4	1.72 (1.57)	12.5	1.21 (1.13)	16.8	2.00 (1.82)
Goa (1 458 545)	10.3	1.30 (1.21)	10.3	1.26 (1.19)	10.3	1.36 (1.24)
Arunachal Pradesh (1 383 727)	16.0	1.80 (1.49)	14.8	1.44 (1.24)	16.2	1.88 (1.54)
Mizoram (1 097 206)	15.0	1.87 (1.78)	13.9	1.63 (1.56)	16.4	2.19 (2.08)
Sikkim (610 577)	10.2	1.05 (0.85)	7.8	0.71 (0.54)	11.7	1.32 (1.11)
Delhi	14.8	1.62 (1.29)	14.6	1.60 (1.27)	23.4	2.47 (2.06)
CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman). 1Number in parentheses represents the wanted fertility rate.

Regional vital statistics

Birth rate, death rate, natural growth rate, and infant mortality rate, by state or UT(2010)

State or UT	Birth rate			Death rate			Natural growth rate			Infant mortality rate
	Total	Rural	Urban	Total	Rural	Urban	Total	Rural	Urban	Total	Rural	Urban
Andaman and Nicobar Islands	15.6	15.5	15.8	4.3	4.8	3.3	11.3	10.7	12.6	25	29	18
Andhra Pradesh	17.9	18.3	16.7	7.6	8.6	5.4	10.2	9.7	11.3	46	51	33
Arunachal Pradesh	20.5	22.1	14.6	5.9	6.9	2.3	14.6	15.2	12.3	31	34	12
Assam	23.2	24.4	15.8	8.2	8.6	5.8	14.9	15.8	10.1	58	60	36
Bihar	28.1	28.8	22.0	6.8	7.0	5.6	21.3	21.8	16.4	48	49	38
Chandigarh	15.6	21.6	15.0	3.9	3.7	3.9	11.6	17.9	11.0	22	20	23
Chhattisgarh	25.3	26.8	18.6	8.0	8.4	6.2	17.3	18.4	12.4	51	52	44
Dadra and Nagar Haveli	26.6	26.0	28.6	4.7	5.1	3.3	21.9	20.9	25.3	38	43	22
Daman and Diu	18.8	19.1	18.3	4.9	4.9	4.8	13.9	14.2	13.6	23	19	29
Delhi	17.8	19.7	17.5	4.2	4.6	4.1	13.6	15.0	13.4	30	37	29
Goa	13.2	12.6	13.7	6.6	8.1	5.7	6.6	4.5	8.0	10	10	10
Gujarat	21.8	23.3	19.4	6.7	7.5	5.5	15.1	15.8	14.0	44	51	30
Haryana	22.3	23.3	19.8	6.6	7.0	5.6	15.7	16.3	14.3	48	51	38
Himachal Pradesh	16.9	17.5	11.5	6.9	7.2	4.2	10.0	10.3	7.3	40	41	29
Jammu and Kashmir	18.3	19.5	13.5	5.7	5.9	4.7	12.6	13.6	8.8	43	45	32
Jharkhand	25.3	26.7	19.3	7.0	7.4	5.4	18.3	19.3	13.9	42	44	30
Karnataka	19.2	20.2	17.5	7.1	8.1	5.4	12.1	12.1	12.1	38	43	28
Kerala	14.8	14.8	14.8	7.0	7.1	6.7	7.8	7.7	8.1	13	14	10
Lakshadweep	14.3	15.5	13.2	6.4	6.1	6.7	8.0	9.5	6.5	25	23	27
Madhya Pradesh	27.3	29.2	20.5	8.3	9.0	6.0	18.9	20.2	14.5	62	67	42
Maharashtra	17.1	17.6	16.4	6.5	7.5	5.3	10.6	10.2	11.1	28	34	20
Manipur	14.9	14.8	15.3	4.2	4.3	4.0	10.7	10.5	11.3	14	15	9
Meghalaya	24.5	26.6	14.8	7.9	8.4	5.6	16.6	18.2	9.2	55	58	37
Mizoram	17.1	21.1	13.0	4.5	5.4	3.7	12.5	15.7	9.3	37	47	21
Nagaland	16.8	17.0	16.0	3.6	3.7	3.3	13.2	13.3	12.7	23	24	20
Odisha	20.5	21.4	15.2	8.6	9.0	6.6	11.9	12.4	8.6	61	63	43
Puducherry	16.7	16.7	16.7	7.4	8.2	7.0	9.3	8.5	9.6	22	25	21
Punjab	16.6	17.2	15.6	7.0	7.7	5.8	9.6	9.5	9.8	34	37	28
Rajasthan	26.7	27.9	22.9	6.7	6.9	6.0	20.0	20.9	16.9	55	61	31
Sikkim	17.8	18.1	16.1	5.6	5.9	3.8	12.3	12.3	12.3	30	31	19
Tamil Nadu	15.9	16.0	15.8	7.6	8.2	6.9	8.3	7.8	8.9	24	25	22
Tripura	14.9	15.6	11.5	5.0	4.8	5.7	9.9	10.8	5.8	27	29	19
Uttar Pradesh	28.3	29.2	24.2	8.1	8.5	6.3	20.2	20.7	17.9	61	64	44
Uttarakhand	19.3	20.2	16.2	6.3	6.7	5.1	13.0	13.5	11.1	38	41	25
West Bengal	16.8	18.6	11.9	6.0	6.0	6.3	10.7	12.6	5.6	31	32	25

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

Map showing the population density in India, per 2011 Census.

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Total population

1,166,079,217 (July 2009 est. CIA),

1,210 million (2011 census),

1,389,637,446 (May 2022 est.)

Rural population:

62.2%

male: 381,668,992

female: 360,948,755

Age structure:

0–14 years: 27.34% (male 186,087,665/female 164,398,204)

15–24 years: 17.9% (male 121,879,786/female 107,583,437)

25–54 years: 41.08% (male 271,744,709/female 254,834,569)

55–64 years: 7.45% (male 47,846,122/female 47,632,532)

65+ years: 6.24% (male 37,837,801/female 42,091,086) (2017 est.)

Median age:

Total: 29.5 years (2023 est.) (See List of countries by median age.)

Male: 28 years

Female: 29.5 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate :

0.67% (2022 est)

Literacy rate

74% (age 7 and above, in 2011)

81.4% (total population, age 15–25, in 2006)

Per cent of population below poverty line:

22% (2006 est.)

Unemployment rate:

7.8%

Net migration rate:

0.00 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2020 est.)

Sex ratio:

At birth: 1.12 male(s)/female

Under 10 years: 1.13 male(s)/female

15–24 years: 1.13 male(s)/female

24–64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female

Total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

Total population: 69.7 years

Male: 68.4 years

Female: 71.2 years (2020 est.)

Total fertility rate:

2.00 (2023 est.)

The TFR (total number of children born per women) by religion in 2005–2006 was:

Hindus, 2.7

Muslims, 3.1

Christians, 2.4

Sikhs, 2.0

Religious Composition:

Hindus 79.5%

Muslims 15%

Christian 2.3%

Sikh 1.7%

other and unspecified 2% (2011 est.)

Scheduled castes and tribes:

Scheduled castes: 16.6% (2011 census)

scheduled tribes: 8.6% (2011 census)

Languages

See Languages of India and List of languages by number of native speakers in India. There are 216 languages with more than 10,000 native speakers in India. The largest of these is Hindi with some 337 million, and the second largest is Bengali with 238 million. 22 languages are recognised as official languages. In India, there are 1,652 languages and dialects in total.

Caste/Tribe

Caste and community statistics as recorded from "Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Commission" (SEBC) or Mandal Commission of 1979. This was completed in 1983.

India has chosen not to officially count caste population since then.

The following data are from the Mandal report:

Caste/Tribe demographics (1983)

Caste/Tribe	population	percentage	notes
Total population	731,000,000	100%	*Margin of error 0.34%
Scheduled castes and tribes	164,913,600	22.56%
Scheduled castes	110,015,500	15.05%
Scheduled tribes	54,898,100	7.51%
Non OBC/SC/ST Hindu castes/communities	128,509,800	17.58%
Brahmin (including Bhumihar)	40,351,200	5.52%
Kshtriyas(Rajput)	28,509,000	3.90%
Maratha	16,155,100	2.21%
Jats	7,310,000	1%
Vaishya, Bania, etc.	13,742,800	1.88%
Kayasthas	7,821,700	1.07%
Others [ Including Yadavs (Kshtriyas) ]	14,620,000	2%
Non-Hindu communities and groups	121,346,000	16.6%	Non-Hindu scheduled and OBC
Muslim (Non S.T)	81,798,900	11.19%	0.02%
Christian (Non S.T)	15,789,600	2.16%	0.44%
Sikh (Non scheduled)	12,207,700	1.67%	0.22%
Buddhist (Non S.T)	4,897,700	0.67%	0.03%
Jain (Non scheduled)	3,435,700	0.47%
Other backward classes and communities (OBC)	380,120,000	52%	*OBC is a derived figure
Hindu OBC	318,716,000	43.60%
Non-Hindu OBC	61,404,000	8.40%	*52% of Non-Hindus

Ethnic groups

See also: South Asian ethnic groups, Ethnic relations in India, Caste system in India, Genetics and archaeogenetics of South Asia, and Languages of India

Population of India by Ethnic Group (Share of Total Population): 1951-2011

Year	Indo-Aryans and Aryanized people (%)	Dravidian people (%)	Sino-Tibetan people (%)	Austroasiatic (%)	Negrito (%)	Others (%)
1951	71.86	23.95	2.99	0.60	0.006	0.594
1961	72.24	23.91	2.93	0.59	0.005	0.325
1971	72.02	23.49	2.94	0.59	0.005	0.955
1981	71.98	23.98	2.88	0.58	0.005	0.575
1991	72.08	24.02	2.80	0.56	0.004	0.536
2001	71.25	24.89	2.83	0.57	0.004	0.456
2011	70.17	25.26	2.99	0.65	0.004	0.926

Sources:

• Census of India. New Delhi: Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India.

 1. **1951 Census of India:**
  – *Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India.* (1951). *1951 Census of India: Volume I – India (Part II-C) – Languages.* New Delhi: Government of India. Available at [1].

2. **1961 Census of India:**

  – *Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India.* (1961). *1961 Census of India: Volume I – India (Part II-C) – Languages.* New Delhi: Government of India. Available at .

3. **1971 Census of India:**

  – *Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India.* (1971). *1971 Census of India: Volume I – India (Part II-C) – Languages.* New Delhi: Government of India. Available at .

4. **1981 Census of India:**

  – *Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India.* (1981). *1981 Census of India: Volume II – India (Part II-C) – Languages.* New Delhi: Government of India. Available at .

5. **1991 Census of India:**

  – *Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India.* (1991). *1991 Census of India: Volume II – India (Part II-C) – Languages.* New Delhi: Government of India. Available at .

6. **2001 Census of India:**

  – *Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India.* (2001). *2001 Census of India: Volume II – India (Part II-C) – Languages.* New Delhi: Government of India. Available at .

7. **2011 Census of India:**

  – *Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India.* (2011). *2011 Census of India: Volume II – India (Part II-C) – Languages.* New Delhi: Government of India. Available at .

• Singh, K. S. (1992). *People of India: An Introduction*. Anthropological Survey of India. ISBN 8126012215 .

2. Ludden, David. (2013). India and South Asia: A Short History. Oneworld Publications. ISBN 1780741086 .

3. Bhagat, R. B. (2004). "Census Enumeration in India, 1991 and 2001: Issues and Concerns." Economic and Political Weekly.

Race and ethnicity

The national Census of India does not recognise racial or ethnic groups within India, but recognises many of the tribal groups as Scheduled Castes and Tribes (see list of Scheduled Tribes in India). For a list of ethnic groups in the Republic of India (as well as neighbouring countries), see South Asian ethnic groups.

Linguistic groups in India chart

  Indo-Aryan (75%)

  Dravidian (20%)

  Kolarian, Tibeto-Burman, Khasi, Tai and others (5%)

According to a 2009 study published by Reich et al.., the modern Indian population is composed of two genetically divergent and heterogeneous populations which mixed in ancient times (about 1,200–3,500 BP), known as Ancestral North Indians (ANI) and Ancestral South Indians (ASI). ASI corresponds to the Dravidian-speaking population of southern India, whereas ANI corresponds to the Indo-Aryan-speaking population of northern India. 700,000 people from the United States of any race live in India. Between 300,000 and 1 million Anglo-Indians live in India.

India is a country with a vast diversity of ethnic groups, each with its own distinct culture, language, and traditions. The major ethnic groups in India include the Indo-Aryans, Dravidians, Sino-Tibetans, Austroasiatic peoples, and various indigenous tribes. These groups are spread across different regions of India, each contributing to the country's rich cultural mosaic.

Major Ethnic Groups

Indo-Aryans and Aryanized People

Geographical Distribution: Predominantly in North India, including states like Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, and parts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

General Phenotype: Indo-Aryans typically have light to medium to dark skin tones, with a range of hair colors from black to brown. Facial features can include prominent noses and well-defined bone structures.

Sources:

• C. Majumdar, R. Mukherjee, "The History and Culture of the Indian People," Bhāratīya Itihāsa Samiti, 1951.
• S. B. Singh, "The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia," Cambridge University Press, 1995. ISBN 052141739X.

Dravidian People

Geographical Distribution: Predominantly in South India, including states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Kerala.

General Phenotype: Dravidians generally have darker skin tones, curly to wavy hair, and distinct facial features such as broader noses and fuller lips.

Sources:

• K. R. Subramanian, "The Dravidian Contribution to Indian Culture," Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1966.
• M. A. Rao, "History of South India," S. Chand & Company, 1976.

Sino-Tibetan People

Geographical Distribution: Predominantly in Northeast India, including states like Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and parts of Sikkim.

General Phenotype: Sino-Tibetan people often have lighter skin tones, straight black hair, and epicanthic folds in their eyelids, which are characteristic of East Asian phenotypes.

Sources:

• H. Risley, "The Tribes and Castes of Bengal," Calcutta, 1891.
• R. B. Singh, "Ethnic Groups of North-East India," Concept Publishing Company, 1994. ISBN 8170224974.

Austroasiatic Peoples

Geographical Distribution: Scattered across central and eastern India, with significant populations in Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, and Chhattisgarh.

General Phenotype: Austroasiatic people generally have light to medium to dark skin tones, wavy to curly hair, and facial features that are somewhat intermediate between Dravidian and Sino-Tibetan populations.

Sources:

• D. Balakrishnan, "Austroasiatic and Other Languages of Eastern India," Calcutta University Press, 1961.
• N. Chakrabarti, "The Austroasiatic Peoples of India," Anthropological Survey of India, 2003.

Negrito

Geographical Distribution: Primarily in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

General Phenotype: Negrito people typically have very dark skin, tightly curled hair, and small statures.

Sources:

• L. A. Waddell, "The Tribes of the Andaman Islands," Cambridge University Press, 1901.
• V. Ball, "Jungle Life in India," Dehli, 1972.

Genetics

See also: Genetics and archaeogenetics of South Asia

Y-chromosome DNA

Y-Chromosome DNA Y-DNA represents the male lineage, The Indian Y-chromosome pool may be summarised as follows where haplogroups R-M420, H, R2, L and NOP comprise generally more than 80% of the total chromosomes.

H	30%
R1a	34%
R2	15%
L	10%
NOP	10%	(Excluding R)
Other Haplogroups	15%

Mitochondrial DNA

Mitochondrial DNA mtDNA represents the female lineage. The Indian mitochondrial DNA is primarily made up of Haplogroup M

Haplogroup M	60%
Haplogroup UK	15%
Haplogroup N	25%	(Excluding UK)

Autosomal DNA

Tripuri children preparing for a dance performance. The Tripuris are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group.

Numerous genomic studies have been conducted in the last 15 years to seek insights into India's demographic and cultural diversity. These studies paint a complex and conflicting picture.

• In a 2003 study, Basu, Majumder et al.. have concluded on the basis of results obtained from mtDNA, Y-chromosome and autosomal markers that "(1) there is an underlying unity of female lineages in India, indicating that the initial number of female settlers may have been small; (2) the tribal and the caste populations are highly differentiated; (3) the Austroasiatic tribals are the earliest settlers in India, providing support to one anthropological hypothesis while refuting some others; (4) a major wave of humans entered India through the northeast; (5) the Tibeto-Burman tribals share considerable genetic commonalities with the Austroasiatic tribals, supporting the hypothesis that they may have shared a common habitat in southern China, but the two groups of tribals can be differentiated on the basis of Y-chromosomal haplotypes; (6) the Dravidian speaking populations were possibly widespread throughout India but are regulated to South India now; (7) formation of populations by fission that resulted in founder and drift effects have left their imprints on the genetic structures of contemporary populations; (8) the upper castes show closer genetic affinities with Central Asian populations, although those of southern India are more distant than those of northern India; (9) historical gene flow into India has contributed to a considerable obliteration of genetic histories of contemporary populations so that there is at present no clear congruence of genetic and geographical or sociocultural affinities."
• In a later 2010 review article, Majumder affirms some of these conclusions, introduces and revises some other. The ongoing studies, concludes Majumder, suggest India has served as the major early corridor for geographical dispersal of modern humans from out-of-Africa. The archaeological and genetic traces of the earliest settlers in India has not provided any conclusive evidence. The tribal populations of India are older than the non-tribal populations. The autosomal differentiation and genetic diversity within India's caste populations at 0.04 is significantly lower than 0.14 for continental populations and 0.09 for 31 world population sets studied by Watkins et al.., suggesting that while tribal populations were differentiated, the differentiation effects within India's caste population was less than previously thought. Majumder also concludes that recent studies suggest India has been a major contributor to the gene pool of southeast Asia.
• Another study covering a large sample of Indian populations allowed Watkins et al.. to examine eight Indian caste groups and four endogamous south Indian tribal populations. The Indian castes data show low between-group differences, while the tribal Indian groups show relatively high between-group differentiation. This suggests that people between Indian castes were not reproductively isolated, while Indian tribal populations experienced reproductive isolation and drift. Furthermore, the genetic fixation index data show historical genetic differentiation and segregation between Indian castes population is much smaller than those found in east Asia, Africa and other continental populations; while being similar to the genetic differentiation and segregation observed in European populations.
• In 2006, Sahoo et al.. reported their analysis of genomic data on 936 Y-chromosomes representing 32 tribal and 45 caste groups from different regions of India. These scientists find that the haplogroup frequency distribution across the country, between different caste groups, was found to be predominantly driven by geographical, rather than cultural determinants. They conclude there is clear evidence for both large-scale immigration into ancient India of Sino-Tibetan speakers and language change of former Austroasiatic speakers, in the northeast Indian region.
• The genome studies conducted up until 2010 have been on relatively small population sets. Many are from just one southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana, which was part of the state until June 2014). Thus, any conclusions on demographic history of India must be interpreted with caution. A larger national genome study with demographic growth and sex ratio balances may offer further insights on the extent of genetic differentiation and segregation in India over the millenniums.

See also

• Census in British India
• Culture of India
• Non-resident Indian and Overseas Citizen of India
• Immigration to India
• Demographics of Central Asia
• Female foeticide in India
• Hinduism in India
• Jainism in India
• Sikhism in India
• Islam in India
• Christianity in India
• Judaism in India
• Zoroastrianism in India
• Irreligion in India

Government

• 2011 Census of India
• National Commission on Population

Lists

• List of states and union territories of India by population
• List of states and union territories of India by fertility rate
• List of Indian states by life expectancy at birth
• List of cities in India by population
• List of metropolitan areas in India
• List of million-plus urban agglomerations in India

Bibliography

• Arnold, David. Pandemic India: From Cholera to COVID-19 (Oxford University Press, 2022). Venkatesh, Archana (January 2023). "Review of Arnold, David, Pandemic India: From Cholera to Covid-19". H-Net Reviews.
• Chakravorty, Swastika, Srinivas Goli, and Kuriath S. James. "Family demography in India: Emerging patterns and its challenges". Sage Open 11.2 (2021): doi:10.1177/2158244021100817.
• Chamie, Joseph; Mirkin, Barry (August 2017), "Busting at the seams: India is unprepared for a near future when it will be the world's most populous country", Quartz. Joseph Chamie is former director of the United Nations Population Division and Barry Mirkin is former chief of the Population Policy Section of the United Nations Population Division.
• Chandrasekhar, S., and Ajay Sharma. "Urbanization and spatial patterns of internal migration in India". Spatial demography 3.2 (2015): 63–89.
• Sekher, T. V. "Rural demography of India". in International handbook of rural demography (Springer, Dordrecht, 2012) pp. 169–189.
• Smith, Robert D., and Mohandas K. Mallath. "History of the growing burden of cancer in India: from antiquity to the 21st century". Journal of Global Oncology 5 (2019): 1–15.

Medieval India

• Lal, K. S. (1978). Growth of Muslim population in medieval India (A.D. 1000–1800). Delhi, Research Publications.
• Lal, K. S. (1995). Growth of scheduled tribes and castes in medieval India. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan.

External links

• Census of India; government site with detailed data from 2001 census
• Anthropological Survey of India
• Population of India as per Census India 2011
• Census of India map generator; generates maps based on 2001 census figures
• Demographic data for India; provides sources of demographic data for India
• 2001 maps; provides maps of social, economic and demographic data of India in 2001
• Population of India 2011 map; distribution of population amongst states and union territories
• India's Demographic Outlook: Implications and Trends
• "World Population Prospects Archived 1 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine": Country Profile – India
• Aggregated demographic statistics from Indian and global data sources
• Demographic statistics for India – online on Bluenomics
• India comparing with China population projection graph Based on data from database of UN Population Division.