Demographics of India

India is the second most populated country in the world with nearly a fifth of the world’s population. According to the 2019 revision of the World Population Prospects the population stood at 1,352,642,280.

Between 1975 and 2010, the population doubled to 1.2 billion, reaching the billion mark in 1998. India is projected to surpass China to become the world’s most populous country by 2024. It is expected to become the first country to be home to more than 1.5 billion people by 2030, and its population is set to reach 1.7 billion by 2050. Its population growth rate is 1.13%, ranking 112th in the world in 2017.

India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of 35. It is expected that, in 2020, the average age of an Indian will be 29 years, compared to 37 for China and 48 for Japan; and, by 2030, India’s dependency ratio should 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 more than two thousand 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 (Kashmir)). 1,000,000 people in India are Anglo-Indians and 700,000 Westerners from the United States are living in India. 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 last century.

History

Prehistory to early 19th century

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 different 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 up to 1000 AD. The population growth rate then increased in the late medieval era (during the Delhi Sultanate) from 1000 to 1500.

India’s population growth rate under the Mughal Empire (16th–18th centuries) was higher than during any previous period in Indian history. Under the Mughal Empire, India experienced an unprecedented economic and demographic upsurge, due to Mughal agrarian reforms that intensified agricultural production, proto-industrialization that established India as the most important centre of manufacturing in international trade, and a relatively high degree of urbanisation for its time; 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.

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).

In the early 18th century, the average life expectancy in Mughal India was 35 years. In comparison, the average life expectancy for several European nations in the 18th century were 34 years in early modern England, up to 30 years in France, and about 25 years in Prussia.

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, growth 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…”. 

Salient features

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 nearly double that of India, it is expected to surpass both China and India by 2025.

Comparative demographics

Comparative demographics

Category	Global ranking	References
Area	7th
Population	2nd
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

Population growth of India per decade

Census year	Population	Change (%)
1951	361,088,000	–
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	1,210,726,932	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

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 Percent (%) All 1,210,854,977 100.00 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 Religious group Population % 1951 Population % 1961 Population % 1971 Population % 1981 Population % 1991 Population % 2001 Population % 2011 Hinduism 84.1% 83.45% 82.73% 82.30% 81.53% 80.46% 79.80% Islam 9.8% 10.69% 11.21% 11.75% 12.61% 13.43% 14.23% Christianity 2.3% 2.44% 2.60% 2.44% 2.32% 2.34% 2.30% Sikhism 1.79% 1.79% 1.89% 1.92% 1.94% 1.87% 1.72% Buddhism 0.74% 0.74% 0.70% 0.70% 0.77% 0.77% 0.70% Jainism 0.46% 0.46% 0.48% 0.47% 0.40% 0.41% 0.37% Zoroastrianism 0.13% 0.09% 0.09% 0.09% 0.08% 0.06% n/a Others/Religion not specified 0.43% 0.43% 0.41% 0.42% 0.44% 0.72% 0.9%

Characteristics of religious groups

Religious group	Population (2011) %	Growth (2001–2011)	Sex ratio (2011) (total)	Sex ratio (2011) (rural)	Sex ratio (2011) (urban)	Sex ratio (2011) (child)	Literacy (2011) (%)	Work participation (2011) (%)
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

Neonatal and infant demographics

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

Some activists believe 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. These claims are controversial. Scientists who study human sex ratios and demographic trends suggest that birth sex ratio between 1.08 and 1.12 can be because of natural factors, such as the age of mother at baby’s birth, age of father at baby’s birth, number of babies per couple, economic stress, endocrinological factors, etc. The 2011 census birth sex ratio in India, of 917 girls to 1000 boys, is similar to 870–930 girls to 1000 boys birth sex ratios observed in Japanese, Chinese, Cuban, Filipino and Hawaiian ethnic groups in the United States between 1940 and 2005. They are also similar to birth sex ratios below 900 girls to 1000 boys observed in mothers of different age groups and gestation periods in the United States.

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 7

Population above the age of 7 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 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

41.03% of the Indians speak Hindi while the rest speak 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. The 22 languages are Languages specified in the Eighth Schedule of Indian Constitution and 100 non-specified languages.

The table immediately 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

Largest cities of India

List of cities in India by population

Vital statistics

UN estimates

United Nations, World Population Prospects: The 2019 revision – India

Period	Births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR1	CDR1	NC1	TFR1	IMR1
1950–1955	16,832,000	9,928,000	6,904,000	43.3	25.5	17.7	5.90	165.0
1955–1960	17,981,000	9,686,000	8,295,000	42.1	22.7	19.4	5.90	153.1
1960–1965	19,086,000	9,358,000	9,728,000	40.4	19.8	20.6	5.82	140.1
1965–1970	20,611,000	9,057,000	11,554,000	39.2	17.2	22.0	5.69	128.5
1970–1975	22,022,000	8,821,000	13,201,000	37.5	15.0	22.5	5.26	118.0
1975–1980	24,003,000	8,584,000	15,419,000	36.3	13.0	23.3	4.89	106.4
1980–1985	25,577,000	8,763,000	16,814,000	34.5	11.8	22.7	4.47	95.0
1985–1990	26,935,000	9,073,000	17,862,000	32.5	10.9	21.5	4.11	85.1
1990–1995	27,566,000	9,400,000	18,166,000	30.0	10.2	19.8	3.72	76.4
1995–2000	27,443,000	9,458,000	17,985,000	27.2	9.4	17.8	3.31	68.9
2000–2005	27,158,000	9,545,000	17,614,000	25.2	8.4	16.9	3.14	–
2005–2010	27,271,000	9,757,000	17,514,000	22.8	7.8	15.0	2.80	–
2010–2015	27,243,000	–	–	19.6	7.3	12.3	2.40	–
2015–2020	–	–	–	18.0	7.2	11.8	2.24	–
2020–2025	–	–	–	16.9	7.4	9.5	2.14	–
2025–2030	–	–	–	16.0	7.7	8.3	2.05	–
1 CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births

Census of India: sample registration system

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	28.7	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	1,302,896,000	26,057,920	8,077,955	17,979,965	20.0	6.2	13.8	2.15
1 The numbers of births and deaths were calculated from the birth and death rates and the average population.

Life expectancy

Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	36.6
1955–1960	39.7
1960–1965	42.7
1965–1970	46.0
1970–1975	49.4
1975–1980	52.5
1980–1985	54.9
1985–1990	56.7
1990–1995	59.1
1995–2000	61.5
2000–2005	63.5
2005–2010	65.6
2010–2015	67.6

Source: UN World Population Prospects

Structure of the population

Structure of the population (9 February 2011) (Census) age wise are shown below:

Population by age group

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

Population pyramid 2016 (estimates):

Population by age group

Age group	Male	Female	Total
0–4	8.7	8.2	8.5
5–9	9.1	8.8	8.9
10–14	9.8	9.4	9.6
15–19	10.4	9.9	10.1
20–24	10.2	10.7	10.4
25–29	9.5	9.8	9.7
30–34	8.1	8.0	8.1
35–39	7.0	7.2	7.1
40–44	6.1	6.1	6.1
45–49	5.3	5.4	5.3
50–54	4.4	4.3	4.3
55–59	3.5	3.7	3.6
60–64	3.0	3.1	3.1
65–69	2.1	2.2	2.2
70–74	1.4	1.5	1.5
75–79	0.8	0.9	0.9
80–84	0.4	0.5	0.5
85+	0.2	0.3	0.3
0–14	27.6	26.4	27.0
15–64	67.5	68.2	67.8
65+	4.9	5.4	5.4

Fertility rate

From the Demographic Health Survey:

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

Year	CBR – Total	TFR – Total1	CBR – Urban	TFR – Urban1	CBR – Rural	TFR – Rural1
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)
CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman). 1Number in parenthesis represents the wanted fertility rate.

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

State (Population 2011)	CBR – Total	TFR – Total1	CBR – Urban	TFR – Urban1	CBR – Rural	TFR – Rural1
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 parenthesis 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

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), 1,281,935,911 (July 2017 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: 28.7 years

Male: 28 years

female: 29.5 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate :

1.1% (2020 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:

7.80%

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:

2.35 (2020 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; and 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 Indian languages by total speakers. 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

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

There has not yet been a proper consensus on contemporary figures.

The following data are from the Mandal report:

caste demographics (1983)

caste	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%
Forward Hindu castes/communities	128,509,800	17.58%
Brahmin (including Bhumihar)	40,351,200	5.52%
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%
Other Hindu forward castes	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

Population projections

India is projected to overtake China as the world’s most populous nation by 2027. These projections make assumptions about future fertility and death rates which may not turn out to be correct in the event. Fertility rates also vary from region to region, with some higher than the national average and some lower of China.

2020 estimate

In millions

Future projections

Year	Under 15	15–64	65+	Total
2000	361	604	45	1010
2005	368	673	51	1093
2010	370	747	58	1175
2015	372	819	65	1256
2020	373	882	76	1332

2021 estimate

According to the data provided by United Nations, India’s Population in 2021 is estimated to be 1.39 Billion with a growth rate of 1.2%.

Ethnic groups

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).

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.

For a list of ethnic groups in the Republic of India (as well as neighbouring countries) see ethnic groups of the Indian subcontinent.

Genetics

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

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.