India is the second most populated country in the world with nearly a fifth of the world's population.
According to  the population stood at .
In December 2021, India's population crossed 1.4 Billion.
(The Worldometers clock page said "The current population of India is 1,399,716,988 as of Wednesday, December 15, 2021, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data." on December 16, 2021, after the population was already above 1.4 billion )https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/india-population/
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%, down from 2.3% from 1972 to 1983, 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.
In 2020, the average age of an Indian is 29 years, compared to 37 for China and 48 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 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.
1,000,000 people in India are Anglo-Indians and 700,000 United States citizens 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 economic historians, along with interpolated estimates and overall aggregate averages derived from their estimates.
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.Angus Maddison (2001), The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective, page 242, OECD Development Centre Under the Mughal Empire, India experienced a high economic and demographic upsurge, due to Mughal agrarian reforms that intensified agricultural production.John F. Richards (1995), The Mughal Empire, page 190, Cambridge University Press 15% of the population lived in urban centres, higher than the percentage of the population in 19th-century British IndiaAbraham Eraly (2007), The Mughal World: Life in India's Last Golden Age, page 5, Penguin Books and contemporary Europe up until the 19th century.
Those estimates were criticized by Tim Dyson, who consider them exaggerations.
According to Dyson urbanization of Mughal empire was less than 9%
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.
Life expectancy from 1881 to 1950
The population of India under the British Raj (including what are now Pakistan and Bangladesh) according to censuses:
Studies of India's population since 1881 have focused on such topics as total population, birth and death rates,354646465, 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 populationRural-Urban distribution Census of India: Census Data 2001: India at a glance >> Rural-Urban Distribution.
Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India.
Retrieved 26 November 2008.
lived in about 638,000 villagesNumber of Villages Census of India: Number of Villages Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India.
Retrieved 26 November 2008.
and the remaining 27.8% lived in more than 5,100 towns and over 380 urban agglomerations.Urban Agglomerations and Towns Census of India: Urban Agglomerations and Towns.
Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India.
Retrieved 26 November 2008.
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
List of states and union territories by demographics
Population growth of India per decade<ref name="Census Population">{{cite web|url=http://indiabudget.nic.in/es2006-07/chapt2007/tab97.pdf|title=Census Population|work=Census of India|publisher=Ministry of Finance India|access-date=1 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219073658/http://indiabudget.nic.in/es2006-07/chapt2007/tab97.pdf|archive-date=19 December 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Population distribution by states/union territories (2011)
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.
;Characteristics of religious groups
Neonatal and infant demographics
thumb|390px|Male to female sex ratio for India, based on its official census data, from 1941 through 2011."
Sex Composition of the Population", Office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (2013) 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.
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<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web |url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in |title=Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India |publisher=Censusindia.gov.in |access-date=26 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511035603/http://censusindia.gov.in/ |archive-date=11 May 2008}}</ref>
Population above the age of 7
thumb|390px|Life expectancy map of India, 2011–2016.(a)
Ponnapalli et al. (2013), Aging and the Demographic Transition in India and Its States: A Comparative Perspective, International Journal of Asian Social Science, 3(1), pp.
171–193; (b) [http://www.prb.org/pdf07/futurepopulationofindia.pdf The Future Population of India] Population Research Bureau and Population Fund of India.
Population above the age of 7 by state/union territory<ref name=autogenerated1 />
Literacy rate
thumb|390px|Literacy rate map of India, 2011.
Literacy rate by state/union territory<ref name=autogenerated1 />
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 [[Indian census|2001 census]]<ref>[http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/Statement1.aspx Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues – 2000] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206233628/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/Statement1.htm|date=6 February 2012}}, Census of India, 2001</ref>
Largest cities of India
Vital statistics
UN estimates
United Nations, World Population Prospects: The 2019 revision – India<ref>{{Cite web|title=World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations|url=https://population.un.org/wpp/DataQuery/|access-date=2021-05-28|website=population.un.org}}</ref>
Census of India: sample registration system
thumb|390px|Total fertility rate map: average births per woman by states and union territories, 2012Table in [http://www.censusindia.gov.in/vital_statistics/SRS_Report_2012/10_Chap_3_2012.pdf Chapter 3] Vital Statistics of India, Estimates of Fertility Indicators, Census of India, Government of India (2013), page 48 thumb|390px|Total fertility rate map: average births per woman by districts, 2011
Census of India: sample registration system<ref>{{cite web|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2.htm#2001|title=United Nations Statistics Division – Demographic and Social Statistics}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Vital_Statistics/SRS_Bulletins/Bulletins.aspx|title=Census of India : Sample Registration System (SRS) Bulletins|last=ORGI|website=www.censusindia.gov.in}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011-Common/Annual_Report.html|title=Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|website=www.censusindia.gov.in}}</ref><ref>http://rchiips.org/NFHS/pdf/NFHS4/India.pdf</ref>
Life expectancy
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
Population pyramid 2016 (estimates):http://www.censusindia.gov.in/vital_statistics/SRS_Report_2016/9.SRS%20Statistical%20Report-Detailed%20tables-2016.pdf
Population Percentage by age group
Fertility rate
From the Demographic Health Survey:
Crude birth rate and total fertility rate (wanted fertility rate)
Crude birth rate and total fertility rate (wanted fertility rate) 2015–2016
Regional vital statistics
Birth rate, death rate, natural growth rate, and infant mortality rate, by state or UT(2010)<ref>[http://www.censusindia.gov.in/vital_statistics/SRS_Bulletins/SRS%20Bulletin_%20December%202011%20.pdf] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131102919/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/vital_statistics/SRS_Bulletins/SRS%20Bulletin_%20December%202011%20.pdf|date=31 January 2012}}</ref>
CIA World Factbook demographic statistics
thumb|390px|Map showing the population density in India, per 2011 Census.(a) [http://censusindia.gov.in/ Census 2011 Final]
, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (may need subscription); (b) The data is mirrored here: [http://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/data_files/india/Final_PPT_2011chapter7.pdf Density of Population], Chapter 7, Census of India (2013)
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),Census India, 2011, chapter 3 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)Ranking of states and union territories by literacy rate: 2011 Census of India Report (2013) 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:
2.35 (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.)
Religious Composition Census of India: Census Data 2001: India at a glance >> Religious Composition.
Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India.
Retrieved 26 November 2008.International Religious Freedom Report 2007 — India International Religious Freedom Report 2007.
U.S. Department of State.
;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.Rupert Goodwins.Smashing India's language barriers .
ZDNet UK 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)
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<ref>Based on P.N. Mari Bhat, "Indian Demographic Scenario 2025", Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi, Discussion Paper No. 27/2001.
</ref>
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,Kumar, Jayant.
Census of India.
2001.
4 September 2006.
Indian Census 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.Hammer et al. 2005, S. Sahoo et al. 2006, R. Trivedi et al. 2007, Zhao et al. 2008
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 MSemino et al. 2000, Kivisild et al. 2003, Metspalu et al. 2004, Rajkumar et al. 2005, Chandrasekar et al. 2007, Gonzalez et al. 2007
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.
See also
Census of India prior to independence
Culture of India
Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin
Demographics of Central Asia
Female foeticide in India
Human population planning
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 fertility rate
List of states and union territories of India by population
List of cities in India by population
List of metropolitan areas in India
List of million-plus urban agglomerations in India
Notes
References
Bibliography
.
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.
;Historical
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
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": 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
