India Population

India is one of the world’s largest and most populous countries, and is often referred to as the world’s largest democracy. One of history’s first advanced civilizations emerged here more than 5,000 years ago. Economic growth has been tremendous since the year 2000, but India is characterized by a great deal of inequality, and a large part of the population lives in poverty.

Key figures and facts

• Capital: New Delhi
• Ethnic groups: Indo-Europeans 72%, Dravids 25%, Mongols and others 3% (2000)
• Language: Hindi 43.6%, Bengali 8%, Merathi 6.9%, Telugu 6.7%, Tamil 5.7%, 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)
• Religion: Hindus 79.8%, Muslims 14.2%, Christians 2.3%, Sikhs 1.7%, other/unspecified/none 2% (2011)
• Population: 1 354 051 854 (2017)
• Control Form: Federal, Parliamentary Republic
• Area: 3 287 260 km2
• Currency: rupee
• GNP per capita: 6 571 PPP $
• National Day: August 15th

India has over one billion residents and is the world’s second most populous country after China. The country is relatively densely populated, and the population consists of a number of different ethnic groups.

Population

The population passed 250 million in the mid-1920s and 500 million in 1966. During 1999, the billion passed, and according to UN population statistics, the figure in 2014 was about 1.26 billion. Average life expectancy has increased significantly in recent years. While it was as low as 32 years in 1951 and 47 years in 1971, life expectancy in 2014 had risen to about 68.1 years for women and 64.6 years for men. The increase in life expectancy is due, among other things, to the effective control of many diseases such as tuberculosis, smallpox, cholera and malaria and a rapidly falling infant mortality rate.

Population of India by Year (Historical)

Year	Population	Annual Growth Rate	Population Density	Global Rank
2020	1,380,004,274	0.990%	464.1494	2
2019	1,366,417,643	1.020%	459.5797	2
2018	1,352,642,169	1.040%	454.9465	2
2017	1,338,676,674	1.070%	450.2493	2
2016	1,324,517,138	1.100%	445.4869	2
2015	1,310,152,292	1.200%	440.6555	2
2010	1,234,281,059	1.470%	415.1370	2
2005	1,147,609,816	1.670%	385.9861	2
2000	1,056,575,438	1.850%	355.3677	2
1995	963,922,477	1.990%	324.2048	2
1990	873,277,687	2.170%	293.7174	2
1985	784,359,897	2.330%	263.8109	2
1980	698,952,733	2.320%	235.0852	2
1975	623,102,786	2.330%	209.5739	2
1970	555,189,681	2.150%	186.7320	2
1965	499,123,213	2.070%	167.8747	2
1960	450,547,568	1.910%	151.5368	2
1955	409,880,484	1.720%	137.8589	2
1950	376,325,089	0.000%	126.5729	2

Major Cities in India by Population

Rank	City	Population
1	Mumbai	12,691,725
2	Delhi	10,927,875
3	Bengaluru	5,103,936
4	Kolkata	4,631,281
5	Chennai	4,327,952
6	Ahmedabad	3,719,599
7	Hyderabad	3,597,705
8	Pune	2,935,633
9	Surat	2,894,393
10	Kanpur	2,823,138
11	Jaipur	2,711,647
12	Navi Mumbai	2,599,889
13	Lucknow	2,471,900
14	Nagpur	2,227,907
15	Indore	1,836,930
16	Patna	1,599,809
17	Bhopal	1,599,803
18	Ludhiana	1,545,257
19	Tirunelveli	1,435,733
20	Agra	1,429,944
21	Vadodara	1,409,365
22	Gorakhpur	1,324,459
23	Nashik	1,289,386
24	Pimpri	1,284,495
25	Kalyan	1,262,144
26	Thane	1,261,406
27	Meerut	1,223,073
28	Nowrangapur	1,220,835
29	Faridabad	1,220,118
30	Ghaziabad	1,199,080
31	Dombivli	1,192,889
32	Rajkot	1,177,251
33	Varanasi	1,164,293
34	Amritsar	1,092,339
35	Allahabad	1,073,327
36	Visakhapatnam	1,063,067
37	Teni	1,034,613
38	Jabalpur	1,030,057
39	Haora	1,027,561
40	Aurangabad	1,016,330
41	Shivaji Nagar	999,889
42	Solapur	997,170
43	Srinagar	975,746
44	Chandigarh	960,676
45	Coimbatore	959,712
46	Jodhpur	921,365
47	Madurai	909,797
48	Guwahati	898,983
49	Gwalior	882,347
50	Vijayawada	874,476
51	Mysore	868,202
52	Ranchi	846,343
53	Hubli	840,103
54	Jalandhar	785,067
55	Thiruvananthapuram	784,042
56	Salem	778,285
57	Tiruchirappalli	775,373
58	Kota	762,977
59	Bhubaneshwar	762,132
60	Aligarh	753,096
61	Bareilly	745,324
62	Moradabad	721,028
63	Bhiwandi	706,924
64	Raipur	679,884
65	Gorakhpur	674,135
66	Bhilai	625,027
67	Jamshedpur	616,227
68	Borivli	609,506
69	Cochin	604,585
70	Amravati	603,726
71	Sangli	601,103
72	Cuttack	579,889
73	Bikaner	575,904
74	Warangal	557,691
75	Bhavnagar	554,867
76	Nanded	550,453
77	Raurkela	536,339
78	Guntur	530,466
79	Dehra Dun	521,970
80	Bhayandar	520,190
81	Durgapur	518,761
82	Ajmer	517,800
83	Ulhasnagar	516,473
84	Kolhapur	516,031
85	Shiliguri	515,463
86	Bilimora	510,768
87	Karol Bagh	505,130
88	Asansol	504,160
89	Jamnagar	491,945
90	Saharanpur	484,762
91	Gulbarga	483,504
92	Bhatpara	483,018
93	Jammu	465,456
94	Kurnool	460,073
95	Ujjain	457,235
96	Ramgundam	452,150
97	Shyamnagar	441,845
98	Nangi	440,783
99	Kozhikode	439,811
100	Malegaon	435,251
101	Davangere	435,017
102	Jalgaon	429,187
103	Akola	428,746
104	Belgaum	428,609
105	Gaya	423,581
106	Udaipur	422,673
107	Korba	419,035
108	Bokaro	418,422
109	Mangalore	417,276
110	Jhansi	412,816
111	Thoothukudi	410,649
112	Nellore	404,047
113	Tiruppur	397,410
114	Kollam	394,052
115	Panihati	378,594
116	Ahmadnagar	367,029
117	Dhulia	366,869
118	Bhagalpur	361,437
119	Punasa	349,889
120	Muzaffarnagar	349,595
121	Latur	348,856
122	Kukatpalli	341,598
123	Ambattur	340,938
124	Bellary	336,570
125	Muzaffarpur	333,089
126	Kamarhati	332,854
127	Mathura	330,400
128	Patiala	329,113
129	Chanda	328,240
130	Bhilwara	326,320
131	Trichur	324,999
132	Brahmapur	324,615
133	Shahjanpur	320,323
134	Shimoga	319,439
135	New Delhi	317,686
136	Rohtak	317,134
137	Tumkur	307,248
138	Firozabad	306,298
139	Nizamabad	305,327
140	Kulti	305,294
141	Rajahmundry	304,693
142	Barddhaman	301,614
143	Barasat	298,016
144	Bali	296,862
145	Hisar	296,325
146	Rampur	296,307
147	Noida	293,797
148	Greater Noida	293,797
149	Kakinada	292,812
150	Panipat	292,697
151	Parbhani	289,518
152	Darbhanga	287,039
153	Alwar	283,117
154	Bilaspur	282,594
155	Ichalkaranji	274,272
156	Bijapur	270,953
157	Aizawl	265,220
158	Jalna	261,923
159	Lal Bahadur Nagar	261,876
160	Dewas	261,107
161	Baranagar	259,961
162	Gajuwaka	258,833
163	Satna	257,667
164	Etawah	257,337
165	Durg	255,172
166	Naihati	253,110
167	Tirupati	250,710
168	Sonipat	250,410
169	Avadi	249,933
170	Tiruvottiyur	247,948
171	Saugor	247,222
172	Mau	245,939
173	Bihar Sharif	244,119
174	Hapur	242,809
175	Bathinda	242,689
176	Farrukhabad	241,041
177	Anantapur	240,331
178	Barasat	237,672
179	Ratlam	236,732
180	Ramagundam	234,889
181	Ganganagar	231,727
182	Bharatpur	229,273
183	Karimnagar	228,634
184	Puducherry	227,300
185	Shrirampur	226,206
186	Raichur	225,851
187	Quthbullapur	225,705
188	Karnal	224,938
189	Arrah	223,565
190	Imphal	223,412
191	Gosaba	222,653
192	Mirzapur	219,918
193	Kharagpur	219,554
194	Dhanbad	219,525
195	Tanjore	219,460
196	Amarnath	217,669
197	Nagercoil	213,747
198	Pali	209,992
199	Yamunanagar	208,820
200	Rewa	208,350
201	Secunderabad	204,071
202	Bidar	203,960
203	Agartala	203,153
204	Monghyr	203,052
205	Burhanpur	202,584
206	Nadiad	201,956
207	Chapra	201,486
208	Dindigul	200,686
209	Panchkula	199,889
210	Sikar	199,821
211	Bulandshahr	198,501
212	Purnia	198,342
213	Hospet	197,735
214	Gurgaon	197,229
215	Sambhal	195,998
216	Gandhinagar	195,874
217	Murwara	195,745
218	Nangloi Jat	194,252
219	Machilipatnam	192,716
220	Katihar	192,444
221	Bhiwani	190,744
222	Kultali	187,831
223	Raebareli	186,322
224	Haridwar	185,968
225	Singrauli	185,469
226	Junagadh	184,336
227	Sujangarh	183,697
228	Ellore	183,276
229	Bhusaval	182,890
230	Khandwa	182,730
231	Bahraigh	182,107
232	Sirsa	181,528
233	Chandannagar	180,512
234	Baharampur	180,436
235	Surendranagar	179,517
236	Vizianagaram	179,247
237	Proddatur	177,686
238	Vellore	176,970
239	Hugli	176,894
240	Alleppey	176,672
241	Amroha	176,142
242	Tambaram	174,676
243	Pathankot	174,195
244	Bhind	173,924
245	Shimla	173,392
246	Ongole	172,761
247	Gadag-Betageri	172,702
248	Puri	170,730
249	Haldia	170,584
250	Khammam	170,392
251	Raiganj	170,141
252	Ingraj Bazar	169,928
253	Jaunpur	169,461
254	Fatehpur	166,369
255	Gandhidham	166,277
256	Nandyal	165,226
257	Udupi	164,889
258	Loni	164,699
259	Sitapur	164,324
260	Shivpuri	164,104
261	Bhadravati	163,792
262	Adoni	163,520
263	Veraval	163,215
264	Sambalpur	162,776
265	Gadag	162,458
266	Unnao	161,560
267	Budaun	161,444
268	Jind	161,149
269	Madhyamgram	161,015
270	Jamuria	160,131
271	Jaigaon	158,553
272	Cuddalore	158,458
273	Orai	158,154
274	Hoshiarpur	158,031
275	Pallavaram	157,034
276	Hanumangarh	155,576
277	Kanchipuram	154,918
278	Alandur	153,664
279	Guna	153,578
280	Bahadurgarh	153,502
281	Bharuch	153,417
282	Medinipur	153,238
283	Fyzabad	152,936
284	Dinapore	152,829
285	Silchar	152,282
286	Banda	152,107
287	Morena	151,893
288	Tonk	151,220
289	Raj-Nandgaon	150,644
290	Serilingampalle	150,414
291	Virar	150,246
292	Malkajgiri	149,889
293	Shantipur	149,872
294	Barakpur	148,063
295	Erode	147,159
296	Ambala	146,676
297	Krishnanagar	145,815
298	Saharsa	145,653
299	Batala	145,357
300	Bhimavaram	142,856
301	Balurghat	141,293
302	Kaithal	140,493
303	Lakhimpur	140,112
304	Hazaribagh	139,952
305	Vidisha	139,934
306	Haldwani	139,386
307	Habra	139,186
308	Kumbakonam	139,153
309	Porbandar	138,761
310	Chitradurga	138,476
311	Thanesar	138,168
312	Tiruvannamalai	138,132
313	Anand	137,898
314	Kanchrapara	136,843
315	Mahbubnagar	136,024
316	Dimapur	135,749
317	Robertsonpet	135,107
318	Chhindwara	134,736
319	Mandya	134,734
320	Bankura	133,855
321	Hajipur	133,495
322	Gonda City	133,472
323	Bhuj	133,348
324	Hindupur	133,187
325	Shillong	132,731
326	Palghat	132,617
327	Godhra	131,802
328	Kishangarh	131,638
329	Raniganj	131,150
330	Pilibhit	130,897
331	Beawar	130,666
332	Abohar	130,492
333	Moga	130,438
334	Dehri	129,827
335	Deoria	129,459
336	Hassan	128,420
337	Khardah	128,235
338	Yavatmal	128,064
339	Halisahar	128,061
340	Panvel	127,935
341	Titagarh	127,640
342	Cuddapah	126,899
343	Bettiah	126,897
344	Hathras	126,771
345	Lalitpur	126,364
346	Kolar	126,330
347	Mandsaur	124,877
348	Gondia	124,786
349	Rajapalaiyam	124,057
350	Darjiling	123,686
351	Mohali	123,373
352	Palanpur	123,183
353	Dam Dam	122,608
354	Hardoi	122,524
355	Puruliya	122,422
356	Dibrugarh	122,044
357	Palwal	121,854
358	Nalgonda	121,715
359	Bhadreswar	121,551
360	Vejalpur	121,499
361	Chikmagalur	121,373
362	Raigarh	121,167
363	Guntakal Junction	120,853
364	Gangapur	120,004
365	Deoli	119,889
366	Siwan	119,070
367	Damoh	118,665
368	Adilabad	118,415
369	Chicacole	118,188
370	Uppal Kalan	118,148
371	Jetpur	117,957
372	Morbi	117,911
373	Patan	117,752
374	Khanna	117,026
375	Botad	116,942
376	Rishra	116,903
377	Azamgarh	116,533
378	Yelahanka	116,336
379	Gudivada	116,050
380	Baidyabati	115,393
381	Basti	115,004
382	Balasore	114,210
383	Dharmavaram	113,939
384	Maler Kotla	113,729
385	Wardha	113,648
386	Jhunjhunun	113,082
387	Satara	112,682
388	Chanduasi	112,524
389	Mothihari	112,033
390	Chas	112,030
391	Pudukkottai	112,007
392	Rewari	111,968
393	Port Blair	111,939
394	Suriapet	111,618
395	Bangaon	111,582
396	Chhatarpur	111,483
397	Ashoknagar Kalyangarh	111,364
398	Achalpur	111,167
399	Navadwip	111,012
400	Barsi	110,872

Population Composition

Ethnic conditions in India are complex. Throughout history, immigration has led to a diversity of peoples, languages and cultural forms in the Indian subcontinent. Over the centuries, the peoples’ groups have interfered with each other so strongly that the individual groups cannot be clearly delimited.

In India, it is not ethnic origin or skin color that differentiates the ethnic groups, but primarily language. The languages, though showing a certain correspondence with cultural and ethnic differences, have also formed the basis for India’s division into states after independence.

Based on linguistic and ethnic criteria, it is common to divide India into three regional groups or zones, in addition to the Dravidian in the south: the central, the northern and the border zone in the north, northeast and east. In the central and the northern zone, indigenous languages ​​are spoken, and the individual language communities largely coincide with the division into states.

A number of different peoples live in the border zone. Along the southern slopes of the Himalayas, the population from the higher castes is Indo-speaking Pahari, while the people from the lower castes are of Tibetan-Burmese origin. In Assam’s border areas with Tibet and Myanmar, a number of people live in Tibetan-Burmese languages, such as naga, aka, dafla, apatani and lakher. Otherwise, there are tribal people in most regions of India.

Officially, 7.5 percent of India’s population is classified as tribal. The groups called tribes have in common that they usually live in relatively inaccessible jungle or mountain areas, speak their own languages ​​and, unlike the peasant population, otherwise do not practice plowing, but swearing. This farming is often combined with hunting and retrieval, in some cases also domestic livestock. Most tribal people are counted on the pre-Dravidian population, that is, their roots in the area go further back than the rest of the population.

Settlement Pattern

India, with 354 residents per square kilometer in 2013, is relatively densely populated, but the population density shows large regional variations. The most densely populated are the North Indian lowlands and the coast of southern India with 500-1000 residents per square kilometer. The highest population density has the state of West Bengal with over 900 residents per square kilometer in 2013, followed by Bihar and Kerala. Large parts of the Deccan Plateau have a population density of 100–200 residents per square kilometer, while the peripheral areas, ie the border areas to the northwest and northeast as well as Rajasthan, are the least populated with 50–100 residents per square kilometer.

About 69 percent of India’s population resides in rural areas. See also table of major cities.

The population picture is complicated by the distinction between the caste of Hindu India and other groups, some called tribes and other religious sects, such as Syrian Christians, Sikhs and Jainists.

The use of the term caste, tribe and sect is not very consistent, and in many cases can only be taken as a clue to the group’s origin. In conjunction with Hindus, all such groups are ranked according to ritual purity with reference to the Hindu categories Brahmans (priests), kshatriya (warriors), vaishya (traders), shudra (servants) and “untouchables”, as these categories are prescribed in Hindu Holy writings.

Through this process, the most diverse peoples are integrated into the Indian community, although this integration varies in form and degree. From a Hindu point of view, all the units are cast, while the groups themselves may think that they are outside or in direct opposition to Hinduism. This is true of many Christian and Muslim sects, and some of the larger tribal communities, such as Santals.

According to the Indian Constitution, the caste system does not exist. Nevertheless, it still largely determines the Indians’ social, political and occupational affiliation, although it is slowly eroding among the middle class in the big cities.