India is the most populous country in the world, comprising approximately one-sixth of the world population. According to the United Nations' World Population Dashboard, India's population reached slightly over 1.428 billion on 1 July 2023, surpassing that of China.

India remains a relatively young country, though it is undergoing a gradual demographic transition. As of 2024, the median age was approximately 29.8 years, compared to 40.2 in China. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates that 68% of the population is between 15 and 64 years old, creating a potential "demographic dividend" where a large working-age population can drive economic growth. However, the number of children is declining; the under-5 population peaked in 2007 and the under-15 cohort peaked in 2011.

Between 1975 and 2010, the population doubled to 1.2 billion. While the population continues to grow, the rate has slowed significantly from 2.3% annually (1972–1983) to roughly 0.89% in 2023. Current projections suggest the population will reach 1.7 billion by 2050.

India is highly diverse, hosting thousands of ethnic groups and four major language families: Indo-European, Dravidian, Austroasiatic, and Tibeto-Burman. The country also includes linguistic isolates such as Nihali and Burushaski, and distinct minority communities including Anglo-Indians and Siddi.

The human sex ratio has shown an upward trend after decades of decline, reaching 943 females per 1,000 males in 2011 and estimated at 1,060 males per 1,000 females (approx. 944 females/1000 males) in 2023.

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.Angus Maddison, The World Economy: Historical Statistics, Statistical Appendix (2007, ggdc.net). Estimates cited are for the beginning of the 1st millennium ("year 0"), the beginning of the 2nd millennium ("year 1000"), and for the beginning each century since the 16th (years 1820 and 1913 are given for the 19th and 20th century, respectively, as Maddison presents detailed estimates for these years), and a projection for the year 2030.

Year Maddison (2001)Angus Maddison (2001), The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective, pages 241–242 , OECD Development Centre Clark (1967)Angus Maddison (2001), The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective, page 236 , OECD Development CentreJohn D. Durand, 1974, Historical Estimates of World Population: An Evaluation, University of Pennsylvania, Population Center, Analytical and Technical Reports, Number 10, page 9 Biraben (1979) Durand (1974)John D. Durand, 1974, Historical Estimates of World Population: An Evaluation, University of Pennsylvania, Population Center, Analytical and Technical Reports, Number 10, page 10 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 Stone Age 3.9 4000 BC 3.9 3.9 2000 BC 9.4 9.4 Bronze Age 9.4 500 BC 10 10 Iron Age 10.2 400 BC 6.3 13.2 200 BC 35.4 6.3 22.5 Maurya era 22.5 1 AD –9.3 6.5 18.8 Classical era 5.3 200 0 1.7 –1.1 0 7.1 1.1 400 0 1.7 –18.6 0 7.4 –0.7 500 0 0 3.1 0 6.5 1.3 600 0 0 12.1 0 6.5 2.3 Early medieval era 1.9 700 0 0 35.1 0 10.3 5.9 800 0 0 –16.3 0 10.3 –0.5 900 0 –3.5 –13.2 0 11.4 0 1000 0 –3.5 5.3 0 11.4 2.1 1100 8 3.5 27.5 8.4 3.9 8.6 Late medieval era 8.1 1200 8 3.5 27.5 8.4 3.8 9 1300 8 0 27.5 8.4 6 9.3 1400 8 3.3 7 8.4 6.8 7 1500 8 3.3 7 8.4 6.4 7 1600 22.8 26.6 52.6 20.7 30 30.1 Mughal era 31.9 1650 22.2 125 20.7 20.7 24.4 36.2 1700 22.2 77.8 20.7 20.7 21.8 31.3 1750 21.8 0 9 20.7 12.9 12.1 Colonial era 12.2 1800 21.8 –10.8 9 18.4 8 1820 21.8 0 9 47.7 22

Population of India over time

India's population has changed significantly due to migrations, technological advancements, and societal developments. Below is a table of historical population estimates:

+ Historical Population of India (10,000 BC – 2021) Era Year Estimated Population Growth Rate (%) Classical India 100 AD 52,748,932 +2.8% 200 AD 54,902,817 +4.1% 300 AD 57,654,213 +5.0% 400 AD 60,834,921 +5.5% 500 AD 64,291,488 +5.7% Early Medieval India 600 AD 68,102,304 +5.9% 700 AD 71,837,610 +5.5% 800 AD 75,983,210 +5.8% 900 AD 81,274,936 +7.0% 1000 AD 86,732,843 +6.7% Delhi Sultanate 1100 AD 91,403,287 +5.4% 1200 AD 96,289,634 +5.4% 1300 AD 101,984,726 +5.9% 1400 AD 111,209,832 +9.1% Mughal Empire 1500 AD 121,847,294 +9.6% 1600 AD 136,204,781 +11.8% 1700 AD 161,874,263 +18.9% 1800 AD 186,432,976 +15.2% Colonial Period 1810 190,000,000 +2.1% 1820 195,000,000 +2.6% 1830 200,000,000 +2.6% 1840 205,000,000 +2.5% 1850 210,000,000 +2.4% British Raj 1860 215,000,000 +2.4% 1870 220,000,000 +2.3% 1881 253,891,821 +15.4% 1891 287,223,431 +13.1% 1901 317,318,032 +10.5% 1911 317,369,222 +0.02% 1921 318,866,673 +0.46% 1931 337,515,000 +5.8% 1941 389,000,000 +15.3% Post-independence India 1951 361,088,000 -7.18% 1961 439,235,000 +21.7% 1971 548,159,652 +24.8% 1981 683,329,097 +24.7% 1991 846,387,888 +24.0% 2001 1,028,610,328 +21.5% 2011 1,210,854,977 +17.9% 2021 1,385,316,000 +14.0%

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.

Under the Mughal Empire, India experienced a demographic upsurge, 15% of the population lived in urban centres, higher than the percentage of the population in 19th-century British India and contemporary EuropeAbraham Eraly (2007), The Mughal World: Life in India's Last Golden Age, page 5, Penguin Books 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 1881 6.3 1891 13.1 1901 2.2 1911 7.4 1921 1.2 1931 10.6 1941 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...".

Languages

+ Top 30 Languages of India by number of native speakers from 1971 to 2011 (including #Non-scheduled languages)Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues – 2000 , Census of India, 2001Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues – 2011 , Census of India, 2011 Language Language Family Speakers (1971) Speakers (1981) Speakers (1991) Speakers (2001) Speakers (2011) Hindi Indo-Aryan 202,767,971 257,749,009 329,505,193 422,048,642 528,347,193 Bengali Indo-Aryan 44,792,312 51,298,319 69,595,738 83,369,769 97,237,669 Telugu Dravidian 44,756,923 50,624,611 66,017,615 74,002,856 81,127,740 Marathi Indo-Aryan 41,765,190 49,452,922 62,481,681 71,936,894 83,026,680 Tamil Dravidian 37,690,106 53,006,368 60,793,814 69,026,881 Urdu Indo-Aryan 28,620,895 34,941,435 43,406,932 51,536,111 50,772,631 Gujarati Indo-Aryan 25,865,012 33,063,267 40,695,370 46,091,617 55,492,554 Kannada Dravidian 21,710,649 25,697,146 32,753,676 37,924,011 43,706,512 Malayalam Dravidian 21,938,760 25,700,705 30,377,176 33,066,392 34,838,819 Odia Indo-Aryan 19,863,198 23,021,528 28,061,313 33,017,446 37,521,324 Punjabi Indo-Aryan 14,108,443 19,611,199 23,378,744 29,102,477 33,124,726 Assamese Indo-Aryan 8,959,558 13,079,696 13,168,484 15,311,351 Maithili Indo-Aryan 6,130,026 7,522,265 7,766,921 12,179,122 13,583,464 Bhili/Bhilodi# Indo-Aryan 3,399,285 4,293,314 5,572,308 9,582,957 10,413,637 Santali Austro-Asiatic 3,786,899 4,332,511 5,216,325 6,469,600 7,368,192 Kashmiri Indo-Aryan 2,495,487 3,176,975 5,527,698 6,797,587 Nepali Indo-Aryan 1,419,835 1,360,636 2,076,645 2,871,749 2,926,168 Gondi# Dravidian 1,688,284 1,913,262 2,124,852 2,713,790 2,984,453 Sindhi Indo-Aryan 1,676,875 2,044,389 2,122,848 2,535,485 2,772,264 Konkani Indo-Aryan 1,508,432 1,570,108 1,760,607 2,489,015 2,256,502 Dogri Indo-Aryan 1,299,143 1,530,616 2,282,589 2,596,767 Khandeshi# Indo-Aryan 251,896 1,216,789 973,709 2,075,258 1,860,236 Kurukh# Dravidian 1,235,665 1,333,670 1,426,618 1,751,489 1,988,350 Tulu# Dravidian 1,158,419 1,417,224 1,552,259 1,722,768 1,846,427 Meiteilon (Manipuri) Sino-Tibetan 791,714 901,407 1,270,216 1,466,705 1,761,079 Bodo Sino-Tibetan 556,576 1,221,881 1,350,478 1,482,929 Khasi# Austro-Asiatic 479,028 628,846 912,283 1,128,575 1,431,344 Mundari# Austro-Asiatic 771,253 742,739 861,378 1,061,352 1,128,228 Ho# Austro-Asiatic 751,389 783,301 949,216 1,042,724 1,421,418 Tripuri# Sino-Tibetan 372,579 502,067 694,940 854,023 1,011,294

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.

Vital statistics

UN estimates