Demographics of India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
India is the most populous country in the world with one-sixth of the world's population. According to estimates from the United Nations (UN), India has overtaken China as the country with the largest population in the world, with a population of 1,425,775,850 at the end of April 2023.[6][7][8][9]
| Demographics of India | |
|---|---|
Population pyramid of India in 2020 | |
| Population |  1,425,775,850[1]
(April 2023 est.) 1,428,627,663[2] (Mid-year 2023 est.) |
| Density | 473.42 people per km2 (2021 est.)[3] |
| Growth rate | 0.68% (2022 est.)[3] |
| Birth rate | 16.1 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)[3] |
| Death rate | 6.6 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)[3] |
| Life expectancy | 72.03 years (2023 est.)[2] |
| • male | 70.5 years (2023 est.) |
| • female | 73.6 years (2023 est.) |
| Fertility rate |  2.00 children born per woman (2023)[3] |
| Infant mortality rate | 29.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2018)[4] |
| Net migration rate | 0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Age structure | |
| 0–14 years | 25.68% (male 183,695,000/female 166,295,000) (2021 est.) |
| 15–64 years | 67.49% (male 472,653,000/female 447,337,000) (2021 est.) |
| 65 and over | 6.83% (male 44,275,000/female 48,751,000) (2021 est.) |
| Sex ratio | |
| Total | 1.06 male(s)/female (2023)[5] |
| At birth | 1.1 male(s)/female (2023)[5] |
| Under 15 | 1.11 male(s)/female (2023)[5] |
| 15–64 years | 1.07 male(s)/female (2023 est.) |
| 65 and over | 0.85 male(s)/female (2023)[5] |
| Nationality | |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Major ethnic | See Ethnic groups of India |
| Minor ethnic | See Ethnic groups of India |
| Language | |
| Official | See Languages of India |
| Spoken | |
Between 1975 and 2010, the population doubled to 1.2 billion, reaching the billion mark in 2000. According to the UN's World Population dashboard, India's population now stands at slightly over 1.428 billion, edging past China's population of 1.425 billion people, as reported by the news agency Bloomberg.[9] In 2015, India's population was predicted to reach 1.7 billion by 2050.[10][11] In 2017 its population growth rate was 0.98%, ranking 112th in the world; in contrast, from 1972 to 1983, India's population grew by an annual rate of 2.3%.[12]
In 2023, the median age of an Indian was 29.5 years,[13] compared to 39.8 for China and 49.5 for Japan; and, by 2030; India's dependency ratio will be just over 0.4.[14] 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.[15]
India has many ethnic groups,[16] 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,[17] 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.[18] 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.[19]
The sex ratio was 944 females for 1000 males in 2016, and 940 per 1000 in 2011.[20] This ratio has been showing an upwards trend for the last two decades after a continuous decline in the 20th century.[21]
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.[22] [23]
| Year | Maddison (2001)[24] | Clark (1967)[25][26][27] | Biraben (1979)[26][28][29] | Durand (1974)[30][26] | McEvedy (1978)[31][26] | 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,[32] before population growth slowed down in the classical era up to 500 AD, and then became largely stagnant during the early medieval era era up to 1000 AD.[24][26] The population growth rate then increased in the late medieval era (during the Delhi Sultanate) from 1000 to 1500.[24][26]
Under the Mughal Empire, India experienced a high economic and demographic upsurge,[32] due to Mughal agrarian reforms that intensified agricultural production.[33] 15% of the population lived in urban centres, higher than the percentage of the population in 19th-century British India[34] and contemporary Europe[34] up until the 19th century.[35] These estimates by Abraham Eraly[34] and Paolo Malanima[35] 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.[36]
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.[37] 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.[38] Nizamuddin Ahmad (1551–1621) reported that, under Akbar's reign, Mughal India had 120 large cities and 3,200 townships.[34] A number of cities in India had a population between a quarter-million and half-million people,[34] with larger cities including Agra (in Agra Subah) with up to 800,000 people[39] and Dhaka (in Bengal Subah) with over 1 million people.