Demographics of India

Demographics of India
Demographics of India
	Population pyramid of India in 2026
Population	1,408,069,540 (2023)
Density	483.68 people/km² (2023 est.)
Growth rate	+0.89% (2023 est.)
Birth rate	16.15 births/1,000 people (2023 est.)
Death rate	9.1 deaths/1,000 people (2023 est.)
Life expectancy	72.03 years (2023 est.)
• male	70.52 years (2023 est.)
• female	73.60 years (2023 est.)
Fertility rate	1.90 children born per woman (2025)
Infant mortality rate	22.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2023)
Net migration rate	-0.68 (negative net migration)
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)
At birth	1.1 male(s)/female (2023)
Under 15	1.11 male(s)/female (2023)
15–64 years	1.07 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
65 and over	0.85 male(s)/female (2023)
Nationality
Nationality	Indian
Major ethnic	Major Ethnic Groups (Indo-Aryan & Dravidian) Indo-European (70.16%) Indo-Aryan (70.12%) Hindustani (38.37%); Bengali (7.91%) Bengali Hindus (6.15%); Bengali Muslims (1.58%); Other Bengalis (0.18%); ; Marathi (6.92%); Gujarati (6.44%); Punjabi (4.49%); Kashmiris (0.26%); Bihari (2.35%); Assamese (1.03%); Other Indo-Aryans (2.35%); ; Iranian (0.04%); ; Dravidian (24.96%) Telugu (7.97%); Tamil (6.47%); Kannadiga (5.46%); Malayali (3.08%); Gondi (1.03%); ; ;
Minor ethnic	Minor Ethnic Groups Austro-Asiatic (1.48%) Munda & Santali (0.77%); Khasi (0.26%); ; Tibeto-Burman (0.74%) Bodo (0.44%); Naga (0.21%); ; Semitic (0.56%) Arab-Indian (0.56%); ; Others (1.52%) Anglo-Indians, Siddi, Jews, etc.; ; ;
Language
Official	See Languages of India
Spoken	Hindi 43.6%; Bengali 8%; Marathi 6.9%; Telugu 6.8%; Tamil 6.7%; 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);

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 in April 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 is 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.