Geographical distribution of Urdu speakers

Geographical distribution of Urdu speakers
اہلِ زبانِ اردو
The phrase Zuban-e-Urdu-e-Mualla or "Language of the Exalted Camp"
Total population
68.62 million (2019)
Regions with significant populations
India (diasporic Urdu Belt, a regional belt that consists of Hindi-Urdu belt states, many speakers live in various cities in Deccan Plateau)
Pakistan (Muhajirs in Karachi, Hyderabad & mainly across large cities in Sindh and other large Pakistani cities)
Nepal (Terai region)
Bangladesh (diasporic Urdu-speaking Bihari communities, also known as Stranded Pakistanis, live throughout Bangladesh, particularly in Saidpur, Nilphamari, Mohammadpur and Old Dhaka)
India50,772,631 (2011)
Pakistan22,249,307 (2023)
  Nepal413,785 (2021)
United States397,502 (2013)
Bangladesh300,000 (2011)
United Kingdom270,000 (2011)
Canada210,815 (2016)
Australia69,131 (2016)
Languages
Urdu
Religion
Predominantly Islam

Small Minority

Hindusim, Christianity and Judaism

  • ^a The figure for Pakistan includes only first language Urdu-speakers, known as Muhajirs, and not other ethnic groups of Pakistan who may fluently speak Urdu as a first or second language, numbering up to an additional 94 million.

Native speakers of Urdu are spread across South Asia. The vast majority of them are Muslims of the Hindi–Urdu Belt of northern India, followed by the Deccani people of the Deccan plateau in south-central India (who speak Deccani Urdu), and most of the Muhajir people (not all) of Pakistan and some stranded Pakistani communities in Bangladesh. The historical centres of Urdu speakers include Delhi and Lucknow.