India

== Demographics, languages and religion ==
{{Main|Demographics of India|Languages of India|Religion in India}}
{{See also|South Asian ethnic groups}}
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With 1,210,193,422 residents reported in the [[2011 Census of India|2011 provisional census report]],{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=160}} India was the world's second-most populous country.{{efn|name=fnPopulation|According to estimates by the [[United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs|U. N. Population Division]], India's population is expected to overtake China's sometime in 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Schneider |first1=Mike |last2=Arasu |first2=Sibi |title=When exactly will India surpass China as most populous? |url=https://apnews.com/article/china-india-world-population-census-fertility-193b45b5ae69e7ce9f870f5ce60909d9 |work=AP News |date=10 April 2023 |language=en}}</ref>}} Its population grew by 17.64% from 2001 to 2011,{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=165}} compared to 21.54% growth in the previous decade (1991–2001).{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=165}} The human sex ratio, according to the 2011 census, is 940 females per 1,000 males.{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=160}} The median age was 28.7 {{as of|2020|lc=on}}.{{sfn|Central Intelligence Agency}} The first post-colonial census, conducted in 1951, counted 361&nbsp;million people.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indiabudget.nic.in/es2006-07/chapt2007/tab97.pdf|title=Population Of India (1951–2001)|website=[[Census of India]]|publisher=[[Ministry of Finance (India)|Ministry of Finance]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812042806/https://indiabudget.nic.in/es2006-07/chapt2007/tab97.pdf|archive-date=12 August 2011|access-date=13 February 2013}}</ref> Medical advances made in the last 50 years as well as increased agricultural productivity brought about by the "[[Green Revolution in India|Green Revolution]]" have caused India's population to grow rapidly.{{sfn|Rorabacher|2010|pp = 35–39}}

The life expectancy in India is 70 years—71.5 years for women, 68.7 years for men.{{sfn|Central Intelligence Agency}} There are around 93 physicians per 100,000 people.<ref>{{cite web|title=Physicians (per 1,000 people) – India|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.MED.PHYS.ZS?locations=IN&most_recent_value_desc=true|publisher=[[World Bank]]|year=2019|access-date=27 March 2022}}</ref> Migration from rural to urban areas has been an important dynamic in India's recent history. The number of people living in urban areas grew by 31.2% between 1991 and 2001.{{sfn|Garg|2005}} Yet, in 2001, over 70% still lived in rural areas.{{sfn|Dyson|Visaria|2005|pp = 115–129}}{{sfn|Ratna|2007|pp = 271–272}} The level of urbanisation increased further from 27.81% in the 2001 Census to 31.16% in the 2011 Census. The slowing down of the overall population growth rate was due to the sharp decline in the growth rate in rural areas since 1991.{{sfn|Chandramouli|2011}} According to the 2011 census, there are 53 [[List of million-plus urban agglomerations in India|million-plus urban agglomerations in India]]; among them [[Mumbai]], [[Delhi]], [[Kolkata]], [[Chennai]], [[Bangalore]], [[Hyderabad]] and [[Ahmedabad]], in decreasing order by population.<ref name="censusindia 2011">{{cite web | url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2/data_files/India2/Table_3_PR_UA_Citiees_1Lakh_and_Above.pdf | title=Urban Agglomerations/Cities having population 1 lakh and above | publisher=[[Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner]], India | access-date=12 May 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017153124/https://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2/data_files/India2/Table_3_PR_UA_Citiees_1Lakh_and_Above.pdf | archive-date=17 October 2013}}</ref> The literacy rate in 2011 was 74.04%: 65.46% among females and 82.14% among males.{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=163}} The rural-urban literacy gap, which was 21.2 percentage points in 2001, dropped to 16.1 percentage points in 2011. The improvement in the rural literacy rate is twice that of urban areas.{{sfn|Chandramouli|2011}} [[Kerala]] is the most literate state with 93.91% literacy; while [[Bihar]] the least with 63.82%.{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=163}}

{{multiple image|perrow=1|total_width=220|image_style = border:none;| align = left |image1=Interior of San Thome Basilica.jpg|caption1=The interior of [[San Thome Basilica]], [[Chennai]], [[Tamil Nadu]].  Christianity is believed to have been introduced to India by the late 2nd century by [[Christianity in India#Early Christianity in India|Syriac-speaking Christians]].}}
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|0=[[File:Coal Miner 1980.JPG|thumb|upright|left|upright=1.2|A coal miner in [[Bachra]] [[colliery]] [[township]] in [[Jharkhand]] state. The [[disability adjusted life year|number of years]] lost per 100,000 population attributable to particulate matter pollution in Jharkhand is 1093,<ref name="BalakrishnanDey2019">{{cite journal|last1=Balakrishnan|first1=Kalpana|last2=Dey|first2=Sagnik|last3=Gupta|first3=Tarun|last4=Dhaliwal|first4=R S|last5=Brauer|first5=Michael|last6=Cohen|first6=Aaron J|last7=Stanaway|first7=Jeffrey D|last8=Beig|first8=Gufran|last9=Joshi|first9=Tushar K|last10=Aggarwal|first10=Ashutosh N|last11=Sabde|first11=Yogesh|last12=Sadhu|first12=Harsiddha|last13=Frostad|first13=Joseph|last14=Causey|first14=Kate|last15=Godwin|first15=William|last16=Shukla|first16=D K|last17=Kumar|first17=G Anil|last18=Varghese|first18=Chris M|last19=Muraleedharan|first19=Pallavi|last20=Agrawal|first20=Anurag|last21=Anjana|first21=R M|last22=Bhansali|first22=Anil|last23=Bhardwaj|first23=Deeksha|last24=Burkart|first24=Katrin|last25=Cercy|first25=Kelly|last26=Chakma|first26=Joy K|last27=Chowdhury|first27=Sourangsu|last28=Christopher|first28=D J|last29=Dutta|first29=Eliza|last30=Furtado|first30=Melissa|last31=Ghosh|first31=Santu|last32=Ghoshal|first32=Aloke G|last33=Glenn|first33=Scott D|last34=Guleria|first34=Randeep|last35=Gupta|first35=Rajeev|last36=Jeemon|first36=Panniyammakal|last37=Kant|first37=Rajni|last38=Kant|first38=Surya|last39=Kaur|first39=Tanvir|last40=Koul|first40=Parvaiz A|last41=Krish|first41=Varsha|last42=Krishna|first42=Bhargav|last43=Larson|first43=Samantha L|last44=Madhipatla|first44=Kishore|last45=Mahesh|first45=P A|last46=Mohan|first46=Viswanathan|last47=Mukhopadhyay|first47=Satinath|last48=Mutreja|first48=Parul|last49=Naik|first49=Nitish|last50=Nair|first50=Sanjeev|last51=Nguyen|first51=Grant|last52=Odell|first52=Christopher M|last53=Pandian|first53=Jeyaraj D|last54=Prabhakaran|first54=Dorairaj|last55=Prabhakaran|first55=Poornima|last56=Roy|first56=Ambuj|last57=Salvi|first57=Sundeep|last58=Sambandam|first58=Sankar|last59=Saraf|first59=Deepika|last60=Sharma|first60=Meenakshi|last61=Shrivastava|first61=Aakash|last62=Singh|first62=Virendra|last63=Tandon|first63=Nikhil|last64=Thomas|first64=Nihal J|last65=Torre|first65=Anna|last66=Xavier|first66=Denis|last67=Yadav|first67=Geetika|last68=Singh|first68=Sujeet|last69=Shekhar|first69=Chander|last70=Vos|first70=Theo|last71=Dandona|first71=Rakhi|last72=Reddy|first72=K Srinath|last73=Lim|first73=Stephen S|last74=Murray|first74=Christopher J L|last75=Venkatesh|first75=S|last76=Dandona|first76=Lalit|display-authors=5|title=The impact of air pollution on deaths, disease burden, and life expectancy across the states of India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017|journal=[[The Lancet Planetary Health]]|volume=3|issue=1|year=2019|pages=e26–e39|issn=2542-5196|doi=10.1016/S2542-5196(18)30261-4|pmid=30528905|pmc=6358127}}</ref> adding to India's public health burden.<ref name="BalakrishnanDey2019" />]]
|1=[[File:Cropped Tripuri.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Tripuri people|Tripuri]] children prepare for a dance in India's northeastern [[Tripura]] state.  The Tripuri, an ethnic group which speaks a [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman language]], forms 30% of the state's population.<ref name="Kumāra2007">{{cite book |last=Kumāra|first=Braja Bihārī|title=Problems of ethnicity in the North-East India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QTCJTIBHJHEC |access-date=11 July 2012|year=2007|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-8069-464-6|pages=68–69|archive-date=14 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514231036/https://books.google.com/books?id=QTCJTIBHJHEC}}</ref> ]]
|2=[[File:Handicrafts seller.JPG|thumb|upright|left|Although [[Hindi]] is the official language of India, [[Telugu language|Telugu]] is the official language of the state of [[Telangana]], with [[Urdu]] its second official language.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/urdu-is-telanganas-second-official-language-4940595/|title=Urdu is Telangana's second official language|date=16 November 2017|work=[[The Indian Express]]|access-date=27 February 2018|language=en-IN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227094158/https://indianexpress.com/article/india/urdu-is-telanganas-second-official-language-4940595/|archive-date=27 February 2018}}</ref> Shown here is a handicraft seller in [[Hyderabad]], Telangana]]
|3=[[File:Inde bondo8658a.jpg|thumb|upright|left|A [[Bonda people|Bondo]] woman walks to a weekly market in Chhattisgarh. The Bondo, among the [[Adivasi]], or the [[indigenous peoples]] of India, speak a [[Munda languages|Munda language]] within the family of [[Austroasiatic languages]].<ref name="Berger2015">{{citation|last=Berger|first=Peter|title=Feeding, Sharing, and Devouring: Ritual and Society in Highland Odisha, India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sfReCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT25|date=17 February 2015|publisher=[[De Gruyter]]|isbn=978-1-61451-975-1|page=25}}</ref>]]
|4=[[File:Lady in Bundi, Rajasthan.JPG|thumb|upright|left|A woman from [[Bundi district]] in [[Rajasthan]]. The human sex ratio in India, according to the 2011 census, is 940 females per 1,000 males.{{sfn|Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 India|p=160}}]]
|5=[[File:Sadhu Vârânasî .jpg|thumb|left|upright|A [[Hindu]] ascetic in [[Varanasi]], [[Uttar Pradesh]]. Uttar Pradesh has the highest numbers of both Hindus and Muslims among all states.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/497347/muslim-population-grew-faster-census.html|title=Muslim population grew faster: Census|website=Deccan Herald | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150827035701/https://www.deccanherald.com/content/497347/muslim-population-grew-faster-census.html|archive-date=27 August 2015}}</ref> The population by religion in 2011 was Hindus 79.73%, Muslims 19.26%, others 1.01%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW09C-01%20MDDS.XLS|title=C1 – Population by religious community, Uttar Pradesh|work=2011 Census Data|publisher=[[Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner]], India|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927145844/https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW09C-01%20MDDS.XLS|archive-date=27 September 2015|access-date=10 September 2011}}</ref> ]]
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There are several hundred [[languages of India]]. About 74% of Indians speak [[Indo-Aryan languages]], the easternmost branch of the [[Indo-European languages]]; 24% speak [[Dravidian languages]], indigenous to [[South Asia]] and spoken widely before the spread of Indo-Aryan languages and 2% speak [[Austroasiatic languages]] or the [[Sino-Tibetan languages]]. India has no national language.{{sfn|Dharwadker|2010|pp = 168–194, 186}} [[Hindi]], with the largest number of speakers, is the official language of the government.{{sfn|Ottenheimer|2008|p = 303}}{{sfn|Mallikarjun|2004}} [[English language|English]] is used extensively in business and administration and has the status of a "subsidiary official language";{{sfn|Ministry of Home Affairs 1960}} it is important in [[Education in India|education]], especially as a medium of higher education. Each state and union territory has one or more official languages, and the constitution recognises in particular 22 "scheduled languages".

The 2011 census reported the [[religion in India]] with the largest number of followers was [[Hinduism in India|Hinduism]] (79.80% of the population), followed by [[Islam in India|Islam]] (14.23%); the remaining were [[Christianity in India|Christianity]] (2.30%), [[Sikhism in India|Sikhism]] (1.72%), [[History of Buddhism in India|Buddhism]] (0.70%), [[Statistics of Jainism|Jainism]] (0.36%) and others{{efn|name=remaining religions}} (0.9%).<ref name="Census2011religion">{{cite web|url=https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW00C-01%20MDDS.XLS |title=C −1 Population by religious community – 2011 |publisher=[[Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner]] |access-date=25 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150825155850/https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW00C-01%20MDDS.XLS |archive-date=25 August 2015}}</ref> India has the [[List of countries by Muslim population#List|third-largest]] Muslim population—the largest for a non-Muslim majority country.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/religion/global-muslim-population-estimated-at-157-billion/article30568.ece|title=Global Muslim population estimated at 1.57&nbsp;billion|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601012428/https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/religion/global-muslim-population-estimated-at-157-billion/article30568.ece|archive-date=1 June 2013|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=8 October 2009|access-date=18 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2012ARChapters/india%202012%20two-pager.pdf|title=India Chapter Summary 2012|publisher=[[United States Commission on International Religious Freedom]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407100620/https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2012ARChapters/india%202012%20two-pager.pdf|archive-date=7 April 2014|access-date=18 October 2021}}</ref>