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India Population and Demographics 2026
India (Republic of India) is a country in Southern Asia. India is the second most populous country in the world, with more than 1.4 billion representing 17.7% of the world’s population. By Land area, it’s the seventh-largest country in the world. The total land area of India is 2,973,190 sq. km (1,147,960 sq. mi) and population density is 471 people per sq. km (1220 people per sq. mi).
As per the Indian Census population projection reports, the estimated population of India in 2026 is 14,29,404,000 (1.43 billion or 143 Crore)
read about India population by religion
| India | 2026 Population |
| Total Population | 14,29,404,000 |
| Male Population | 7,33,798,000 |
| Female Population | 6,95,606,000 |
| Global Rank | 1 |
| Share of World Pop. | 17.70% |
| Area | 2,973,190 sq. Km (1,147,960 sq. mi) |
| Area Rank | 7th |
| Density | 480 person/sq. km (1245/sq. mi.) |
| Fertility Rate | 2 |
| Infant mortality rate | 28.3 |
| Median Age | 28.4 Years |
| Life Expectancy | 70.42 year |
| Urban Population | 35% |
Source: Census 2011 and Census Population Projection Reports 2011-2036
*Fertility rate, the average number of children born to women during their reproductive years.
**Infant mortality rate is the number of deaths per 1,000 live births of children under one year of age.
Future Population Projection
| Year | Population | % Growth |
| 2026 | 1,429,404,000 | – |
| 2027 | 1,439,982,000 | 0.74% |
| 2028 | 1,450,552,000 | 0.73% |
| 2029 | 1,461,124,000 | 0.73% |
| 2030 | 1,471,700,000 | 0.72% |
| 2031 | 1,481,657,000 | 0.68% |
| 2032 | 1,490,361,000 | 0.59% |
| 2033 | 1,499,065,000 | 0.58% |
| 2034 | 1,507,768,000 | 0.58% |
| 2035 | 1,516,472,000 | 0.58% |
| 2036 | 1,525,174,000 | 0.57% |
India Historical Population
India has a population growth rate of 17.70% from 2001 to 2011. At the start of the 2oth century, India’s Population was 24 Crore and didn’t see much growth till 1931. By 1960 it saw good growth and doubled around 44 crores. After the 1950s till 2001 population growth rate is high and registered + 20% growth.
India’s population touched 100 crores or 1 billion in the 2001 census. In the last two decades, the growth rate declined a bit & now it’s around 12.5%.
Let’s look at decade population & percentage change from the Year 1910 to 2021
| Census Year | Population | Absolute Change | Percent Change |
| 1901 | 238,396,327 | – | – |
| 1911 | 252,093,390 | +13,697,063 | 5.75% |
| 1921 | 251,321,213 | – 772,177 | -0.31% |
| 1931 | 278,977,238 | +27,656,025 | 11.00% |
| 1941 | 318,660,580 | +39,683,342 | 14.22% |
| 1951 | 361,088,090 | +42,420,485 | 13.31% |
| 1961 | 439,234,771 | +77,682,873 | 21.51% |
| 1971 | 548,159,652 | +108,924,881 | 24.80% |
| 1981 | 683,329,097 | +135,169,445 | 24.66% |
| 1991 | 846,421,039 | +163,091,942 | 23.87% |
| 2001 | 1,028,737,436 | +182,316,397 | 21.54% |
| 2011 | 1,216,164,000 | +187,426,564 | 18.21% |
| 2021 (Est.) | 1,367,173,000 | + 151,009,000 | 12,42% |
Source: India Census 2011
Hinduism is the main religion in India. In fact, India is the largest Hindu nation in the world & 94% percent of the World’s Hindu population live in India. Islam also has large followers in India and around 15% of the Population follows it. Christians, Buddhism, Sikhs, Jain are other minority religions in India per the census data, which was compiled in 2011 the breakup of India population on religious basis is as Follows
- Hinduism: 966.3 million – 79.8%
- Islam: 172.2 million – 14.2%
- Christians: 27.8 million – 2.3%
- Sikhs: 20.8 million – 1.7%
- Others ( Buddhist, Jains etc.) – 2%
For more details visit Religion in India
Source: Census 2011
Indian States by Population
Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India, and Sikkim retains its status as the least populated state.
| Rank | States | 2011 Census | 2026 estimates |
| 1 | Uttar Pradesh | 199,812,341 | 243,466,000 |
| 2 | Maharashtra | 112,374,333 | 129,584,000 |
| 3 | Bihar | 104,099,452 | 132,850,310 |
| 4 | West Bengal | 91,276,115 | 100,631,000 |
| 5 | Madhya Pradesh | 72,626,809 | 89,965,000 |
| 6 | Tamil Nadu | 72,147,030 | 77,582,000 |
| 7 | Rajasthan | 68,548,437 | 83,879,000 |
| 8 | Karnataka | 61,095,297 | 69,074,000 |
| 9 | Gujarat | 60,439,692 | 74,343,000 |
| 10 | Andhra Pradesh | 49,386,799 | 53,740,000 |
| 11 | Odisha | 41,974,218 | 47,221,000 |
| 12 | Telangana | 35,193,978 | 38,665,000 |
| 13 | Kerala | 33,406,061 | 36,239,000 |
| 14 | Jharkhand | 32,988,134 | 41,108,000 |
| 15 | Assam | 31,205,576 | 36,815,000 |
| 16 | Punjab | 27,743,338 | 31,370,000 |
| 17 | Chhattisgarh | 25,545,198 | 31,311,000 |
| 18 | Haryana | 25,351,462 | 31,409,000 |
| UT1 | Delhi | 16,787,941 | 22,674,000 |
| UT2 | Jammu & Kashmir | 12,258,433 | 13,927,000 |
| 19 | Uttarakhand | 10,086,292 | 12,028,000 |
| 20 | Himachal Pradesh | 6,864,602 | 7,588,000 |
| 21 | Tripura | 3,673,917 | 4,268,000 |
| 22 | Meghalaya | 2,966,889 | 3,447,000 |
| 23 | Manipur | 2,855,794 | 3,318,000 |
| 24 | Nagaland | 1,978,502 | 2,299,000 |
| 25 | Goa | 1,458,545 | 1,601,000 |
| 26 | Arunachal Pradesh | 1,383,727 | 1,608,000 |
| UT3 | Puducherry | 1,247,953 | 1,771,000 |
| 27 | Mizoram | 1,097,206 | 1,275,000 |
| UT4 | Chandigarh | 1.055,450 | 1,255,000 |
| 28 | Sikkim | 610,577 | 709,000 |
| UT5 | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | 586,956 | 1,593,000 |
| UT6 | Andaman & Nicobar | 380,581 | 406,000 |
| UT7 | Ladakh | 274,289 | 306,000 |
| UT8 | Lakshadweep | 64,473 | 70,000 |
Source: Census 2011 & Census Population Projection Report
read in detail about the Top States in India by population
Top Cities in India by Population
read in detail about Top Cities in India by population
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