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Christian Population in India 2023
At the census 2011, out of the 1.21 billion population, little over 27.8 million or 2.78 crores (2.3% of India’s population) are Christians. It’s the third largest religion in India besides Hinduism and Islam.
Christianity has emerged as the major religion in three Northeastern states, namely, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Meghalaya. It also has a good percentage in Manipur, Goa, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Kerala, and Arunachal Pradesh.
In 2023 approx 3.22 Crores or 32 million people are Christians in India.
Source: Census 2011
also read about the Top countries by the Christian population
Christianity is a major religion in Nagaland, Mizoram, and Meghalaya. Manipur (41.29%), Goa (25.10%), Andaman & Nicobar Islands (21.28%), Kerala (18.38%), and Arunachal Pradesh (30.26%) have a considerable percentage of the Christian population.
Christianity by Indian States & UTs (Census 2011)
| # | State | Total Population | Christian Population | % of Total |
| 1 | Nagaland | 1,978,502 | 1,739,651 | 87.93% |
| 2 | Mizoram | 1,097,206 | 956,331 | 87.16% |
| 3 | Meghalaya | 2,966,889 | 2,213,027 | 74.59% |
| 4 | Manipur | 2,855,794 | 1,179,043 | 41.29% |
| 5 | Arunachal Pradesh | 1,383,727 | 418,732 | 30.26% |
| 6 | Goa | 1,458,545 | 366,130 | 25.10% |
| 7 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 380,581 | 80,984 | 21.28% |
| 8 | Kerala | 33,406,061 | 6,141,269 | 18.38% |
| 9 | Sikkim | 610,577 | 60,522 | 9.91% |
| 10 | Puducherry | 1,247,953 | 78,550 | 6.29% |
| 11 | Tamil Nadu | 72,147,030 | 4,418,331 | 6.12% |
| 12 | Tripura | 3,673,917 | 159,882 | 4.35% |
| 13 | Jharkhand | 32,988,134 | 1,418,608 | 4.30% |
| 14 | Assam | 31,205,576 | 1,165,867 | 3.74% |
| 15 | Orissa | 41,974,218 | 1,161,708 | 2.77% |
| 16 | Chhattisgarh | 25,545,198 | 490,542 | 1.92% |
| 17 | Karnataka | 61,095,297 | 1,142,647 | 1.87% |
| 18 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli | 343,709 | 5,113 | 1.49% |
| 19 | Andhra Pradesh / Telangana | 84,580,777 | 1,129,784 | 1.34% |
| 20 | Punjab | 27,743,338 | 348,230 | 1.26% |
| 21 | Daman and Diu | 243,247 | 2,820 | 1.16% |
| 22 | Maharashtra | 112,374,333 | 1,080,073 | 0.96% |
| 23 | Delhi | 16,787,941 | 146,093 | 0.87% |
| 24 | Chandigarh | 1,055,450 | 8,720 | 0.83% |
| 25 | West Bengal | 91,276,115 | 658,618 | 0.72% |
| 26 | Gujarat | 60,439,692 | 316,178 | 0.52% |
| 27 | Lakshadweep | 64,473 | 317 | 0.49% |
| 28 | Uttarakhand | 10,086,292 | 37,781 | 0.37% |
| 29 | Madhya Pradesh | 72,626,809 | 213,282 | 0.29% |
| 30 | Jammu and Kashmir | 12,541,302 | 35,631 | 0.28% |
| 31 | Haryana | 25,351,462 | 50,353 | 0.20% |
| 32 | Himachal Pradesh | 6,864,602 | 12,646 | 0.18% |
| 33 | Uttar Pradesh | 199,812,341 | 356,448 | 0.18% |
| 34 | Rajasthan | 68,548,437 | 96,430 | 0.14% |
| 35 | Bihar | 104,099,452 | 129,247 | 0.12% |
Source: Census 2011
Top 10 States by Christian Population
Kerala (6.2 million) has the largest Christian population in India followed by Tamil Nadu (4.4 million) & Meghalaya (2.2 million). Let’s look at the top 10 states in India with the largest Christianity followers.
Top 10 States with Christian Population
| # | State | Christian Population | Pop. in million |
| 1 | Kerala | 6,141,269 | 6.2 million |
| 2 | Tamil Nadu | 4,418,331 | 4.4 million |
| 3 | Meghalaya | 2,213,027 | 2.2 million |
| 4 | Nagaland | 1,739,651 | 1.8 million |
| 5 | Jharkhand | 1,418,608 | 1.4 million |
| 6 | Manipur | 1,179,043 | 1.17 million |
| 7 | Assam | 1,165,867 | 1.16 million |
| 8 | Orissa | 1,161,708 | 1.16 million |
| 9 | Karnataka | 1,142,647 | 1.15 million |
| 10 | Maharashtra | 1,080,073 | 1 million |
| 11 | Mizoram | 956,331 | 0.95 million |
Source: Census 2011
Christianity in India by Affilations
As per the estimates among Christians in India, Protestanism has the largest number of adherents followed by Catholics, Orthodox, and other Christians. The largest denomination is the Roman Catholic Church (1 million), Anglicans within the united Church of North India and Church of South India, constitute the second largest group at over 5 million.
| # | Affiliations | Estimated Population |
| 1 | Protestants | 18,860,000 |
| 2 | Catholics | 10,570,000 |
| 3 | Orthodox | 2,370,000 |
| 4 | Other Christians | 50,000 |
Christian Churches in India
| Roman Catholics | Traditions |
| Roman Catholic Church | Catholic |
| Syro-Malabar Catholic Church | Catholic |
| Syro-Malankara Catholic Church | Catholic |
| Chaldean Syrian Church | Eastern Christianity |
| Orthodox Churches | |
| Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church | Oriental Orthodox |
| Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church | Oriental Orthodox |
| Malabar Independent Syrian Church | Oriental Orthodox |
| Protestants | |
| Lutheran | Protestant |
| Baptist | Protestant |
| New Apostolic Church[174] | Protestant |
| The Pentecostal Mission | Protestant |
| Methodist Church in India | Protestant |
| New Life Fellowship Association[174] | Protestant |
| Manna Full Gospel Churches[174] | Protestant |
| Evangelical Church | Protestant |
| Philadelphia Fellowship Church of India | Protestant |
| Sharon Fellowship Church[174] | Protestant |
| Hindustani Covenant Church | Protestant |
| Pentecostal Maranatha Gospel Church | Protestant |
| Indian Brethren | Protestant |
| Presbyterian Church of India | Protestant – Reformed |
| Council of Reformed Churches of India | Protestant – Reformed |
| Mennonite Brethren Church | Protestant – Reformed |
| Evangelical Church of Maraland | Protestant – Reformed |
| Reformed Presbyterian Church North East India | Protestant – Reformed |
| Reformed Presbyterian Church of India | Protestant – Reformed |
| Congregational Church in India | Protestant – Reformed |
| Assemblies Jehovah Shammah | Protestant (Plymouth Brethren) |
| Orissa Baptist Evangelistic Crusade (OBEC) | Protestant Baptist |
| Assemblies of God in India | Protestant Evangelical Pentecostal |
| India Pentecostal Church of God | Protestant Evangelical Pentecostal |
| Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church (JELC) | Protestant Lutheran |
| Seventh-day Adventist Church | Protestant/Restorationism |
| Jehovah’s Witnesses | Restorationism |
| Unitarian Union of Northeast India | Unitarian |
| Christian Revival Church | Pentecostal |
| Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church | Eastern Protestant Christian |
| Church of South India | Episcopal Protestant |
| Church of North India | Episcopal Protestant |
| St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India | Episcopalian Protestant |
| Mormons | |
| Community of Christ | Latter Day Saints |
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Latter Day Saints |
Source: Pew research center