In 1800, the population of the region of present-day India was approximately 169 million. The population would grow gradually throughout the 19th century, rising to over 240 million by 1900. Population growth would begin to increase in the 1920s, as a result of falling mortality rates, due to improvements in health, sanitation and infrastructure. However, the population of India would see it’s largest rate of growth in the years following the country’s independence from the British Empire in 1948, where the population would rise from 358 million to over one billion by the turn of the century, making India the second country to pass the billion person milestone. While the rate of growth has slowed somewhat as India begins a demographics shift, the country’s population has continued to grow dramatically throughout the 21st century, and in 2020, India is estimated to have a population of just under 1.4 billion, well over a billion more people than one century previously. Today, approximately 18% of the Earth’s population lives in India, and it is estimated that India will overtake China to become the most populous country in the world within the next five years.

The statistic shows the total population of India from 2019 to 2029. In 2023, the estimated total population in India amounted to approximately 1.43 billion people.

Total population in India

India currently has the second-largest population in the world and is projected to overtake top-ranking China within forty years. Its residents comprise more than one-seventh of the entire world’s population, and despite a slowly decreasing fertility rate (which still exceeds the replacement rate and keeps the median age of the population relatively low), an increasing life expectancy adds to an expanding population. In comparison with other countries whose populations are decreasing, such as Japan, India has a relatively small share of aged population, which indicates the probability of lower death rates and higher retention of the existing population.

With a land mass of less than half that of the United States and a population almost four times greater, India has recognized potential problems of its growing population. Government attempts to implement family planning programs have achieved varying degrees of success. Initiatives such as sterilization programs in the 1970s have been blamed for creating general antipathy to family planning, but the combined efforts of various family planning and contraception programs have helped halve fertility rates since the 1960s. The population growth rate has correspondingly shrunk as well, but has not yet reached less than one percent growth per year.

As home to thousands of ethnic groups, hundreds of languages, and numerous religions, a cohesive and broadly-supported effort to reduce population growth is difficult to create. Despite that, India is one country to watch in coming years. It is also a growing economic power; among other measures, its GDP per capita was expected to triple between 2003 and 2013 and was listed as the third-ranked country for its share of the global gross domestic product.

The total population in India was estimated at 1398.6 million people in 2024, according to the latest census figures and projections from Trading Economics. This dataset provides - India Population - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Historical dataset showing India population growth rate by year from 1961 to 2023.

Graph and download economic data for Population, Total for India (POPTOTINA647NWDB) from 1960 to 2024 about India and population.

In 2023, the annual population growth in India was 0.88 percent. Between 1961 and 2023, the figure dropped by 1.52 percentage points, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

Historical dataset showing total population for India by year from 1950 to 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Population Growth for India (SPPOPGROWIND) from 1961 to 2024 about India, population, and rate.

India's population demographics - total population, growth rate, age-wise and state-wise population, languages spoken, and religion.

Graph and download economic data for Population for India (POPTTLINA173NUPN) from 1950 to 2010 about India and population.

India: Percent of world population: The latest value from 2023 is 17.94 percent, a decline from 17.95 percent in 2022. In comparison, the world average is 0.51 percent, based on data from 196 countries. Historically, the average for India from 1960 to 2023 is 16.5 percent. The minimum value, 14.54 percent, was reached in 1960 while the maximum of 17.97 percent was recorded in 2014.

Urban population (% of total population) in India was reported at 36.87 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - Urban population (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

The graph shows the trend in population growth and growth of gross domestic product in India until 2009, as well as a forecast until 2015. See annual figures on India's economic growth here.

Rural population (% of total population) in India was reported at 63.13 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - Rural population - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

Population, total in India was reported at 1450935791 in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - Population, total - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

Population growth (annual %) in India was reported at 0.89071 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - Population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

The growth rate of the elderly population in India saw a sharp increase from 2001 onward after a series of successive falls. According to projections for 2021-31, the growth rate was expected to be five times the growth rate of the total population.

Key information about India population

• The India population reached 1,408.0 million people in Mar 2025, compared with the previously reported figure of 1,395.0 million people in Mar 2024
• The data reached an all-time high of 1,408.0 million people in Mar 2025 and a record low of 359.0 million people in Mar 1951

Historical dataset of population level and growth rate for the Bangalore, India metro area from 1950 to 2025.

Historical dataset of population level and growth rate for the Patna, India metro area from 1950 to 2025.