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.

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.

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

The annual population growth in India increased by 0.1 percentage points (+12.66 percent) in 2023. This was the first time during the observed period that the population growth has increased in India. Population growth refers to the annual change in population, and is based on the balance between birth and death rates, as well as migration.Find more key insights for the annual population growth in countries like Nepal and Sri Lanka.

This feature layers contain demographics about age, gender, education, employment, assets & amenities as reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India in the Census 2011. These attributes cover topics such as male and female population counts by age, literacy, occupation, and household characteristics.Census of India counts every resident in India at village level. It is mandated by The Census Act 1948 of the Constitution and takes place every 10 years.Other demographics layers are also available:Country DemographicsState DemographicsSub-district DemographicsVillage DemographicsCombined DemographicsEach layer contains the same set of demographic attributes. Each geography level has a viewing range optimal for the geography size, and the map has increasing detail as you zoom in to smaller areas.Data source: Explore Census DataAdmin boundary source (country, states, and districts): Survey of India, 2020For more information: 2011 Census Demographic ProfileFor feedback please contact: content@esri.inData Processing notes:Country, State and District boundaries are simplified representations offered from the Survey of India database.Sub-districts and village boundaries are developed based on the census provided maps.Field names and aliases are processed by Esri India as created for the ArcGIS Platform.For a list of fields and alias names, access the following excel document.Disclaimer:The boundaries may not be perfectly align with AGOL imagery. The Census PDF maps are georeferenced using Survey of India boundaries and notice alignment issues with AGOL Imagery/ Maps. 33k villages are marked as point location on Census PDFs either because of low scale maps where small villages could not have been drawn or digitization has not been completed. These villages are marked as 100m circular polygons in the data.This web layer is offered by Esri India, for ArcGIS Online subscribers. If you have any questions or comments, please let us know via content@esri.in.

This feature layers contain demographics about age, gender, education, employment, assets & amenities as reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India in the Census 2011. These attributes cover topics such as male and female population counts by age, literacy, occupation, and household characteristics.Census of India counts every resident in India at village level. It is mandated by The Census Act 1948 of the Constitution and takes place every 10 years.Other demographics layers are also available:Country DemographicsDistrict DemographicsSub-district DemographicsVillage DemographicsCombined DemographicsEach layer contains the same set of demographic attributes. Each geography level has a viewing range optimal for the geography size, and the map has increasing detail as you zoom in to smaller areas.Data source: Explore Census DataAdmin boundary source (country, states, and districts): Survey of India, 2020For more information: 2011 Census Demographic ProfileFor feedback please contact: content@esri.inData Processing notes:Country, State and District boundaries are simplified representations offered from the Survey of India database.Sub-districts and village boundaries are developed based on the census provided maps.Field names and aliases are processed by Esri India as created for the ArcGIS Platform.For a list of fields and alias names, access the following excel document.Disclaimer:The boundaries may not be perfectly align with AGOL imagery. The Census PDF maps are georeferenced using Survey of India boundaries and notice alignment issues with AGOL Imagery/ Maps. 33k villages are marked as point location on Census PDFs either because of low scale maps where small villages could not have been drawn or digitization has not been completed. These villages are marked as 100m circular polygons in the data.This web layer is offered by Esri India, for ArcGIS Online subscribers. If you have any questions or comments, please let us know via content@esri.in.

WorldPop produces different types of gridded population count datasets, depending on the methods used and end application. An overview of the data can be found in Tatem et al, and a description of the modelling methods used found in Stevens et al. The 'Global per country 2000-2020' datasets represent the outputs from a project focused on construction of consistent 100m resolution population count datasets for all countries of the World for each year 2000-2020. These efforts necessarily involved some shortcuts for consistency. The 'individual countries' datasets represent older efforts to map populations for each country separately, using a set of tailored geospatial inputs and differing methods and time periods. The 'whole continent' datasets are mosaics of the individual countries datasets

WorldPop (www.worldpop.org - School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton; Department of Geography and Geosciences, University of Louisville; Departement de Geographie, Universite de Namur) and Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University (2018). Global High Resolution Population Denominators Project - Funded by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1134076). https://dx.doi.org/10.5258/SOTON/WP00645

Literacy in India has been increasing as more and more people receive a better education, but it is still far from all-encompassing. In 2023, the degree of literacy in India was about 77 percent, with the majority of literate Indians being men. It is estimated that the global literacy rate for people aged 15 and above is about 86 percent. How to read a literacy rateIn order to identify potential for intellectual and educational progress, the literacy rate of a country covers the level of education and skills acquired by a country’s inhabitants. Literacy is an important indicator of a country’s economic progress and the standard of living – it shows how many people have access to education. However, the standards to measure literacy cannot be universally applied. Measures to identify and define illiterate and literate inhabitants vary from country to country: In some, illiteracy is equated with no schooling at all, for example. Writings on the wallGlobally speaking, more men are able to read and write than women, and this disparity is also reflected in the literacy rate in India – with scarcity of schools and education in rural areas being one factor, and poverty another. Especially in rural areas, women and girls are often not given proper access to formal education, and even if they are, many drop out. Today, India is already being surpassed in this area by other emerging economies, like Brazil, China, and even by most other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. To catch up, India now has to offer more educational programs to its rural population, not only on how to read and write, but also on traditional gender roles and rights.

This feature layers contain demographics about age, gender, education, employment, assets & amenities as reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India in the Census 2011. These attributes cover topics such as male and female population counts by age, literacy, occupation, and household characteristics.Census of India counts every resident in India at village level. It is mandated by The Census Act 1948 of the Constitution and takes place every 10 years.Other demographics layers are also available:Country DemographicsState DemographicsDistrict DemographicsVillage DemographicsCombined DemographicsEach layer contains the same set of demographic attributes. Each geography level has a viewing range optimal for the geography size, and the map has increasing detail as you zoom in to smaller areas.Data source: Explore Census DataAdmin boundary source (country, states, and districts): Survey of India, 2020For more information: 2011 Census Demographic ProfileFor feedback please contact: content@esri.inData Processing notes:Country, State and District boundaries are simplified representations offered from the Survey of India database.Sub-districts and village boundaries are developed based on the census provided maps.Field names and aliases are processed by Esri India as created for the ArcGIS Platform.For a list of fields and alias names, access the following excel document.Disclaimer:The boundaries may not be perfectly align with AGOL imagery. The Census PDF maps are georeferenced using Survey of India boundaries and notice alignment issues with AGOL Imagery/ Maps. 33k villages are marked as point location on Census PDFs either because of low scale maps where small villages could not have been drawn or digitization has not been completed. These villages are marked as 100m circular polygons in the data.This web layer is offered by Esri India, for ArcGIS Online subscribers. If you have any questions or comments, please let us know

India population density for 2022 was 479.43, a 0.79% increase from 2021.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>India population density for 2021 was <strong>475.65</strong>, a <strong>0.83% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>India population density for 2020 was <strong>471.76</strong>, a <strong>0.98% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
<li>India population density for 2019 was <strong>467.19</strong>, a <strong>1.05% increase</strong> from 2018.</li>
</ul>Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.

Population, female (% of total population) in India was reported at 48.42 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - Population, female (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

India Census: Population: Age: 100+ data was reported at 605,778.000 Person in 2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 139,472.000 Person for 2001. India Census: Population: Age: 100+ data is updated yearly, averaging 151,646.000 Person from Mar 1991 (Median) to 2011, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 605,778.000 Person in 2011 and a record low of 139,472.000 Person in 2001. India Census: Population: Age: 100+ data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Census of India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAD002: Census: Population: by Single Age.

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 July of 2025.

The Bureau of the Census has released Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF1) 100-Percent data. The file includes the following population items: sex, age, race, Hispanic or Latino origin, household relationship, and household and family characteristics. Housing items include occupancy status and tenure (whether the unit is owner or renter occupied). SF1 does not include information on incomes, poverty status, overcrowded housing or age of housing. These topics will be covered in Summary File 3. Data are available for states, counties, county subdivisions, places, census tracts, block groups, and, where applicable, American Indian and Alaskan Native Areas and Hawaiian Home Lands. The SF1 data are available on the Bureau's web site and may be retrieved from American FactFinder as tables, lists, or maps. Users may also download a set of compressed ASCII files for each state via the Bureau's FTP server. There are over 8000 data items available for each geographic area. The full listing of these data items is available here as a downloadable compressed data base file named TABLES.ZIP. The uncompressed is in FoxPro data base file (dbf) format and may be imported to ACCESS, EXCEL, and other software formats. While all of this information is useful, the Office of Community Planning and Development has downloaded selected information for all states and areas and is making this information available on the CPD web pages. The tables and data items selected are those items used in the CDBG and HOME allocation formulas plus topics most pertinent to the Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS), the Consolidated Plan, and similar overall economic and community development plans. The information is contained in five compressed (zipped) dbf tables for each state. When uncompressed the tables are ready for use with FoxPro and they can be imported into ACCESS, EXCEL, and other spreadsheet, GIS and database software. The data are at the block group summary level. The first two characters of the file name are the state abbreviation. The next two letters are BG for block group. Each record is labeled with the code and name of the city and county in which it is located so that the data can be summarized to higher-level geography. The last part of the file name describes the contents . The GEO file contains standard Census Bureau geographic identifiers for each block group, such as the metropolitan area code and congressional district code. The only data included in this table is total population and total housing units. POP1 and POP2 contain selected population variables and selected housing items are in the HU file. The MA05 table data is only for use by State CDBG grantees for the reporting of the racial composition of beneficiaries of Area Benefit activities. The complete package for a state consists of the dictionary file named TABLES, and the five data files for the state. The logical record number (LOGRECNO) links the records across tables.

In 2023, the death rate in India remained nearly unchanged at around 6.61 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants. The crude death rate is the annual number of deaths in a given population, expressed per 1,000 people. When looked at in unison with the crude birth rate, the rate of natural increase can be determined.Find more statistics on other topics about India with key insights such as life expectancy of women at birth, total fertility rate, and crude birth rate.

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 July of 2025.

WorldPop produces different types of gridded population count datasets, depending on the methods used and end application. Please make sure you have read our Mapping Populations overview page before choosing and downloading a dataset.


Bespoke methods used to produce datasets for specific individual countries are available through the WorldPop Open Population Repository (WOPR) link below. These are 100m resolution gridded population estimates using customized methods ("bottom-up" and/or "top-down") developed for the latest data available from each country. They can also be visualised and explored through the woprVision App.
The remaining datasets in the links below are produced using the "top-down" method, with either the unconstrained or constrained top-down disaggregation method used. Please make sure you read the Top-down estimation modelling overview page to decide on which datasets best meet your needs. Datasets are available to download in Geotiff and ASCII XYZ format at a resolution of 3 and 30 arc-seconds (approximately 100m and 1km at the equator, respectively):

- Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020 ( 1km resolution ): Consistent 1km resolution population count datasets created using unconstrained top-down methods for all countries of the World for each year 2000-2020.
- Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020 ( 100m resolution ): Consistent 100m resolution population count datasets created using unconstrained top-down methods for all countries of the World for each year 2000-2020.
- Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020 UN adjusted ( 100m resolution ): Consistent 100m resolution population count datasets created using unconstrained top-down methods for all countries of the World for each year 2000-2020 and adjusted to match United Nations national population estimates (UN 2019)
-Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020 UN adjusted ( 1km resolution ): Consistent 1km resolution population count datasets created using unconstrained top-down methods for all countries of the World for each year 2000-2020 and adjusted to match United Nations national population estimates (UN 2019).
-Unconstrained global mosaics 2000-2020 ( 1km resolution ): Mosaiced 1km resolution versions of the "Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020" datasets.
-Constrained individual countries 2020 ( 100m resolution ): Consistent 100m resolution population count datasets created using constrained top-down methods for all countries of the World for 2020.
-Constrained individual countries 2020 UN adjusted ( 100m resolution ): Consistent 100m resolution population count datasets created using constrained top-down methods for all countries of the World for 2020 and adjusted to match United Nations national population estimates (UN 2019).

Older datasets produced for specific individual countries and continents, using a set of tailored geospatial inputs and differing "top-down" methods and time periods are still available for download here: Individual countries and Whole Continent.

Data for earlier dates is available directly from WorldPop.

WorldPop (www.worldpop.org - School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton; Department of Geography and Geosciences, University of Louisville; Departement de Geographie, Universite de Namur) and Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University (2018). Global High Resolution Population Denominators Project - Funded by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1134076). https://dx.doi.org/10.5258/SOTON/WP00645

WorldPop produces different types of gridded population count datasets, depending on the methods used and end application. Please make sure you have read our Mapping Populations overview page before choosing and downloading a dataset.

A description of the modelling methods used for age and sex structures can be found in "https://pophealthmetrics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1478-7954-11-11" target="_blank"> Tatem et al and Pezzulo et al. Details of the input population count datasets used can be found here, and age/sex structure proportion datasets here.
Both top-down 'unconstrained' and 'constrained' versions of the datasets are available, and the differences between the two methods are outlined here. The datasets represent the outputs from a project focused on construction of consistent 100m resolution population count datasets for all countries of the World structured by male/female and 5-year age classes (plus a <1 year class). These efforts necessarily involved some shortcuts for consistency. The unconstrained datasets are available for each year from 2000 to 2020.
The constrained datasets are only available for 2020 at present, given the time periods represented by the building footprint and built settlement datasets used in the mapping.
Data for earlier dates is available directly from WorldPop.

WorldPop (www.worldpop.org - School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton; Department of Geography and Geosciences, University of Louisville; Departement de Geographie, Universite de Namur) and Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University (2018). Global High Resolution Population Denominators Project - Funded by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1134076). https://dx.doi.org/10.5258/SOTON/WP00646

The introduction of the government’s Digital India initiative, hand in hand with the increasing internet penetration over the recent years, resulted in the country’s digital population surging to 806 million active users as of February 2025. More than half of these were also active social media users. The traffic in the world’s second-largest internet market at this stage was largely dominated by mobile internet users. The causes and their effectsThe arrival of Reliance Jio services in 2007 provided people in the country with schemes and subsidies that were not only attractive but also easily affordable, irrespective of their income levels and socio-economic classes. The impact was almost instant, with over 60 percent of the mobile data traffic coming from Jio services in less than 10 years of its launch. The future holds greater promiseThe number of internet users has increased over the years in rural as well as urban areas. It seemed likely from previous trends that the launch of the Jio fixed line broadband service, called Gigafiber, might aid in the already increasing internet penetration across the country. Along with the demonetization in late 2016, digitization penetrated the country at a staggering rate, nearly 50 percent in 2019.

India Population: Census: Age: 10 to 14 Year data was reported at 132,709.212 Person th in 03-01-2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 124,847.000 Person th for 03-01-2001. India Population: Census: Age: 10 to 14 Year data is updated decadal, averaging 124,847.000 Person th from Mar 1991 (Median) to 03-01-2011, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 132,709.212 Person th in 03-01-2011 and a record low of 98,692.000 Person th in 03-01-1991. India Population: Census: Age: 10 to 14 Year data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Demographic – Table IN.GAD001: Census: Population: by Age Group.