List of Indian languages by total speakers
Encyclopedia
India
is home to several hundred languages
. Most Indians speak a language belonging either to the Indo-European
(ca. 74%), the Dravidian
(ca. 24%), the Austroasiatic (Munda
) (ca. 1.2%), or the Tibeto-Burman
(ca. 0.6%) families, with some languages of the Himalayas
still unclassified.
The SIL Ethnologue lists 415 living languages for India.
". The native speakers of Hindi so defined accounts for about 43% of Indians.
Indian English
is recorded as the native language of 226,449 Indians in the 2001 census. English is the second "language of the Union" besides Hindi.
Thirteen languages account for more than 1% of Indian population each, and between themselves for over 95%; all of them are "scheduled languages of the constitution."
Scheduled languages spoken by less than 1% of Indians are Santali
(0.64%), Nepali
(0.28%), Sindhi
(0.25%), Manipuri (0.14%), Bodo
(0.13%), Dogri
(0.01%), spoken in Jammu and Kashmir
). The largest language that is not "scheduled" is Bhili
(0.95%), followed by Gondi
(0.27%), Kumaoni (0.21%), Tulu
(0.17%) and Kurukh
(0.10%)
* Excludes figures of Paomata, Mao-Maram and Purul sub-divisions of Senapati district of Manipur for 2001.
** The percentage of speakers of each language for 2001 has been worked out on the total population of India excluding the population of Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul subdivisions of Senapati district of Manipur due to cancellation of census results.
The following are SIL Ethnologue estimates:
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
is home to several hundred languages
Languages of India
The languages of India belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-European languages—Indo-Aryan and the Dravidian languages...
. Most Indians speak a language belonging either to the Indo-European
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
(ca. 74%), the Dravidian
Dravidian languages
The Dravidian language family includes approximately 85 genetically related languages, spoken by about 217 million people. They are mainly spoken in southern India and parts of eastern and central India as well as in northeastern Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, and...
(ca. 24%), the Austroasiatic (Munda
Munda languages
-Anderson :Gregory Anderson's 1999 proposal is as follows. Individual languages are highlighted in italics.*North Munda **Korku**Kherwarian***Santhali***Mundari*South Munda **Kharia–Juang***Juang***Kharia...
) (ca. 1.2%), or the Tibeto-Burman
Tibeto-Burman languages
The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non-Chinese members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken thoughout the highlands of southeast Asia, as well as lowland areas in Burma ....
(ca. 0.6%) families, with some languages of the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
still unclassified.
The SIL Ethnologue lists 415 living languages for India.
Overview
Hindi is the most widespread language of India. The Indian census takes the widest possible definition of "Hindi" as a broad variety of "Hindi languagesHindi languages
The Hindi languages, also known as Madhya and the Central Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages, is a subset of the varieties of Hindi spoken across northern India that descend from the Madhya prakrits, and includes the official languages of India and Pakistan, Hindi and Urdu...
". The native speakers of Hindi so defined accounts for about 43% of Indians.
Indian English
Indian English
Indian English is an umbrella term used to describe dialects of the English language spoken primarily in the Republic of India.As a result of British colonial rule until Indian independence in 1947 English is an official language of India and is widely used in both spoken and literary contexts...
is recorded as the native language of 226,449 Indians in the 2001 census. English is the second "language of the Union" besides Hindi.
Thirteen languages account for more than 1% of Indian population each, and between themselves for over 95%; all of them are "scheduled languages of the constitution."
Scheduled languages spoken by less than 1% of Indians are Santali
Santali language
Santhali is a language in the Santhali subfamily of Austro-Asiatic, related to Ho and Mundari. It is spoken by about six million people in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan . Most of its speakers live in India, in the states of Jharkhand, Assam, Bihar, Orissa, Tripura, and West Bengal. It has...
(0.64%), Nepali
Nepali language
Nepali or Nepalese is a language in the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family.It is the official language and de facto lingua franca of Nepal and is also spoken in Bhutan, parts of India and parts of Myanmar...
(0.28%), Sindhi
Sindhi language
Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division...
(0.25%), Manipuri (0.14%), Bodo
Bodo language
Bodo is a language that belongs to the branch of Barish section under Baric division of the Tibeto-Burman languages and spoken by the Bodo people of north-eastern India and Nepal...
(0.13%), Dogri
Dogri language
Dogri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about five million people in Pakistan and India, chiefly in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, but also in northern Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, other parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and elsewhere. Dogri speakers are called Dogras, and the Dogri-speaking...
(0.01%), spoken in Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
). The largest language that is not "scheduled" is Bhili
Bhili language
Bhili is a Western Indo-Aryan language spoken in west-central India, in the region east of Ahmedabad. Other names for the language include Bhagoria and Bhilboli; varieties are Wagdi and Garasia. Bhili is a member of the Bhil language family, which is related to Gujarati and the Rajasthani language...
(0.95%), followed by Gondi
Gondi language
Gondi is spoken by the Gondi people. It is a Central-Dravidian language, spoken by about two million people chiefly in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattishgarh and in various adjoining areas of neighbouring states...
(0.27%), Kumaoni (0.21%), Tulu
Tulu language
The Tulu language |?]]]) is a Dravidian language spoken by 1.95 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state Karnataka known as Tulu Nadu. In India, 1.72 million people speak it as their mother tongue , increased by 10 percent over the 1991 census...
(0.17%) and Kurukh
Kurukh language
Kurukh , also called Kurux, Kuṛux or Kuruḵẖ, is a Dravidian language spoken by the Oraon and Kisan tribal peoples of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal, India, as well as in northern Bangladesh. It is most closely related to Brahui and Malto...
(0.10%)
List by number of native speakers
Ordered by number of speakers as first language. Indian population in 1991 exhibited 19.4% of bilingualism and 7.2% of trilingualism, so that the total percentage of "native languages" is at about 127%.More than one million speakers
The 2001 census recorded 29 individual languages as having more than 1 million native speakers (0.1% of total population).Rank | Language | 2001 census (total population 1,028.610,328 ) |
1991 census (total population 838,583,988) |
Encarta Encarta Microsoft Encarta was a digital multimedia encyclopedia published by Microsoft Corporation from 1993 to 2009. , the complete English version, Encarta Premium, consisted of more than 62,000 articles, numerous photos and illustrations, music clips, videos, interactive contents, timelines, maps and... 2007 estimate (worldwide speakers) |
||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Speakers | Percentage | Speakers | Percentage | Speakers | ||
1 | Hindi Hindi languages The Hindi languages, also known as Madhya and the Central Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages, is a subset of the varieties of Hindi spoken across northern India that descend from the Madhya prakrits, and includes the official languages of India and Pakistan, Hindi and Urdu... |
422,048,642 | 41.03% | 329,518,087 | 39.29% | 366 M |
2 | Bengali Bengali language Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script... |
83,369,769 | 8.11% | 69,595,738 | 8.30% | 207 M |
3 | Telugu | 74,002,856 | 7.19% | 66,017,615 | 7.87% | 69.7 M |
4 | Marathi Marathi language Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most... |
71,936,894 | 6.99% | 62,481,681 | 7.45% | 68.0 M |
5 | Tamil Tamil language Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore... |
60,793,814 | 5.91% | 53,006,368 | 6.32% | 66.0 M |
6 | Urdu | 51,536,111 | 5.01% | 43,406,932 | 5.18% | 60.3 M |
7 | Gujarati Gujarati language Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages... |
46,091,617 | 4.48% | 40,673,814 | 4.85% | 46.1 M |
8 | Kannada Kannada language Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world... |
37,924,011 | 3.69% | 32,753,676 | 3.91% | 35.3 M |
9 | Malayalam Malayalam language Malayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people... |
33,066,392 | 3.21% | 30,377,176 | 3.62% | 35.7 M |
10 | Oriya Oriya language Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal... |
33,017,446 | 3.21% | 28,061,313 | 3.35% | 32.3 M |
11 | Punjabi Punjabi language Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language... |
29,102,477 | 2.83% | 23,378,744 | 2.79% | 57.1 M |
12 | Assamese Assamese language Assamese is the easternmost Indo-Aryan language. It is used mainly in the state of Assam in North-East India. It is also the official language of Assam. It is also spoken in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and other northeast Indian states. Nagamese, an Assamese-based Creole language is widely used in... |
13,168,484 | 1.28% | 13,079,696 | 1.56% | 15.4 M |
13 | Maithili Maithili language Maithili language is spoken in the eastern region of India and South-eastern region of Nepal. The native speakers of Maithili reside in Bihar, Jharkhand,parts of West Bengal and South-east Nepal... |
12,179,122 | 1.18% | 7,766,921 | 0.926% | 24.2 M |
14 | Bhili/Bhilodi Bhili language Bhili is a Western Indo-Aryan language spoken in west-central India, in the region east of Ahmedabad. Other names for the language include Bhagoria and Bhilboli; varieties are Wagdi and Garasia. Bhili is a member of the Bhil language family, which is related to Gujarati and the Rajasthani language... |
9,582,957 | 0.93% | |||
15 | Santali Santali language Santhali is a language in the Santhali subfamily of Austro-Asiatic, related to Ho and Mundari. It is spoken by about six million people in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan . Most of its speakers live in India, in the states of Jharkhand, Assam, Bihar, Orissa, Tripura, and West Bengal. It has... |
6,469,600 | 0.63% | 5,216,325 | 0.622% | |
16 | Kashmiri Kashmiri language Kashmiri is a language from the Dardic sub-group and it is spoken primarily in the Kashmir Valley, in Jammu and Kashmir. There are approximately 5,554,496 speakers in Jammu and Kashmir, according to the Census of 2001. Most of the 105,000 speakers or so in Pakistan are émigrés from the Kashmir... |
5,527,698 | 0.54% | |||
17 | Nepali Nepali language Nepali or Nepalese is a language in the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family.It is the official language and de facto lingua franca of Nepal and is also spoken in Bhutan, parts of India and parts of Myanmar... |
2,871,749 | 0.28% | 2,076,645 | 0.248% | 16.1 M |
18 | Gondi Gondi language Gondi is spoken by the Gondi people. It is a Central-Dravidian language, spoken by about two million people chiefly in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattishgarh and in various adjoining areas of neighbouring states... |
2,713,790 | 0.26% | |||
19 | Sindhi Sindhi language Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division... |
2,535,485 | 0.25% | 2,122,848 | 0.253% | 19.7 M |
20 | Konkani Konkani language KonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north... |
2,489,015 | 0.24% | 1,760,607 | 0.210% | |
21 | Dogri Dogri language Dogri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about five million people in Pakistan and India, chiefly in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, but also in northern Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, other parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and elsewhere. Dogri speakers are called Dogras, and the Dogri-speaking... |
2,282,589 | 0.22% | |||
22 | Khandeshi | 2,075,258 | 0.21% | |||
23 | Kurukh Kurukh language Kurukh , also called Kurux, Kuṛux or Kuruḵẖ, is a Dravidian language spoken by the Oraon and Kisan tribal peoples of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal, India, as well as in northern Bangladesh. It is most closely related to Brahui and Malto... |
1,751,489 | 0.17% | |||
24 | Tulu Tulu language The Tulu language |?]]]) is a Dravidian language spoken by 1.95 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state Karnataka known as Tulu Nadu. In India, 1.72 million people speak it as their mother tongue , increased by 10 percent over the 1991 census... |
1,722,768 | 0.17% | |||
25 | Meitei/Manipuri | 1,466,705* | 0.14% | 1,270,216 | 0.151% | |
26 | Bodo Bodo language Bodo is a language that belongs to the branch of Barish section under Baric division of the Tibeto-Burman languages and spoken by the Bodo people of north-eastern India and Nepal... |
1,350,478 | 0.13% | 1,221,881 | 0.146% | |
27 | Khasi Khasi language Khasi is an Austro-Asiatic language spoken primarily in Meghalaya state in India by the Khasi people. Khasi is part of the Austroasiatic family of languages, and is fairly closely related to the Munda branch of that family, which is spoken in east&endash;central India.Although most of the 865,000... |
1,128,575 | 0.11% | |||
28 | Mundari Mundari language The Mundari are a small ethnic group of South Sudan and one of the Nilotic peoples.The group is composed of cattle-herders and agriculturalists and are part of Karo people which also includes Bari, Pojulu, Kakwa, Kuku and Nyangwara... |
1,061,352 | 0.103% | |||
29 | Ho Ho language Ho is a Munda language of the Austroasiatic language family spoken primarily in India by about 3,803,126 people. It is written with the Devanagari and the Varang Kshiti scripts. It is spoken by the Ho people. 0.103% of India's Population speaks this language as per the 2001 census.The Script was... |
1,042,724 | 0.101% |
* Excludes figures of Paomata, Mao-Maram and Purul sub-divisions of Senapati district of Manipur for 2001.
** The percentage of speakers of each language for 2001 has been worked out on the total population of India excluding the population of Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul subdivisions of Senapati district of Manipur due to cancellation of census results.
100,000 to one million speakers
Rank | Language | 2001 census | |
---|---|---|---|
Speakers | Percentage | ||
30 | Kui | 916,222 | |
31 | Garo Garo language Garo is the language of the majority of the people of the Garo Hills in the Indian state of Meghalaya. Garo is also used in Kamrup, Dhubri, Goalpara and the Darrang districts of Assam, India as well as in neighboring Bangladesh... |
889,479 | |
32 | Kokborok Kokborok language The Borok language, or Kok Borok, also spelled Kokborok and also known as Tripuri, is the native language of the Tripuri people of the Indian state of Tripura and neighboring areas of Bangladesh. The word Kok Borok is a compound of kok "language" and borok "people", which is used specifically for... |
854,023 | |
33 | Mizo Mizo language The Mizo language is natively spoken by Mizo people in Mizoram, a state in the Indian Union; Chin State of Burma and in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. The language is also known as Lushai , as Lusei people are the first clan who have an external exposure... |
674,756 | |
34 | Halabi | 593,443 | |
35 | Korku Korku language The Korku language is the language of the Korku tribe of central India. It belongs to the Kolarian or Munda family, isolated in the midst of a Dravidian population. The Korkus are also closely associated with the Nihali people, many of whom have traditionally lived in special quarters of Korku... |
574,481 | |
36 | Munda Munda languages -Anderson :Gregory Anderson's 1999 proposal is as follows. Individual languages are highlighted in italics.*North Munda **Korku**Kherwarian***Santhali***Mundari*South Munda **Kharia–Juang***Juang***Kharia... |
469,357 | |
37 | Mishing Mishing language Mishing is a Tibetan–Burman language spoken by the Mishing people. There are over 500,000 speakers of the language. It is also known as Plains Miri or Takam.... |
390,583 | 0.047% |
38 | Karbi/Mikir Karbi language The Karbí language, also known as Mikir or Arleng, is spoken by the Karbi people of Assam. It belongs to the Tibeto-Burman language family, but its position is unclear... |
366,229 | 0.044% |
39 | Saurashtra Saurashtra language Sourashtra or "Sourashtras" or ꢱꣃꢬꢵꢰ꣄ꢜ꣄ꢬꢵ refers to a community of people who had their original homes in Gujarat and presently settled almost in all major Towns of Tamil Nadu and are concentrated more in Madurai which is considered as their cultural Headquarters.They have also settled in... |
310,000 | 0.037% |
40 | Savara Savara language The Savara language is a South-Central Dravidian language. It is known to be written using the Oriya and Telugu scripts, as well as its own writing system.... |
273,168 | 0.033% |
41 | Koya Koya language Koya is a South Central Dravidian language of the Kui-Gondi subgroup.It is variously written in the Oriya, Telugu, Devanagari or Roman script... |
270,994 | 0.032% |
42 | Kharia Kharia language The Kharia language is an Austro-Asiatic language that is primarily spoken by indigenous Kharia people of eastern India.-Classification:Kharia belongs to the Kharia–Juang branch of the Munda language family... |
225,556 | 0.027% |
43 | Khond/Kondh Khonds Khonds, or Kandhs are an aboriginal tribe of India, inhabiting the tributary states of Orissa and Srikakulam, in the Visakhapatnam districts of Andhra Pradesh. Their main divisions are into Kutia, or hill Khonds and plain-dwelling Khonds; the landowners are known as Raj Khonds. They are hunter... |
220,783 | 0.026% |
44 | English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
178,598 | 0.021% |
45 | Nishi Nishi language Nishi , or East Dafla, is a small Tibetan–Burman language of India. Tagin may be a distinct language, as may Bangni.... |
173,791 | 0.021% |
46 | Ao Ao language Mongsen Ao is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Ao of Nagaland in northeast India. Conventionally classified as "Naga", the Ao languages are not clearly related to other Naga languages. Gordon estimates that there are 141,000 speakers of Mongsen and Chungli Ao.Missionary grammars from the... |
172,449 | 0.021% |
50 | Sema Sema language Sema, or Sumi, is a Naga language of Nagaland state, India. It is spoken by the Sumi Naga people.... |
166,157 | 0.020% |
51 | Kisan Kisan Tribe Kisan Tribe in Orissa are found in Sundergarh, Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur and Keonjhar. They are traditional farmers and food gathering people. They speak the Kurukh language along with Kosli, Hindi and English.... |
162,088 | 0.019% |
52 | Adi Adi language Adi, or Abor, is a small Tibetan–Burman language of India. The various dialects in the box at right, and perhaps a few more, may be distinct languages.... |
158,409 | 0.019% |
53 | Rabha Rabha Rabha is a little known Scheduled Tribe community of West Bengal and Assam. The language/dialect spoken by the Rabha people is also of the same name. In West Bengal, Rabha people mainly live in Jalpaiguri district and Cooch Behar district. Moreover, almost, 70 per cent of them live in... |
139,365 | 0.017% |
54 | Konyak Konyak language Konyak is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Konyak people of Nagaland, north-eastern India.- Phonology :There are three lexically contrastive contour tones in Konyak – rising , falling and level .- Vowels :The vowels , and are lengthened before approximants... |
137,722 | 0.016% |
55 | Malto | 108,148 | 0.013% |
56 | Thado Thado language Thado is a Kukish language of India and Burma.... |
107,992 | 0.013% |
57 | Tangkhul Tangkhul languages The Tangkhul or Luhupa languages are a small family of Tibeto-Burman languages spoken in Nagaland in northeast India. Conventionally classified as "Naga", they are not clearly related to other Naga languages, and are conservatively classified as an independent branch of Tibeto-Burman, pending... |
101,841 | 0.012% |
10,000 to 100,000 speakers
1991 census | SIL estimate | ||
58 | Kolami Kolami language Kolami is a tribal Central Dravidian language used in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra states of India. It takes route from the central branch of Dravidian Language tree and falls under Kolami–Paraji group of languages.... |
98,281 (0.012%) | 115,000 (1997) Northwestern: 50,000; Southeastern: 10,000 |
59 | Angami Angami language Angami is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Naga Hills in the northeastern part of India, in Kohima district, Nagaland.... |
97,631 (0.012%) | 109,000 (1997) |
60 | Kodagu | 97,011 (0.012%) | 122,000 |
61 | Dogri Dogri language Dogri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about five million people in Pakistan and India, chiefly in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, but also in northern Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, other parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and elsewhere. Dogri speakers are called Dogras, and the Dogri-speaking... |
89,681 (0.011%) | (Pakistan+India: 2.1 million) |
62 | Dimasa Dimasa language Dimasa language is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Dimasa people in the state of Assam in North East India.-Phrases:English / Dimasa1)Where are you? = Ning baraha dong?2)I am here. = Ang eraha dong?... |
88,543 (0.011%) | 106,000 |
63 | Lotha Lotha language The Lotha language is spoken by approximately 80,000 people in the northeastern Indian state of Nagaland. It is centered in the small district of Wokha . This district has many villages such as Merapani, Englan, Pakti and others, where the language is widely spoken and studied... |
85,802 (0.010%) | 80,000 |
64 | Mao | 77,810 (0.009%) | 81,000 |
65 | Tibetan Tibetan language The Tibetan languages are a cluster of mutually-unintelligible Tibeto-Burman languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering the Indian subcontinent, including the Tibetan Plateau and the northern Indian subcontinent in Baltistan, Ladakh,... |
69,146 (0.008%) | 124,280 (1994) |
66 | Kabui (Rongmei) | 68,925 (0.008%) | 59,000 (1997) |
67 | Phom Phom language Phom is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Phom people of Nagaland, north-eastern India.- External links :**... |
65,350 (0.008%) | 34,000 (1997) |
The following are SIL Ethnologue estimates:
estimated native speakers | |
Gaddi | 120,000 |
Pardhi | 119,700 |
Pardhan Pardhan language Pardhan is a South-Central Dravidian language spoken in India, mostly in Andhra Pradesh, Adilbad District; Madhya Pradesh, Seoni, Mandla, Chhindawara, Hoshangabad, Betul, Balaghat, Jabalpur districts; Chhattisgarh, Raipur, Bilaspur districts; Maharashtra, Bhandara, Garhchiroli, Nagpur, Wardha, and... |
116,919 |
Churahi | 110,552 |
Sauria Paharia Sauria Paharia language The Sauria Paharia language is spoken in the Bihar and West Bengal states of India, and some pockets of Bangladesh.Most of the speakers are in India with around 110,000... |
110,000 |
Kullu | 109,000 |
Bhattiyali | 102,252 |
Ladakhi Ladakhi language The Ladakhi language , now also called Bhoti, and by linguists more generally called Western Archaic Tibetan when the Balti and Burig or Purig or Purki dialects are included, is the predominant language in the Ladakh region of the Jammu and Kashmir state of India, and is also spoken in Baltistan... |
102,000 |
Dungra Bhil | 100,000 |
Adiwasi Garasia | 100,000 |
Rajput Garasia | 100,000 |
Noiri Noiri language Bhilori is a Bhil language of India, intermediate between Vasavi Gujarati and Bareli Pauri. There are 100,000 of each of the two varieties, Dungra and Noiri, which are highly intelligible with each other.... |
100,000 |
Jaunsari | 97,000 |
Pnar Pnar language Pnar is an Austro-Asiatic language spoken in India and Bangladesh.- Vowels :- Consonants :... |
84,000 |
Andh Andh language The Andh language, also known as Andhi, is spoken by somewhere between 80,000 and 100,000 Andhs in India.The language is unclassified. Although these numbers sound substantial, it appears Andh may be losing ground with many Andhs speaking Marathi at home.... |
80,000 |
Mara Mara language The Mara language is a language spoken by Mara people living in South Mizoram, India and the adjacent people living in Chin State in Burma, formerly Burma.The Mara language belongs to the Kukish branch of the Tibeto-Burman family of languages... |
79,000 (India: 47,000 Burma:32,000) |
Mawchi | 76,000 |
Bishnupriya | 75,000 |
Duruwa Duruwa language Duruwa language , also called, Parji is a Central Dravidian language spoken by the ‘Dhurwa’ tribe, a Scheduled tribe people of India, in the districts of Koraput and Bastar in Chhattisgarh State... |
75,000 |
Lodhi Lodhi language Lodhi is a Munda language, or perhaps dialect cluster, of India that has been strongly influenced by neighboring Eastern Indic languages.... : |
75,000 |
Bhadrawahi | 69,000 |
Eastern Magar Magar language Not to be confused with the Magyar language, known in English as HungarianMagar मगर भाषा Magar bhasa is a language spoken in parts of Nepal and Sikkim in India by Magar people. It is divided into two groups: Eastern and Western, and further dialect divisions give distinct tribal identity... |
67,691 |
Balti Balti language Balti is a language spoken in Baltistan, in Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan and adjoining parts of Ladakh. Baltistan, before 1948, was part of Ladakh province. The Balti language is a dialect of the Ladakhi language, a form of Tibetan. It is mutually intelligible with Ladakhi proper and Burig... |
67,000 |
Korwa Korwa language Korwa, or Koraku , is a Munda language of India.Korwa is a dialect continuum. The two principal varieties are Korwa and Koraku , spoken by the Korwa and Kodaku people. The Kodaku in Jharkand call their language "Korwa". Both speak Sadri, Kurukh, or Chhattisgarhi as a second language, or in the... |
66,000 |
Mahali | 66,000 |
Rana Tharu | 64,000 |
Paniya Paniya Paniya is one of the languages of India. It is a language of the scheduled tribes with a majority of its speakers in the state of Kerala. It is also called as Pania, Paniyan and Panyah. It belongs to the Dravidian family of languages. According to the 1981 Census, there were 63,827 speakers of... |
63,827 |
Rathwi Bareli | 63,700 |
Rawang | 60,536 |
Sansi | 60,000 |
Kachari Kachari language Kachari is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by about 59,000 people in Assam, India.Less than 30% of the Kachari people speak the Kachari language as their mother tongue. Most grow up speaking Assamese instead.... |
59,000 |
Bazigar | 58,236 |
Agariya Agariya language The Agariya language is spoken by the Agariya people, especially in Madhya Pradesh in India. It is a Munda language.... |
55,757 |
Kanjari | 55,386 |
Mal Paharia Mal Paharia language Mal Paharia, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about 60,000 of 111,000 ethnic Mal Paharia in the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal in India and possibly in Bangladesh. There is a positive attitude amongst speakers of the language, and the language health is considered vigorous. Nonetheless,... |
51,000 |
Poumei Naga | 51,000 |
Bodo Parja | 50,000 |
Hmar Hmar language The Hmar language belongs to the Kukish branch of the Tibeto-Burman family of languages. The speakers of the language are also known as Hmar.Hmar speakers are scattered over a vast area in Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Chittagong Hill tracts, and NC Hills and Cachar districts of Assam... |
50,000 |
Juang Juang language The Juang language is a language spoken primarily by the Juang people of eastern India.- Classification :The Juang language belongs to the Munda language family, the whole of which is classified as a branch of the greater Austro-Asiatic language family. Among the Munda languages, Juang is... |
50,000 |
Desiya Oriya | 50,000 |
Kinnauri Kinnauri language Kinnauri, also known as Kanauri, Kanor, Koonawur, or Kunawar is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Kinnaur district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.-Consonants:... |
48,778 |
Moinba | 46,000 |
Paite Zogam Zogam is the name for a territory, approximately in size, in Burma, India and Bangladesh... |
45,000 |
Tase Naga | 45,000 |
Wancho Naga | 45,000 |
Braj Bhasha | 44,000 |
Buksa | 43,000 |
Sangtam Naga | 39,000 |
Lepcha Lepcha language Lepcha language, or Róng language , is a Himalayish language spoken by the Lepcha people in Sikkim and parts of West Bengal, Nepal and Bhutan.-Population:... |
38,000 |
Kudmali | 37,000 |
Yimchungru Naga | 37,000 |
Gowli | 35,000 |
Jennu Kurumba | 35,000 |
Nocte Naga | 35,000 |
Khirwar | 34,251 |
Betta Kurumba | 32,000 |
Chang Naga | 31,000 |
Dangaura Tharu | 31,000 |
Gadaba Gadaba language Gadaba language refers to a language of the Gadaba people. This may be,*Gutob language , an Austro-Asiatic language*Ollari language , a Dravidian language... |
31,000 (Pottangi Ollar: 15,000; Bodo: 8,000; Mudhili: 8,000) |
Zeme Naga | 30,800 |
Naga Pidgin | 30,000 |
Car Nicobarese | 30,000 |
Kurichiya | 29,375 |
Mzieme Naga | 29,000 |
Chenchu Chenchu language Chenchu language is a Dravidian language which belongs to the Telugu branch of its South-Central family. This language is spoken mostly in Andhra Pradesh state in India. This language is spoken by about 28,754 persons of the Chenchu Aboriginal forests hunter-gatherer tribe. It is also called as... |
28,754 |
Sikkimese Sikkimese language The Sikkimese language, also called Sikkimese Tibetan, Bhutia, Dranjongke , Dranjoke, Denjongka, Denzongpeke, and Denzongke, belongs to the Southern Tibetan language family. It is spoken by the Bhutia nationality in Sikkim... |
28,600 |
Limbu Limbu language Limbu is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Kashmir and Darjeeling district, West Bengal, India, by the Limbu community. Virtually all Limbus are bilingual in Nepali.... |
28,000 |
Majhwar Majhwar language Majhwar is an unclassified language—possibly a dialect of Asuri—spoken in parts of Nepal and Sikkim. Total population: 27,958.... |
27,958 |
Vaiphei | 27,791 |
Ravula | 27,413 |
Western Panjabi | 27,386 |
Deori Deori language Deori is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Deori people of Assam. It is one of the official languages of Arunachal Pradesh. Only one of the Deori tribes, the Dibongya, has retained the language, the others having shifted to Assamese, but among the Dibongya it is vigorous.The Deori and their... |
26,900 |
Khoibu Naga | 25,600 |
Falam Chin | 25,367 |
Kanikkaran Kanikkaran language Kanikkaran is a language spoken by 19,000 people in southern India. They dwell in forests or near to forests in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam in Kerala, and Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu.... |
25,000 |
Khiamniungan Naga | 25,000 |
Maram Naga | 25,000 |
Tutsa Naga | 25,000 |
Sirmauri | 25,000 |
Arakanese | 24,000 |
Chokri Naga | 24,000 |
Sholaga | 24,000 |
Thangal Naga | 23,600 |
Kamar | 23,456 |
Apatani Apatani language Apatani is a small Tibetan–Burman language of India. As most endangered oral languages, Apatani does not yet have a standardized orthography, and there is still some debate among the Apatanis on which script should be used to transcribe it.... |
23,000 |
Koch | 23,000 |
Khezha Naga | 23,000 |
Tiwa Tiwa (Lalung) Tiwa is a tribal group inhabiting the States of Assam and Meghalaya in Northeast India. They are recognized as a Scheduled tribe within the State of Assam... |
23,000 |
Southern Rengma Naga | 21,000 |
Shina Shina language Shina is a Dardic language spoken by a plurality of people in Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan and Dras in Ladakh of Indian-Administered Kashmir. The valleys in which it is spoken include Astore, Chilas, Dareil, Tangeer, Gilgit, Ghizer, and a few parts of Baltistan and Kohistan. It is also spoken in... |
21,000 |
Gowlan | 20,179 |
Kumarbhag Paharia | 20,179 |
Savara Savara language The Savara language is a South-Central Dravidian language. It is known to be written using the Oriya and Telugu scripts, as well as its own writing system.... |
20,179 |
Matu Chin | 20,000 |
Liangmai Naga | 20,000 |
Ooty, Nilgiris | 20,000 |
Sakechep | 20,000 |
Seraiki | 20,000 |
Sherpa Sherpa language Sherpa is a language spoken in parts of Nepal and Sikkim mainly by the Sherpa community. About 130,000 speakers live in Nepal , some 20,000 in India , and some 800 in Tibet .... |
20,000 |
Toto Toto language Toto is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken on the border of India and Bhutan, by the tribal Toto people. The Himalayan Languages Project is working on the first grammatical sketch of Toto.-References:*... |
20,000 |
Khowar Khowar language For the ethnic group, see under Chitrali people.Khowar , also known as Chitrali, is a Dardic language spoken by 400,000 people in Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in the Ghizer district of Gilgit-Baltistan , and in parts of Upper Swat... |
19,200 |
Biete | 19,000 |
Hajong Hajong language Hajong is an Indo-Aryan language with Tibeto-Burman roots spoken by more than 175,000 ethnic Hajong in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal in India and the Mymensingh District in Bangladesh. It is written in the Assamese script, and it is being supplanted by the... |
19,000 |
Reli | 19,000 |
Manna-Dora | 18,964 |
Hrangkhol | 18,665 |
Bhunjia | 18,601 |
Persian Persian language Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence... |
18,000 |
Mukha-Dora | 17,456 |
Maring Naga | 17,361 |
Pangwali | 17,000 |
Asuri Asuri language Asuri is a minor Munda language of India.Ethnologue states that Birjia is a dialect of Asuri, but also that there is a related language Birjia; it is not clear if these refer to the same thing.... |
16,596 |
Dhatki Dhatki language Dhatki, also known as Dhati or Thari, is one of the Rajasthani languages of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is most closely related to Marwari.-Speakers:... |
16,400 |
Malaryan | 16,068 |
Malavedan | 15,241 |
Gangte Gangte language Gangte is a Kukish language of India. There are a few speakers across the border in Burma.... |
15,100 |
Konda-Dora | 15,000 |
Korra Koraga | 15,000 |
Mudu Koraga | 15,000 |
Kalto (Nahali) Kalto language Kalto or Nahali is an Indo-Aryan language of India. Kalto is the ethnonym; "Nahal" or "Nihal" is disparaging. The language is often confused with Nihali, an apparent language isolate spoken by neighboring people with a similar lifestyle.... |
15,000 |
Dhivehi (Mahl dialect) Dhivehi language Maldivian is an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by about 350,000 people in the Maldives where it is the national language. It is also the first language of nearly 10,000 people in the island of Minicoy in the Union territory of Lakshadweep, India where the Mahl dialect of the Maldivian... |
15,000 |
Northern Pashto | 15,000 |
Ullatan | 14,846 |
Eastern Tamang Tamang language Tamang is a term used to collectively refer to a dialect cluster spoken in parts of Nepal and Sikkim. It comprises Eastern Tamang, Northwestern Tamang, Southwestern Tamang, Eastern Gorkha Tamang, and Western Tamang... |
14,000 |
Anal Anal language Anal, also known as Namfau, is a Northern Kukish language, part of the Sino-Tibetan language family, spoken by a dwindling number of Anal people in India, Burma, and possibly Bangladesh. It had 14,000 speakers in India according to the 2001 census. UNESCO lists Anal as having 23,000 speakers in... |
13,853 |
Northern Rengma Naga | 13,000 |
Pochuri Naga | 13,000 |
Western Muria | 12,898 |
Muthuvan | 12,219 |
Zangskari | 12,006 |
Mirgan | 12,000 |
War War language War , War-Jaintia or Amwi is an Austro-Asiatic language spoken by about 16,000 people in Bangladesh and 12,000 people in India.... |
12,000 |
Kaikadi Kaikadi language The Kaikadi language is a Dravidian language related to Tamil, spoken by about 23,000 people of the nomad Kaikadi tribe.... |
11,846 |
Idu-Mishmi | 11,041 |
Pattani Pattani language Pattani, also known as Manchati, Manchad, Patni, Chamba, Chamba Lahuli, Lahuli, Swangla, Changsapa Boli is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The language is spoken in the Lahul Valley, Pattan, Chamba-Lahul, and lower Mayar valleys... |
11,000 |
Changthang | 10,089 |
Degaru | 10,089 |
Eastern Muria | 10,089 |
Far Western Muria | 10,089 |
Andaman Creole Hindi | 10,000 |
Palya Bareli | 10,000 |
Birhor Birhor language The Birhor language is a Munda language spoken by the Birhor people in Orissa, West Bengal, and Maharashtra states in India.... |
10,000 |
Lamkang | 10,000 |
Inpui Naga | 10,000 |
Spiti Bhoti | 10,000 |
Vaagri Booli | 10,000 |
General references
- Data table of Census of India, 2001
- Language Maps from Central Institute of Indian Languages
- SCHEDULED LANGUAGES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF SPEAKERS' STRENGTH – 2001
- COMPARATIVE RANKING OF SCHEDULED LANGUAGES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF SPEAKERS' STRENGTH-1971, 1981, 1991 AND 2001
- Census data on Languages