India, officially called the Republic of India, is a vast and culture-centric country in South Asia. India is the second-largest country in the world in terms of population and the 7th largest country in the world by Area. There are more than 1600 languages used for communicating with each other. India is also called the home of multiple languages.
There are two major family languages (Indo-Aryan and Dravidian) in India. More than 74% of India’s population speaks the Indo-Aryan language and the speaker of the Dravidian language is somewhere around 24%. Hindi is the most popular language in India and it is also the official language of the Government of India.
- Hindi
- Bengali
- Marathi
- Telugu
- Tamil
- Gujarati
- Urdu
- Kannada
- Odia
- Malayalam
The List of Most Spoken Languages in India 2024
Here is the list of the top 10 most spoken languages in India. The data which we are going to share with you is based on the India 2011 census Report.
Hindi
Hindi is the most spoken language in India. It is the official language of GOI. Most Indian states like Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan use the Hindi language as their official language. More than 5 million people speak and use Hindi in their regular use. The Hindi language is also in the list of the most spoken languages in the world.
Native speakers- 341 million
Non-native speakers- 274 million
Bengali
Bengali is the second most spoken language in India. Bangla is the official language of the Indian state of West Bengal. Bangla is also the most spoken language in Bangladesh. More than 30 crore people speak the Bengali language in India and worldwide. The interesting part is that the National Anthem of India was written in the Bengali language.
Native speakers- 228 million
Non-native speakers- 37 million
Marathi
Marathi is the 3rd most spoken language in India. It is the official language of the Indian State of Maharashtra. Also, some part of the population speaks Maratha in Goa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat. More than 83 million people speak the Marathi language which is somewhere around 7% of the total population.
Telugu
Telugu originated from the Dravidian language Family. Telugu is the most spoken language in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. This language is also spoken in different parts of India. More than 81 million people speak the Telugu language which is around 6.9% of the total population. Telugu is also a very famous language in China, Burma, South Africa, and the U.S.A.
Tamil
Tamil is a very popular language in South India. It is mostly spoken in Tamilnadu, Panducheri, and Andaman Nicobar Islands. Not only in India, but this language is also very famous in Srilanka and Singapore. Tamil is the official language of both the country (Srilanka and Singapore). More than 70 million people speak the Tamil language in India. This language is in the growing stage, and several people adopting this language for their daily use.
Gujarati
Gujarati is the official language of the Indian state of Gujarat. In addition to Gujarat, you will find Gujarati speakers in the other Indian States like Maharashtra and more. More than 6 crore people speak the Gujarati language in India. Let us tell you that the Gujarati language evolved from Sanskrit by Indo-Aryans in ancient times.
Urdu
Urdu is spoken by more than 1000 million people around the world. In India, more than 50 million people speak Urdu for daily and official use. Urdu is one of the official languages of some of the Indian States like West Bengal, Bihar, and Jammu Kashmir. Apart from India, Urdu is spoken in many countries around the world, including Pakistan, Britain, Canada, the United States, and the Middle East. Even Urdu is the official language of Pakistan.
Kannada
Like Tamil and Telugu, the Kannada language also originated from the Dravidian family. This language is mostly spoken in the Indian state of Karnataka. In addition to India, the Kannada language is also spoken Australia, the United States of America, and Canada. More than 40 million people speak the Kannada language in India.
Odia
Odia language originated from the Indo-Aryan family. This language is widely spoken in the Indian state of Odisha. More than 35 million people speak the Odia language in India including Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal.
Malayalam
Like Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada, the Malayalam language also originated from the Dravidian family. This language is widely spoken in South India. The Malayalam language is the official language of the Indian state of Kerala. Not only in Kerala but this language is also spoken in Puducherry and Lakshadweep.
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Top 10 Most Spoken Languages in India FAQs (Frequently Ask Questions)
Question 1: What are the standard languages for the corporate office in India?
Answer: Hindi and English, are both the language uses in the corporate World. Apart from this, some regional languages are being used by corporate companies.
Question 2 – Total how many languages are spoken in India?
Answer – There are more than 1600 languages spoken in India for daily use.
Question 3 – How many people speak the English language in India?
Answer – Hindi and English both are the official languages of the Indian government. India is the second largest English speaking country in the world.