10 Most Spoken Languages in India by the Number of Speakers: Check the complete list here!

Safalta Expert Published by: Harshita Pathak Updated Wed, 30 Nov 2022 10:24 AM IST

Highlights

According to the most recent census data, over 9,500 languages are spoken as the mother tongue in India. India is home to a number of significant languages. Let us read about the top ten most spoken languages in India, according to the 2011 language census.

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We know that India is the world’s seventh-largest country by area as well as the world's second-most populous country. The country has a population of more than 1.3 billion people. India has great linguistic diversity, with 9,500 languages recognised as the first language. There are a total of 121 languages that are spoken by more than 10,000 people. The diversity and richness of languages and dialects are such that Indian Constitution itself has recognised 22 languages under the 8 th schedule.

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There are various groups and families of languages in India. The linguist diversity is second only to Namibia. The candidates aspiring for the various examinations must be aware of the top 10 languages by Number in India.  While Hindi has the largest community of speakers, other regional languages like Bengali and Marathi are not too far behind. The space below has the complete list of the 10 Most Spoken Languages in India by the Number of Speakers as per the data. You may also read Most Important List of Lists for Government Exams
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Table of content

List of Top 10 Most Spoken Languages in India
Hindi
Bengali
Marathi
Telugu
Tamil
Gujarati
Urdu
Kannada
Odia
Malayalam

 

List of Top 10 Most Spoken Languages in India

 
Language Speakers
Hindi 52.83 crore 
 Bengali  9.72 crore
Marathi   8.30 crore
Telugu  8.11 crore
Tamil  6.90 crore
Gujarati  5.54 crore
Urdu  5.07 crore
 Kannada  4.37 crore
Odia  3.75 crore
Malayalam  3.48 crore
 

1. Hindi 

In India, Hindi is the most widely spoken language. It is one of the country's official languages. According to the 2011 Indian Census, Hindi is the most widely spoken language in India, with 52.83 crore speakers and 43.63% of the population speaking it. Despite the fact that these examinations need an English paper, Hindi is also utilized as an additional medium in recruitment examinations for numerous major offices, institutes, and banks of the federal government.
 

2. Bengali

Bengali, with 9.72 crore speakers, is India's second most spoken language in terms of the number of speakers. Bengali-speaking people account for 8.03 percent of the overall population. This language differs in many states, most notably in usage, pronunciation, words, and phonetic form. Bengali is mostly spoken in the eastern Indian states of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam, and Tripura. This language is also spoken in the Middle East, the United States, Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

3. Marathi

According to 2011 Census statistics, Marathi is India's third most spoken language, with 8.30 crore speakers. It is spoken by 6.86% of the world's population.


Also check the List of Mughal Emperors: Prominent names, timeline and more!

4. Telugu

Telugu is a Dravidian language that is extensively spoken in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with 8.11 crore speakers according to 2011 Census statistics. This language is spoken by 6.70% of the world's population.

5. Tamil

The Tamil language has its origins in the Dravidian language family. Despite being the official language of both Singapore and Sri Lanka, it is also extensively spoken in India. The majority of Tamil is spoken in southern India, along the coast of Sri Lanka. Do you know that Tamil is regarded as one of the world's oldest living languages? It has a literary heritage that dates back over 2,000 years.

6. Gujarati

Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by 5.54 million Indians. Gujarat, a state in northwest India, has this as its official language. The Gujarati language arose from Sanskrit.


7. Urdu

In India, there are around 5.07 crore Urdu speakers. Urdu is also one of the country's official languages. West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana, and Jharkhand have it as an official language. Urdu is also Pakistan's official language.

8. Kannada

Kannada, like Tamil, is a Dravidian language. In India, it is spoken by 4.37 billion people. Did you know that Kannada is one of the world's oldest living languages? Outside of India, this language is spoken in Australia, the United States, and Canada. Many of these speakers come from the Indian Diaspora. Kannada is thought to have over 20 distinct dialects.

9. Odia

Odia is India's official language, with the majority of speakers concentrated in the state of Odisha. This language is spoken by 3.75 million people in the country. Odia is spoken by around 3.10 percent of the entire population.

10. Malayalam

Malayalam is spoken by around 3.48 crore people in India, mostly in the states of Kerala, Puducherry, and Lakshadweep. This language's roots can also be traced back to the Dravidian language.

English - 2,59,678 speakers

Along with Hindi, English is one of the official languages of India's federal government. English is an official language in various Indian states, including Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. English has been taught in Indian schools since the days of the East India Company in the 1800s.

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 Indian States, UTs and their Capitals, 28 States and 8 UTs List

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List of Oil Refineries in India

List of Rivers in India

 List of Men World records in athletics

List of Mountain Ranges in India

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Important Articles of Indian Constitution


 

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How many languages are spoken in India?

More than 1600 languages are spoken in India and these languages belong to four different language families. India is called a multilingual country because of this linguistic diversity.

What are the language families in India?

There are four language families in India, and they include Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Tibeto-Burman and Austro-Asian/ Munda.

Which language has the most speakers in India?

Hindi

Which is the queen of all languages?

Kannada Language spoken in the Southern State in India is the Queen Of All Languages In The World. The people spoke the most prominent Dravidian language of Karnataka In India.

Which is the 1st oldest language in India?

Vedic Sanskrit

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