India Demographics

Population of India (2026)

View live population, charts & trends: Population of India

India Population
1,476,625,576
see live
Yearly Change
+0.87%
Global Share
17.8%
Global Rank
1

Median Age

The median age in India is 29.2 years (2026).

Fertility in India

A Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 2.1 represents the Replacement-Level Fertility : the average number of children per woman needed for each generation to exactly replace itself without needing international immigration. A value below 2.1 will cause the native population to decline


Total Fertility Rate (TFR)
1.93
(Live Births per Woman, 2026)

Life Expectancy in India

See also: Countries in the world ranked by Life Expectancy

Both Sexes
72.7
(life expectancy at birth, both sexes combined)
Females
74.4
(life expectancy at birth, females)
Males
71.2
(life expectancy at birth, males)


Infant Mortality Rate and Deaths of Children under 5 Years Old in India


Infant Mortality
20.9
(infant deaths per 1,000 live births)
Deaths under age 5
26.1
(per 1,000 live births)


India Urban Population

Currently, 36.0% of the population of India is urban (531,562,167 people in 2026)


Population Density

The 2026 population density in India is 497 people per km² (1,286 people per mi2), calculated on a total land area of 2,973,193 km² (1,147,956 sq. miles).

Largest Agglomerations and Cities in India

The 30 largest of 322 agglomerations and cities, ranked by population at the census of March 1, 2011 (by Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India and Delimitation Commission of India). An agglomeration counts a city together with the built-up suburbs around it, as one place.

RankAgglomeration or CityPopulation
1Mumbai18,394,912
2Delhi16,349,831
3Kolkata14,057,991
4Chennai8,653,521
5Bengaluru8,520,435
6Hyderabad7,677,018
7Ahmedabad6,357,693
8Pune5,057,709
9Surat4,591,246
10Jaipur3,046,163
11Kanpur2,920,496
12Lucknow2,902,920
13Nagpur2,497,870
14Ghaziabad2,375,820
15Indore2,170,295
16Coimbatore2,136,916
17Kochi2,119,724
18Patna2,049,156
19Kozhikode2,028,399
20Bhopal1,886,100
21Thrissur1,861,269
22Vadodara1,822,221
23Agra1,760,285
24Visakhapatnam1,728,128
25Malappuram1,699,060
26Thiruvananthapuram1,679,754
27Kannur1,640,986
28Ludhiana1,618,879
29Nashik1,561,809
30Vijayawada1,476,931
See all 322 agglomerations and cities in India

See also

Sources

Definitions

Population Pyramid

A Population pyramid (also called "Age-Sex Pyramid") is a graphical representation of the age and sex of a population.

Types:

  • Expansive - pyramid with a wide base (larger percentage of people in younger age groups, indicating high birth rates and high fertility rates) and narrow top (high death rate and lower life expectancies). It suggests a growing population. Example: Nigeria Population Pyramid
  • Constrictive - pyramid with a narrow base (lower percentage of younger people, indicating declining birth rates with each succeeding age group getting smaller than the previous one). Example: United States
  • Stationary - with a somewhat equal proportion of the population in each age group. The population is stable, neither increasing nor decreasing.

Stages:

Population pyramid stages

Dependency Ratio

There are three types of age dependency ratio: Youth, Elderly, and Total. All three ratios are commonly multiplied by 100.

Youth Dependency Ratio

Definition: population ages 0-15 divided by the population ages 16-64.

Formula: ([Population ages 0-15] ÷ [Population ages 16-64]) × 100

Elderly dependency ratio

Definition: population ages 65-plus divided by the population ages 16-64.

Formula: ([Population ages 65-plus] ÷ [Population ages 16-64]) × 100

Total dependency ratio

Definition: sum of the youth and old-age ratios.

Formula: (([Population ages 0-15] + [Population ages 65-plus]) ÷ [Population ages 16-64] ) × 100

NOTE: Dependency Ratio does not take into account labor force participation rates by age group. Some portion of the population counted as "working age" may actually be unemployed or not in the labor force whereas some portion of the "dependent" population may be employed and not necessarily economically dependent.