Question

What was the total population of India in March 2001?

Answer 1

Hint: This information can be found in the 2001 census of India. The 2001 census of India was the 14th census to be held in India since the first census which was conducted in 1871.

Complete Answer:According to the 2001 census of India the total population stood at 1028 million or around 103 crore. Out of the 1028 million 532 million were males and 496 million were females. Compared to the 1991 census the total population had increased by 21.5 percent.

According to the 2001 census hindus accounted for approximately 80.45 percent of the entire population ad muslims accounted for 13.4 percent. Around 7 lakh people did not state their religion. We also see 108 faiths under ‘Other religions and persuasion’.

Apart from hindus and muslims the other main religions in India are - christianity (2.3 %), sikh (1.8 %), buddhist (0.7 %), animist (0.4 %) and jain (0.4 %).

Hindi is the most widely spoken language, especially in the northern parts of India. According to the 2001 census 53.6 percent of the Indian population knew hindi whereas approximately 41 percent declared it as their native language or mother tongue. 24.8 percent of the population were bilingual speakers. India, with 780 languages, has the world’s second highest number of languages whereas Papua New Guinea has the highest number of languages, with 839 languages. English is the second most spoken language in India with approximately 12.2 percent population speaking the language.

Note: The census in India is conducted after every 10 years and is done by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. The office comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs.