The population of India is a bright kaleidoscope of peoples, races, ethnic groups, tribes that differ sharply from each other in language, customs, religion, appearance and history. Culturally, linguistically and genetically diverse, India ranks second in the world after Africa.
India has a population of about 1.2 billion and is not far behind China's population. This is about one sixth of the world's population. The population of India has almost tripled in the last half century. 30% of the country's population lives in cities. India's population density is one of the largest in the world (270 people/sq. km, in Delhi - 6400 people/sq. km). India is the leader in the number of peoples living in the country.
India's population is extremely diverse. Thousands of castes, social groups, ethnic and religious communities, nationalities, tribes and clans coexist in the country.
The formation of the Indian ethnos involved such nationalities as the Mongols, Arabs, Greeks (during the time of Alexander the Great), Afghans, Persians, Tibetans, Chinese and British. Moreover, the latter had the smallest impact on the culture of India, despite many years of its colonial dependence.
Most (70%) of the country's inhabitants are Indo-Aryans. They are swarthy, in appearance close to the European type. They mostly practice Islam or Hinduism.
Dravids (25%) - the most ancient, original population of the country, who lived before the arrival of the Aryans in India. Today, Dravidians are predominantly found in the southern regions of India, almost all are adherents of Hinduism.
Representatives of the Tibeto-Burmese, Mongoloid race (3%) are found in the north-east of the country, their culture has been greatly influenced by neighboring states - Tibet, Burma, China, Bhutan. They mostly practice Buddhism.
The remnants of the Austro-Asiatic race - Negroids - today are preserved mainly among the inhabitants of the Andaman Islands and in the south of the country. Many of them are carriers of a unique and rare culture.
In terms of religious composition, the population of India is divided into Hindus (more than 80% of the population), Buddhists - 0.7%, Christians - 2.4%, Sikhs - 2%, Muslims - 14%.
Officially, the country's population is not divided according to caste and nationality. The Constitution of India proclaims the equality of rights of all inhabitants of the country, who are equally its citizens, Indians by nationality. But in reality, Indian society is very differentiated along class, national, caste and religious lines. On the basis of this division constantly flare upconflicts.
Speaking of the Indians, one should not make the mistake of equalizing all ethnic groups and nationalities, even if they had different numbers. India, most of its inhabitants, have some common national features. Of course, there is a huge gulf between a highly cultured, educated Brahmin, who is difficult to distinguish from a European in appearance, and an inhabitant of an aboriginal tribe from the Andaman Islands or from the jungle of Orissa, who is still not far from a caveman in development, although both of them are representatives of the same nation. Therefore, it is very difficult to make a complete portrait of the nation or to give the population of India any comprehensive description.
