[18] In 2023, the median age of an Indian was 29.5 years,[19] compared to 39.8 for China and 49.5 for Japan; and, by 2030; India's dependency ratio will be just over 0.4.

[26] The following table lists estimates for the population of India (including what are now Pakistan and Bangladesh) from prehistory up until 1820.

[27] [28] India's population has changed significantly due to migrations, technological advancements, and societal developments.

[53] Nizamuddin Ahmad (1551–1621) reported that, under Akbar's reign, Mughal India had 120 large cities and 3,200 townships.

Suggestions that it was the benefits of colonialism are refuted by academic thinking: "There can be no serious, informed belief... that... late colonial era mortality diminished and population grew rapidly because of improvements in income, living standards, nutrition, environmental standards, sanitation or health policies, nor was there a cultural transformation...".

[62] Mother tongue languages of India (2011) According to the 2001 census, 41.03% of the Indians spoke Hindi natively, while the rest spoke Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Maithili, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and a variety of other languages.

The table below excludes Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul subdivisions of Senapati District of Manipur state due to cancellation of census results.

[92] India's 2011 census shows a serious decline in the number of girls under the age of seven – activists posit that eight million female fetuses may have been aborted between 2001 and 2011.

[103] However, because Africa's population growth is extremely high compared to the rest of the world,[104][105] it is expected to surpass both China and India by the early 2030s.

The following data are from the Mandal report:[citation needed] 1) Indo-Aryans and Aryanized People: Geographical Distribution: Predominantly in North India, including states like Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, and parts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra etc.

General Phenotype: Indo-Aryans typically have light to medium to dark skin tones, with a range of hair colors from black to brown and often brunette[citation needed].

Sources: 2) Dravidian People: Geographical Distribution: Predominantly in South India, including states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Kerala etc.

Sources: 3) Sino-Tibetan People: Geographical Distribution: Predominantly in Northeast India, including states like Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and parts of Sikkim etc.

Sources: 4) Austroasiatic Peoples: Geographical Distribution: Scattered across central and eastern India, with significant populations in Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, and Chhattisgarh etc.

General Phenotype: Negrito people typically have very dark skin, tightly curled hair, and small statures.

[151] India is a country with a vast diversity of ethnic groups, each with its own distinct culture, language, and traditions.

The major ethnic groups in India include the Indo-Aryans, Dravidians, Sino-Tibetans, Austroasiatic peoples, and various indigenous tribes.

The Indian mitochondrial DNA is primarily made up of Haplogroup M[155] Numerous genomic studies have been conducted in the last 15 years to seek insights into India's demographic and cultural diversity.