The population of India is a vivid kaleidoscope of peoples, races, ethnic groups, tribes that differ sharply from each other in language, customs, religion, appearance and history. According to cultural, linguistic and genetic diversity, India is in second place in the world after Africa.
The population of India is about 1.2 billion people, and the country is only slightly behind the population of China. This is approximately one sixth of the world's population. The population of India over the past half century has increased by almost 3 times. 30% of the country's population lives in cities. The population density of India 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.
The population of India is extremely diverse. Thousands of castes, social groups, ethnic and religious communities, nationalities, tribes and clans coexist in the country.
Such ethnic groups as the Mongols, Arabs, Greeks (at the time of Alexander the Great), Afghans, Persians, Tibetans, Chinese and British participated in the formation of the Indian ethnos. Moreover, the latter had the most insignificant impact on the culture of India, despite many years of its colonial dependence.
The majority (70%) of the country's inhabitants are Indo-Aryans. They are dark-skinned, in appearance close to the European type. They profess mainly Islam or Hinduism.
Dravids (25%) - the oldest, original population of the country, who lived before the arrival of the Aryans in India. Today, Dravids are mainly found in the southern regions of India, almost all are adherents of Hinduism.
Representatives of the Tibetan-Burmese, Mongoloid race (3%) are found in the north-east of the country, their culture was greatly affected by neighboring states - Tibet, Burma, China, Bhutan. Mostly profess Buddhism.
The remains of the Austro-Asian 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.
According to the 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, in the country the population is not divided according to caste and nationality. The Constitution of India proclaims the equality of rights of all residents of the country, who are equally its citizens, Indians by nationality. But in reality, Indian society is very differentiated according to class, national, caste and religious grounds. On the basis of this division, conflicts constantly flare up.
Speaking of Indians, one cannot make a mistake by equalizing all ethnic groups and nationalities, even if they had different numbers. India, most of its inhabitants, share some common national features. Of course, between a highly cultured, educated Brahmin, who is difficult to distinguish from a European in appearance, and a resident of the Aboriginal tribe from the Andaman Islands or from the jungle of the state of Orissa, who is still not far from a caveman, there is a huge gap, although both of them are representatives of the same nation. Therefore, it is very difficult to compose an integral portrait of a nation or to give the people of India some comprehensive description.