According to the Census of India of 2011, India has 123 major languages, of which 30 were spoken by more than a million native speakers. English is used in higher education and in some areas of the Indian government. Hindi, the language most commonly spoken as a mother tongue (primary language) in India, serves as the lingua franca across much of north and central India. Bengali is the second most commonly spoken primary language, with a significant number of speakers in eastern and northeastern regions.
Curated datasets
Available on Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX)
Other sources of language data
Wikipedia
Glottolog
India Census
Language data allows humanitarian organizations to better understand the languages people speak and understand, leading to better programming and accountability. These data and maps were primarily supported by the H2H Fund, a funding mechanisms for H2H Network members. The fund is a rapid funding vehicle for network members responding to humanitarian crises.
For more information, read about the project on our blog or contact [email protected].
Maps and resources:
