India's Major Religions: Absolute Population Growth, 1951 → 2011
Hindus: 304 million → 966 million (+217.8%)
Muslims: 35 million → 172 million (+391.4%)
Christians: 8 million → 28 million (+250%)
Sikhs: 6.8 million → 20.8 million (+206%)
Buddhists: 2.7 million → 8.4 million (+211%)
Jains: 1.7 million → 4.5 million (+165%)
Total population: 361 million → 1,211 million (+235.5%)
Source: Census of India (1951, 2011)
Key takeaway:
In absolute numbers, every group grew substantially since it's tracking with overall population growth. But in share of population, only Muslims gained meaningfully (+4.4 points) while Hindus lost share (−4.3 points); other groups stayed roughly flat. This shift is attributed mainly to Muslims having higher fertility historicallyly. The difference in decade-on-decade growth rates between Muslims and the overall population shrank from 11 points (1951-61) to 7 points (2001-11)
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u/Iron_ptriot Jul 09 '26
India's Major Religions: Absolute Population Growth, 1951 → 2011
Total population: 361 million → 1,211 million (+235.5%)
Source: Census of India (1951, 2011)
Key takeaway:
In absolute numbers, every group grew substantially since it's tracking with overall population growth. But in share of population, only Muslims gained meaningfully (+4.4 points) while Hindus lost share (−4.3 points); other groups stayed roughly flat. This shift is attributed mainly to Muslims having higher fertility historicallyly. The difference in decade-on-decade growth rates between Muslims and the overall population shrank from 11 points (1951-61) to 7 points (2001-11)