Hyderabad Demographics

Since Hyderabad has become one of India’s most prominent IT emerging cities as well as the country’s center of scientific and technological development, many people from different parts of the country have migrated there to take advantage of the sprouting opportunities. As a result, the population of Hyderabad has become a potpourri of various ethnic groups. The north Indian states that contribute to the diverse demographic of Hyderabad include Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh. Even the neighboring states such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka have their youths regularly making a beeline to the capital in order to take advantage of the better employment opportunities as well as higher levels of education. The diversity in the population from people coming from different walks, origins and orientation has made Hyderabad a city of diverse cultures that is already cosmopolitan, and this, in turn, spurs the influx of migrating people more.

In 2001, according to Hyderabad Urban Development Authority, the city’s population was pegged at about 6.5 million, spread over an area of about 1864 square kilometers. Among the major metropolitan cities in India, this put Hyderabad in 6th place in terms of population. In 2008, the population broke past the 8 million mark, making Hyderabad the 4th largest city in India. In 2007, Hyderabad was finally granted the status of A-1 mega city after reaching and breaking past 50 lakh population (a lakh, also written as lac, is a unit in the Indian numbering system that is equal to 100,000; 50 lakh, therefore, is 5 million). At the time of the announcement, Hyderabad, at 54 lakh, joined five other cities in the country breaking the mark. The other cities were Greater Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, and Bangalore.

Hinduism is still the most practiced and popular religion of the city, although there is also the presence of the other three major religions, namely Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism. Muslims, though, constitute 40% of Hyderabad’s population, making it’s community the largest in the state of Telangana. The Muslims are comprised of the Shaik, Syed, Mughal, and Pathan. The Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and the Sudras on the other hand comprise the Hindus. Christians only comprise a small part of the population although churches are found across the city, with the most popular ones concentrated in the Abids area.

There are three principal languages spoken in the Hyderabad area: Telugu, Urdu, and Hindi; the latter two are particularly in strong use with the North Indians who have settled in the city. A large population is also well-versed in English, especially among the educated people. Urdu and Telugu have also impacted each other linguistically, with Telugu having assimilated many Urdu words into it’s usage. The Urdu language itself is rather unique in Hyderabad, giving rise to a dialect that is called Deccani or Hyderabad Urdu.