Delhi, India Population

Population in Urban Area, now

31,814,471
  • World: 2nd
  • Asia: 2nd
  • India: 1st

Population in City Area, 2022-03-09

10,927,986
  • World: 12th
  • Asia: 9th
  • India: 2nd

Delhi Urban Area Population Graph

Delhi Population Review

The ancient city of Delhi in northern India is a union territory in India that also contains New Delhi, the country’s capital. Inhabited since the 6th century, Delhi has served as the capital of many empires and kingdoms over hundreds of years. Now, Delhi’s urban area is home to 30.3 million people, 10.9 of which live in the city area (as of 2019).

Delhi is the fifth most populous city in the world, and is the largest city area-wise in all of India. Delhi covers 1,484 square kilometers, which is quite large. However, due to Delhi’s enormous population, there are still 11,900 Delhiites living per square kilometer. This is one of the highest population densities in the world.

One of the fastest growing populations in the world

Delhi’s population boom has been a dramatic one. In 1950, Delhi had a modest population of 1.3 million people. Since then, the city has seen its population grow each year to over 29 million people. That’s a growth of over 2000%! Delhi continues to be one of the fastest growing cities in the world and experts predict the city will have over 43 million people living there by 2035. This rapid growth has also helped established Delhi as one of the world’s 10 fastest growing residential markets.

Skewed sex ratio leaving men behind

For every 1,000 men in Delhi, there are only 867 women. This skewed ratio means that many men are left single while women have the choice of more educated, financially stable partners. This drastic change in India’s long-held traditional gender roles has meant that Delhi, and the country overall, has seen a disturbing spike in violence against women as men lash out and women bear the brunt of it. This has led many travel agencies to warn women against travelling alone to India and, if they do, to follow a litany of safety tips to help them safe.

The city suffers from a chronic housing shortage

With about 700,000 new people flooding into the city every year, Delhi continues to struggle with pollution, traffic, and housing shortages as people move to the city to find a better life. Putting in place the services and infrastructure to support this booming population could cost the city as much as $78 trillion over the next decade. As of 2011, there were 65 million people in India living in slums within the city.

An economic powerhouse

Delhi is an economically successful city that has the largest commercial center of any city in the country of India. There are over 1,440,000 people who commute in and out of the city on a daily basis to go to work and to help keep the city running. Some of the city’s main industries include information technology, hotels, media, telecommunications, banking, and tourism. These industries show no sign of slowing their growth either, considering that recent estimate of the economy in Delhi’s urban area range from $167 to $369 billion and continues to grow.

One of the largest metro networks in the world

The Delhi Metro is one of the largest metro networks in the entire world. It covers a distance of almost 277 kilometers with its deepest point almost 45 meters underground. Every year, the Delhi Metro carries a staggering 700 million passengers back and forth across its lines—more people than the entire population of the United States. The metro system has helped the city of Delhi remove over 700,000 vehicles from its streets, which has helped to quell concerns over the rising issue of air pollution in the city.

Review Updated: July 8, 2020
View from Jama Masjid mosque in DelhiView from Jama Masjid mosque in Delhi

Delhi Urban Area Population History

1950 1,369,000
1951 1,461,000
1952 1,536,000
1953 1,613,000
1954 1,695,000
1955 1,782,000
1956 1,872,000
1957 1,967,000
1958 2,067,000
1959 2,172,000
1960 2,283,000
1961 2,394,000
1962 2,499,000
1963 2,610,000
1964 2,725,000
1965 2,845,000
1966 2,971,000
1967 3,102,000
1968 3,239,000
1969 3,381,000
1970 3,531,000
1971 3,689,000
1972 3,864,000
1973 4,046,000
1974 4,236,000
1975 4,436,000
1976 4,646,000
1977 4,865,000
1978 5,095,000
1979 5,335,000
1980 5,587,000
1981 5,862,000
1982 6,177,000
1983 6,508,000
1984 6,858,000
1985 7,226,000
1986 7,614,000
1987 8,022,000
1988 8,453,000
1989 8,906,000
1990 9,384,000
1991 9,885,000
1992 10,406,000
1993 10,954,000
1994 11,531,000
1995 12,138,000
1996 12,779,000
1997 13,451,000
1998 14,160,000
1999 14,906,000
2000 15,692,000
2001 16,414,000
2002 16,956,000
2003 17,516,000
2004 18,095,000
2005 18,691,000
2006 19,309,000
2007 19,946,000
2008 20,606,000
2009 21,285,000
2010 21,988,000
2011 22,714,000
2012 23,464,000
2013 24,239,000
2014 25,039,000
2015 25,866,000
2016 26,720,000
2017 27,602,000
2018 28,514,000
2019 29,399,000
2020 30,291,000
2021 31,181,000
2022 32,066,000
2023 32,941,000
2024 33,807,000

Delhi Urban Area Population Projections

2025 34,666,000
2026 35,518,000
2027 36,369,000
2028 37,221,000
2029 38,077,000
2030 38,939,000
2031 39,807,000
2032 40,682,000
2033 41,564,000
2034 42,452,000
2035 43,345,000

Map of Delhi, India

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