Mumbai, India Population

Population in Urban Area, now

20,877,848
  • World: 9th
  • Asia: 6th
  • India: 2nd

Population in City Area, 2022-03-03

12,691,836
  • World: 8th
  • Asia: 6th
  • India: 1st

Mumbai Urban Area Population Graph

Mumbai Population Review

Mumbai is a principal city in India and the center of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, the sixth more populated metropolitan area in the world with over 20 million people. Since 2015, the population of Mumbai has grown by over a million people, a 1.1% annual increase. This consists of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, the second most populated city in all of India. Within the city, Mumbai has a population of 12.6 million people. This makes it the most populous city in India for its city proper population.

Mumbai sits on the Konkan coast of India and the city is home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Mumbai is the capital days of Maharashtra and is the financial, commercial and entertainment capital of India. It generates 6.16% of India’s GPD and accounts for 70% of maritime trade and capital transactions to India’s economy, and 25% of the country’s industrial output.

A name change to cast aside British Colonialism

The city has experience several name changes over its history. When the city was under colonial rule, it was called Bombay, an Anglicized version of a Portuguese name. The city was also known by several other names, including Mombayn, Bombay, Bombain, Bombaym, Monbaym, Mombaim, Mombaym, Bambaye, Bombaiim, Bombeye, Boon Bay, and Bon Bahia.

The city’s name changed in 1995 from Bombay to Mumbai when the political party Shiv Sena came into power. The name Bombai was seen as a remnant of British colonialism and the political party wanted to the city’s name to reflect its Maratha heritage. This was part of a larger wave that was happening across India where cities were looking to rid themselves of the names given to them during the time of British colonialism.

A densely populated metropolitan area

Mumbai is only 603 square kilometers. This combined with the city’s generous population means that Mumbai has a very high population density of approximately 73,000 people per square mile. This makes Mumbai one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Land is also at a premium in the city, which makes it difficult for residents to get access to affordable housing. This results in many residents in Mumbai living in cheap, cramped quarters that lead to long commutes on the city’s mass transit system.

Slums of Mumbai

Mumbai struggles with a serious poverty issues that affects almost half the city’s population. This estimated 41% of the population lives in poverty-stricken slums that rarely have access to clean water, electricity, and little to no access to public transportation. While the official number of people living in Mumbai’s slums can be difficult to calculate due to surveys, it’s estimated that about 9 million people in these situations. Due to the living situations in these slums, the population density is far greater than the rest of the city and is an astounding 869,565 people per square mile. These slums are also home to over 5,000 businesses and 15,000 single-room factories.

A melting pot with a skewed sex ratio

Due to all the migrants that relocate to the city for employment opportunities, Mumbai—like most metropolitan areas of India—has impressive cultural diversity and there are 16 major languages spoken in the city. The Marathi and Gujarati languages account for 42% and 19% of the languages spoken throughout the city. While 2 out of 3 residents identify as Hindu, there are mixed religions throughout the city.

Unfortunately, the city has a skewed sex ratio and continues to worsen. Out of 24 municipal wards, 20 of them saw a decline in child sex ratios in the pas ten years. For every 1,000 boys born to mothers in the city, there were only 899 girls. This heavy imbalance is visible in Mumbai and is blamed of sex-selective abortions.

Review Updated: July 26, 2020

Mumbai Urban Area Population History

1950 3,089,000
1951 3,254,000
1952 3,366,000
1953 3,482,000
1954 3,602,000
1955 3,726,000
1956 3,855,000
1957 3,988,000
1958 4,125,000
1959 4,268,000
1960 4,415,000
1961 4,573,000
1962 4,748,000
1963 4,930,000
1964 5,119,000
1965 5,314,000
1966 5,518,000
1967 5,729,000
1968 5,949,000
1969 6,176,000
1970 6,413,000
1971 6,656,000
1972 6,900,000
1973 7,152,000
1974 7,414,000
1975 7,685,000
1976 7,967,000
1977 8,258,000
1978 8,561,000
1979 8,874,000
1980 9,200,000
1981 9,514,000
1982 9,794,000
1983 10,083,000
1984 10,380,000
1985 10,686,000
1986 11,000,000
1987 11,324,000
1988 11,659,000
1989 12,002,000
1990 12,355,000
1991 12,709,000
1992 13,052,000
1993 13,403,000
1994 13,764,000
1995 14,135,000
1996 14,517,000
1997 14,908,000
1998 15,309,000
1999 15,722,000
2000 16,147,000
2001 16,496,000
2002 16,683,000
2003 16,872,000
2004 17,064,000
2005 17,257,000
2006 17,453,000
2007 17,650,000
2008 17,851,000
2009 18,053,000
2010 18,257,000
2011 18,464,000
2012 18,674,000
2013 18,885,000
2014 19,099,000
2015 19,316,000
2016 19,535,000
2017 19,756,000
2018 19,980,000
2019 20,185,000
2020 20,411,000
2021 20,668,000
2022 20,961,000
2023 21,297,000
2024 21,673,000

Mumbai Urban Area Population Projections

2025 22,089,000
2026 22,539,000
2027 23,018,000
2028 23,520,000
2029 24,040,000
2030 24,572,000
2031 25,115,000
2032 25,664,000
2033 26,220,000
2034 26,780,000
2035 27,343,000

Map of Mumbai, India

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