Bangalore's 2026 population is now estimated at 14,771,700. In 1950, the population of Bangalore was 745,999. Bangalore has grown by 376,300 in the last year, which represents a 2.61% annual change. These population estimates and projections come from the latest revision of the UN World Urbanization Prospects . These estimates represent the Urban agglomeration of Bangalore, which typically includes Bangalore's population in addition to adjacent suburban areas.
Bangalore, officially the Bengaluru, is the capital of the Indian state Karnataka. Bangalore is located in the southeastern region on the state on the Deccan Plateau, and it is the third most populous city and the 5th most populous urban area. Also known as the Silicon Valley of India, Bangalore has an estimated 2014 population of 11,440,000 in the metro area.
Bangalore has an estimated population of 12.34 million in its urban area in 2017, up from 8.5 million in 2011. It is now the 24th most populous city in the world and the fastest-growing Indian metropolis behind New Delhi, growing a whopping 38% from 1991 to 2001. The city claims an area of 709 square kilometers, and with a population density marked in 2011 of over 4 thousand per square kilometer - one can assume it has become denser. We expect the 2021 census to provide updated information.
In 1991, the most common languages spoken in Bangalore were:
Communities with a long history in the region include the Tamilians, Kannadigas, and Telugus. By the 1500s, Bangalore had speakers of all three languages. The Tamil-speaking people originally migrated to the area in three waves: in the 10th century after Bangalore was captured by Cholas of Tamil Nadu; during the Vijayanagara period; and in the 1700s during a time of need for a militia. Telugu-speaking people migrated to the city by invitation of Mysore royalty.
At one time, the city had a substantial Anglo-Indian population, which was the second-largest behind Calcutta, but this population has since fallen to just 10,000.
About 79% of the population is Hindu, which is in line with the Indian national average. Muslims account for 13% of the population, followed by Christians (6%) and Jains (1%).
About 10% of residents in Bangalore live in slums, although this number is low compared to other major cities in developing countries, such as Nairobi (60%) or Mumbai (50%). Bangalore is dealing with many problems that come from proliferating in a developing country, including social inequality, an increasing number of slums, public health crises from sewage issues and water shortages, and mass displacement. Much of the population growth in Bangalore is due to migration from other states, which has increased tension between locals and immigrants.
Bangalore also has a very skewed female-male gender ratio: 908 women for every 1,000 men. It also has the lowest work participation rate among women, with just 24% of women working.
The area of Bangalore has been settled since at least 4,000 BCE, with burial grounds found on the outskirts of the city that date to the Iron Age. The region was a part of many South Indian kingdoms in its early history. Between the 4th and 10th centuries, it was ruled by the Western Ganga Dynasty of Karnataka, which was the first to take control of the area. Twenty-eight kings ruled from the beginning of the Christian era until it was conquered by the Cholas, who defeated the Western Gangas and captured the city of Bangalore. In 1117, the Cholas were defeated by Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana, who took control of the area and expelled the Cholas.
Modern Bangalore began in 1537 when a mud-brick fort was built by the Vijayanagara Empire ruler Kempe Gowda I. The town was divided into smaller divisions within this fort. Gowda I’s successor later built towers to mark the boundary of Bangalore. When the Vijayanagara Empire fell in 1565, the town changed hands many times. The city became split in the 19th century between Kannadigas residents and Tamils. The city grew rapidly between 1940 and 1960, becoming the 6th largest city in the country in 1961 with a population of 1.2 million.
The population density of Bangalore has increased 47% in just ten years thanks to growing opportunities and growth that are bringing people from across the country. In 2011, there were 4,378 people per square kilometer, up from 2,985 ten years before.
Bangalore is now growing faster than ever, crossing the 10-million mark in 2013. The urban region has grown three times faster than the state as a whole, and it is now home to 16% of the state’s population.
| City | 2026 Pop. ↓ | Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Delhi | 35,518,400 | 2.46% |
| Mumbai | 22,539,300 | 2.04% |
| Kolkata | 16,151,400 | 1.93% |
| Chennai | 12,623,100 | 2.33% |
| Hyderabad | 11,608,400 | 2.39% |
| Ahmedabad | 9,272,670 | 2.33% |
| Surat | 8,820,660 | 2.78% |
| Pune | 7,706,270 | 2.4% |
| Kozhikode | 4,520,410 | 3.03% |
| Jaipur | 4,514,920 | 2.35% |
| Malappuram | 4,487,920 | 3.31% |
| Lucknow | 4,228,750 | 2.33% |
| Indore | 3,570,830 | 2.53% |
| Kanpur | 3,410,920 | 1.96% |
| Nagpur | 3,237,750 | 2.13% |
| Coimbatore | 3,234,160 | 2.39% |
| Thiruvananthapuram | 3,156,950 | 2.75% |
| Bhopal | 2,748,760 | 2.33% |
| Patna | 2,748,390 | 2.19% |
| Agra | 2,535,490 | 2.31% |
| Kannur | 2,524,680 | 2.42% |
| Visakhapatnam | 2,496,820 | 2.31% |
| Vadodara | 2,478,540 | 2.21% |
| Vijayawada | 2,409,770 | 2.51% |
| Nashik | 2,408,010 | 2.42% |
| Kollam | 2,317,980 | 2.92% |
| Rajkot | 2,203,310 | 2.46% |
| Ludhiana | 2,071,490 | 2.11% |
| Raipur | 1,974,130 | 2.63% |
| Raipur | 1,974,130 | 2.63% |
| Raipur | 1,974,130 | 2.63% |
| Madurai | 1,953,270 | 2.18% |
| Meerut | 1,916,080 | 2.2% |
| Varanasi | 1,865,080 | 2.14% |
| Tiruppur | 1,833,070 | 2.77% |
| Srinagar | 1,818,570 | 2.3% |
| Srinagar | 1,818,570 | 2.3% |
| Aurangabad | 1,809,600 | 2.39% |
| Aurangabad | 1,809,600 | 2.39% |
| Jamshedpur | 1,806,600 | 2.2% |
| Jodhpur | 1,703,860 | 2.37% |
| Jodhpur | 1,703,860 | 2.37% |
| Ranchi | 1,659,720 | 2.34% |
| Kota | 1,639,630 | 2.52% |
| Kota | 1,639,630 | 2.52% |
| Kota | 1,639,630 | 2.52% |
| Jabalpur | 1,615,460 | 2.1% |
| Asansol | 1,598,450 | 2.12% |
| Gwalior | 1,578,940 | 2.3% |
| Allahabad | 1,555,900 | 2.11% |
| Amritsar | 1,543,480 | 2.14% |
| Dhanbad | 1,471,280 | 2.04% |
| Bareilly | 1,446,270 | 2.34% |
| Aligarh | 1,413,060 | 2.43% |
| Moradabad | 1,403,580 | 2.46% |
| Mysore | 1,375,940 | 2.25% |
| Tiruchirappalli | 1,296,500 | 2.1% |
| Chandigarh | 1,293,580 | 2.18% |
| Saharanpur | 1,275,830 | 2.68% |
| Guwahati | 1,250,320 | 2.14% |
| Salem | 1,247,700 | 2.21% |
| Jalandhar | 1,193,480 | 2.22% |
| Solapur | 1,130,210 | 1.99% |
| Warangal | 1,105,740 | 2.34% |
| Guntur | 984,920 | 2.34% |
| Firozabad | 965,089 | 2.48% |
| Bhiwandi | 964,215 | 2.15% |
| Puducherry | 962,874 | 2.33% |
| Cherthala | 958,336 | 2.94% |
| Kottayam | 914,278 | 3.26% |
| Nellore | 879,934 | 2.46% |
| Bikaner | 872,688 | 2.2% |
| Muzaffarnagar | 858,867 | 2.61% |
| Amravati | 842,613 | 2.14% |
| Gorakhpur | 832,937 | 2% |
| Gorakhpur | 832,937 | 2% |
| Cuttack | 821,467 | 2.06% |
| Tirupati | 818,428 | 2.65% |
| Malegaon | 817,947 | 2.28% |
| Belgaum | 817,205 | 2.19% |
| Mangalore | 795,066 | 2.1% |
| Kurnool | 784,461 | 2.5% |
| Bhavnagar | 783,199 | 2.13% |
| Gulbarga | 768,923 | 2.28% |
| Jammu | 766,223 | 1.96% |
| Durgapur | 756,574 | 2.14% |
| Durgapur | 756,574 | 2.14% |
| Jhansi | 722,089 | 2.16% |
| Erode | 721,376 | 2.24% |
| Jamnagar | 704,603 | 1.97% |
| Patiala | 701,719 | 2.45% |
| Bilaspur | 698,982 | 2.42% |
| Bilaspur | 698,982 | 2.42% |
| Bilaspur | 698,982 | 2.42% |
| Bilaspur | 698,982 | 2.42% |
| Bilaspur | 698,982 | 2.42% |
| Raurkela | 690,942 | 2.07% |
| Agartala | 687,817 | 2.6% |
| Ujjain | 682,864 | 2.17% |
| Kolhapur | 682,552 | 2.02% |
| Mathura | 680,262 | 2.36% |
| Imphal | 679,030 | 2.5% |
| Ajmer | 678,309 | 2.05% |
| Hosur | 668,932 | 3.48% |
| Sangli | 649,082 | 2.09% |
| Udaipur | 643,855 | 2.21% |
| Udaipur | 643,855 | 2.21% |
| Udaipur | 643,855 | 2.21% |
| Jalgaon | 642,970 | 2.25% |
| Jalgaon | 642,970 | 2.25% |
| Vellore | 639,404 | 2.16% |
| Gaya | 637,382 | 2.19% |
| Tirunelveli | 629,329 | 2.09% |
| Panipat | 625,020 | 2.27% |
| Rajahmundry | 605,469 | 2.1% |
| Begusarai | 605,096 | 3.16% |
| Bellary | 599,562 | 2.33% |
| Purnia | 581,955 | 2.73% |
| Muzaffarpur | 580,553 | 2.33% |
| Kakinada | 575,776 | 2.14% |
| Latur | 549,439 | 2.3% |
| Bhagalpur | 536,667 | 2.14% |
| Rohtak | 534,040 | 2.29% |
| Shillong | 532,490 | 2.37% |
| Raniganj | 523,490 | 3.07% |
| Anantapur | 522,676 | 2.41% |
| Bhilwara | 519,048 | 2.31% |
| Yamunanagar | 506,441 | 2.16% |
| Alwar | 492,649 | 2.31% |
| Sagar | 492,371 | 2.17% |
| Dhulian | 490,720 | 2.9% |
| Akola | 490,505 | 1.94% |
| Rampur | 484,287 | 2.24% |
| Rampur | 484,287 | 2.24% |
| Rampur | 484,287 | 2.24% |
| Gandhidham | 478,879 | 2.79% |
| Ottappalam | 478,032 | 2.86% |
| Baharampur | 476,182 | 2.44% |
| Bijapur | 475,590 | 2.32% |
| Karnal | 470,104 | 2.43% |
| Barddhaman | 468,105 | 2.2% |
| Korba | 465,712 | 2.1% |
| Karimnagar | 461,530 | 2.43% |
| Brahmapur | 455,415 | 2.11% |
| Junagadh | 454,309 | 2.28% |
| Dindigul | 449,246 | 2.41% |
| Ahmadnagar | 440,670 | 1.95% |
| Anand | 429,770 | 2.36% |
| Bihar Sharif | 428,280 | 2.31% |
| Roorkee | 426,951 | 2.67% |
| Bathinda | 425,092 | 2.36% |
| Aizawl | 424,478 | 2.31% |
| Shimoga | 419,532 | 2.14% |
| Karur | 416,661 | 2.66% |
| Tumkur | 408,050 | 2.2% |
| Ichalkaranji | 407,139 | 2.07% |
| Dewas | 405,021 | 2.26% |
| Parbhani | 402,845 | 2.15% |
| Hisar | 395,351 | 2.12% |
| Khammam | 391,864 | 2.37% |
| Haldwani | 391,478 | 2.57% |
| Darbhanga | 390,728 | 2.1% |
| Habra | 390,202 | 2.14% |
| Satna | 389,835 | 2.23% |
| Farrukhabad | 387,804 | 2.17% |
| Jalna | 384,665 | 2.2% |
| Arrah | 378,233 | 2.31% |
| Hapur | 364,613 | 2.24% |
| Nizamabad | 364,301 | 1.96% |
| Nizamabad | 364,301 | 1.96% |
| Kharagpur | 358,954 | 2% |
| Kharagpur | 358,954 | 2% |
| Ratlam | 353,657 | 2.13% |
| New Delhi | 257,803 | 0.98% |
