Rural-urban, language and religion

Rural and urban. In 2011, about 68.8 per cent of Indians lived in villages; the urban share was 31.16 per cent, and it is rising. India has 640,867 villages, of which 93.2 per cent are inhabited.

Languages. India speaks many languages. Grierson's survey counted 179 languages and 544 dialects. The Constitution lists 22 scheduled languages. They belong to four language families:

• Indo-European (Aryan): about 73 per cent of people;
• Dravidian: about 20 per cent;
• Austric;
• Sino-Tibetan.

Language regions do not have sharp boundaries: they merge gradually into one another.

Religions (2011): Hindus 79.8 per cent, Muslims 14.2 per cent, Christians 2.3 per cent, Sikhs 1.7 per cent (mainly in Punjab), and smaller numbers of Buddhists and Jains.

These numbers show India's unity in diversity.