Punjabi - Worldwide distribution (2024)

Punjabi - Worldwide distribution (1)

Punjabi is no official language in any country, but is spoken as a mother tongue in four countries by a minor part of the population. Punjabi is an official language in some northwestern Indian states and enjoys constitutional protection as a "classical language" along with 21 other languages.

The Punjabi language (native name: ਪੰਜਾਬੀ) has its roots in the Indo-European language family.

With 113.20 million native speakers, Punjabi has the highest prevalence in Pakistan. A total of about 154.5 million people worldwide speak Punjabi as their mother tongue.

Punjabi - Worldwide distribution (2)

CountryRegionOfficial languageDistributionTotal
PakistanSouth Asiano48.0 %113,196,000
IndiaSouth Asiano2.8 %39,922,000
Saudi ArabiaWestern Asiano2.2 %801,000
CanadaNorth Americano1.4 %545,000

Unless otherwise described in the text, this page is about native speakers — not the total number of speakers. How many people understand or speak Punjabi as a subsequently learned language is not the subject of this page. Countries where native speakers make up only a few thousand, or even a few hundred people, or countries with a percentage well below 1% are unlikely to be listed here.

Punjabi - Worldwide distribution (2024)

FAQs

Punjabi - Worldwide distribution? ›

Geographic distribution. Punjab is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of eastern Pakistan and northwestern India. The boundaries of the region are ill-defined and focus on historical accounts.

Where is Punjabi spoken most in the world? ›

Over 95% of people who speak Punjabi as their first language live in Pakistan and India. It is the most widely spoken native language in Pakistan. It is spoken as a first language by over 65% of Pakistanis. There were 145 million Panjabi speakers in Pakistan in 2023.

How many people are Punjabi in the world? ›

Today, Punjabi is spoken by around 150 million people worldwide, making it one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. In Pakistan, it is spoken by around 48% of the population, making it the most widely spoken language in the country, although Urdu is the official national language.

What rank is Punjabi in the world? ›

10. Punjabi: about 100 million native speakers**.

Which country is famous for Punjabi? ›

Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 114.5 million native speakers, according to the 2017 census and the 11th most widely-spoken in India, with 31.1 million native speakers, according to the 2011 census, with official status in the state of Punjab; additional in Haryana and West Bengal, as ...

Which city has most Punjabi in USA? ›

Over half of American Sikhs live in California. Most of California's Sikh population live in NorCal, especially in the Central Valley and the Bay Area. The nation's largest Sikh population is in California's Central Valley, where Punjabi is the third most spoken language after only English and Spanish.

Which country has the largest Punjabi population? ›

Top 10 Countries With Highest Punjabi Speaking Population
  • India has the highest Punjabi-speaking population of 2,270,000.
  • The 2nd on the list is the United Kingdom with 853000 Punjabi-speaking people.
  • The United States stand at 3rd rank with 700,000 population.
Sep 1, 2023

How many Punjabis live in USA? ›

Punjabi Americans
Total population
318,588 0.1% of the total American population (2021)
Regions with significant populations
California156,763 (0.42%)
New York30,341 (0.16%)
10 more rows

Where is the largest Sikh population outside India? ›

Canada is now home to the largest Sikh population outside India, with about 770,000 people who reported Sikhism as their religion in a 2021 census. While that pales in comparison to the 22 million Sikhs in India, mostly in the northern state of Punjab, Canada has a much smaller population.

How many Sikhs are in Afghanistan? ›

The numbers have steadily decreased over the past years. It is estimated that there were around 700 000 Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan in the 70s, around 220 000 in 1992 and approximately 150 at the end of 2021, compared to around 400 in the beginning of the same year.

What are the top 3 languages in the world? ›

Conclusion. In summary, the most popular languages in the world—be it by the number of native speakers, geographical reach, or global influence—are Chinese, English, and Spanish. While these languages dominate the global stage, the importance of other languages like Arabic, Hindi, and Russian cannot be overlooked.

How much of Pakistan is Punjabi? ›

As an ethnic group, Punjabis form approximately half of Pakistan's population and trace their heritage to a roughly defined geographical region in northern Pakistan and India, marked by the tributaries of the Indus River (the name Punjab comes from the Persian 'panj' (five), and 'ab' (waters), referring to these ...

Where do Punjabis live in USA? ›

California's state capital, in the fertile Sacramento Valley, is one of the largest Punjabi com- munities in North America. Immigrants from South Asia's Punjab region began to settle in California more than a century ago.

Why is Punjab so popular? ›

Culture and Tradition of Punjab – The culture of Punjab is the richest culture in the world. Punjabi songs are full of melody and energy. The dance styles of Punjab has more flavor with its bhangra, giddha, kikli and sammi. Bhangra" is one of the most famous dance forms of Punjab.

Which US state has the most Punjabi population? ›

Approximately half of all American Punjabis live in California.

Where do most Punjabis live? ›

Punjabis in India can be found in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. Large communities of Punjabis are also found in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir and in Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

Do they speak Punjabi in Pakistan? ›

Punjabi is the official language of the Punjab province of Pakistan and serves as the native language of more than 30% of the country's population. With over 70 million speakers in Pakistan spread across the largest province in the country, Punjabi is the most commonly spoken language other than Urdu and English.

What language is Punjabi close to? ›

The Punjabi language has its origins in the Indo-European family of languages. It is one of the most widely spoken Indo-Aryan languages. Punjabi has a close connection with Hindi and Urdu and it is reflected in its vocabulary and rhythm.

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