Long Live the Global Popularity of the Urdu Language – Number of Urdu Speakers Surpasses One Billion
Urdu, the language of Khusrau's riddles, Mir’s confidant, and Ghalib’s beloved, is spoken by nearly 930 million people when combined with Hindi, making it the fourth most spoken language in the world after English and Chinese. However, when considering only pure Urdu, it ranks tenth globally, with 230 million speakers across India.
Dr. Shujat Ali Sufi, I.I.S., Ph.D.
Cell: 9705170786
Urdu, the language of Khusrau’s riddles, Mir’s confidant, and Ghalib’s beloved, is spoken by nearly 930 million people when combined with Hindi, making it the fourth most spoken language in the world after English and Chinese. However, when considering only pure Urdu, it ranks tenth globally, with 230 million speakers across India.
Our sweet Urdu is spoken and understood in almost all major countries of the world. It holds special prominence in the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, and even in Bangladesh. It is also the official language of Pakistan.
The United Nations has recognized Urdu as an important language. However, it has not been granted official status as one of the UN’s six official languages, although it is accepted as a communication language alongside them. This means that while Urdu is not an official UN language, it is acknowledged as a medium of communication.
Since the last census in 2011, no new population count has been conducted in India, but according to that census, Urdu was the seventh most spoken language in the country. Currently, about 100 million Indians speak Urdu as their primary language. Urdu is one of the 22 officially recognized languages in the Indian Constitution and is used for official work in states like Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Delhi. In Jammu & Kashmir, Urdu is also the official state language. Furthermore, Nepal has granted it the status of a registered language.
According to the 2018 edition of Ethnologue, published by SIL International, Urdu is the mother tongue of around 321.6 million people. The article praises Urdu as one of the most refined languages, describing it as a unique blend of beauty and elegance. It is a language that inspires revolutionary slogans yet touches the soul with its depth. The style in which Urdu is used in poetry and prose is unmatched by any other language.
Urdu is a major language of South Asia, and apart from the Gulf countries, as mentioned earlier, it is steadily gaining popularity in the UK, USA, France, and Germany. In countries like Guyana, Mauritius, Nepal, and South Africa, the beautiful usage of Urdu continues to thrive.
According to Ethnologue, over one billion people currently speak Urdu worldwide. Urdu first spread in southern India. Alauddin Hasan Bahmani, who rebelled against Muhammad Tughlaq and established the Bahmani Sultanate, played a key role in popularizing Urdu in the Deccan region. It is a historical truth that in the Deccan, Urdu interacted with local languages like Marathi, Telugu, and Kannada.
One of the earliest books written in Urdu or Rekhta is believed to be “Miraj-ul-Aashiqeen” by Hazrat Khwaja Banda Nawaz Gesu Daraz, whose shrine is in Gulbarga.
In short, the number of Hindi speakers in India is about 600 million, while pure Urdu speakers are 230 million. Together, about 930 million people in India use a mixture of Hindi and Urdu. If we include the latest estimate of an additional 100 million people who understand or speak Urdu, the total number rises to 1.03 billion.
To call such a magnificent language declining is deeply unfortunate. In light of these facts, the poetic lament by Iqbal Ashhar:
Apne hi watan mein hoon magar aaj akeli
Urdu hai mera naam, main Khusrau ki saheli
