Demographics of Lahore

This article deals with topics related to the demographics of the city of Lahore, in Punjab, Pakistan.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1700	400,000[1]	—
1881	138,878	−65.3%
1891	159,947	+15.2%
1901	186,884	+16.8%
1911	228,687	+22.4%
1921	281,781	+23.2%
1931	400,075	+42.0%
1941	671,659	+67.9%
1951	1,130,000	+68.2%
1961	1,630,000	+44.2%
1972	2,198,890[2]	+34.9%
1981	2,988,486[2]	+35.9%
1998	5,209,088[2]	+74.3%
2017	11,126,285[2]	+113.6%

Urban demographics

According to estimates, Lahore had a population of more than 400,000 in 1700,[1] when it was a first tier imperial city of the Mughal Empire. It didn't reached that level again till 1931. According to the 1998 census, Lahore's population was 6,318,745. Mid-2006 government estimates put the population at somewhere around 10 million, which makes it the second largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi.[3] It is considered to be one of the 30 largest cities of the world. The results of the 2017 Census determined the population of Lahore to be 11,126,285,[4] with an annual growth rate of 4.07% since 1998.[5] Gender-wise, 52.35% of the population are male, 47.64% are female, and 0.01% are transgender.[5] Lahore is a demographically young city, with over 40% of its inhabitants below the age of 15.[6]

Religion

Religious groups in Lahore City (1881−2017)[a]

Religious group	1881[8][9]: 520		1891[10]: 68		1901[11]: 44		1911[12]: 20		1921[13]: 23		1931[14]: 26		1941[7]: 32		2017[15]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	86,413	57.85%	102,280	57.83%	119,601	58.93%	129,801	56.76%	149,044	52.89%	249,315	58.01%	433,170	64.49%	10,530,816	94.7%
Hinduism	53,641	35.91%	62,077	35.1%	70,196	34.59%	77,267	33.79%	107,783	38.25%	139,125[b]	32.37%	179,422[b]	26.71%	2,670	0.02%
Sikhism	4,627	3.1%	7,306	4.13%	7,023	3.46%	12,877	5.63%	12,833	4.55%	23,477	5.46%	34,021	5.07%	—	—
Christianity	529[c]	0.35%	4,697	2.66%	5,558	2.74%	8,436	3.69%	11,287	4.01%	16,875	3.93%	21,495	3.2%	571,365	5.14%
Jainism	227	0.15%	339	0.19%	420	0.21%	467	0.2%	474	0.17%	791	0.18%	1,094	0.16%	—	—
Zoroastrianism	—	—	132	0.07%	166	0.08%	198	0.09%	177	0.06%	150	0.03%	—	—	—	—
Judaism	—	—	14	0.01%	—	—	13	0.01%	13	0%	0	0%	—	—	—	—
Buddhism	—	—	0	0%	0	0%	128	0.06%	170	0.06%	14	0%	—	—	—	—
Ahmadiyya	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	13,433	0.12%
Others	3,932	2.63%	9	0.01%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	2,457	0.37%	1,701	0.02%
Total population	149,369	100%	176,854	100%	202,964	100%	228,687	100%	281,781	100%	429,747	100%	671,659	100%	11,119,985	100%

Language

Languages by number of speakers in the Lahore district[16]

  Punjabi (80.94%)

  Urdu (12.62%)

  Other (6.44%)

Punjabi is the native language of the province and is the most widely spoken language in Lahore. Punjabi is the primary means of communication in both the city and adjoining rural areas. Punjabi has no official status in Lahore and some Punjabi activists have raised demands for recognition of Punjabi.^[citation needed] English has become increasingly popular with educated and younger people due to its official status in government and preferred language status for business. Many Punjabi speakers in Lahore are known as Majha Dialect Of Punjabi. According to the 1998 census, 86.2% or 6,896,000 of the population are Punjabis; 10.2% or 816,000 are Urdu speakers and the Seraikis, at 0.4%, number about 32,000.[17]

Notes

1. 1881-1941: Data for the entirety of the town of Lahore, which included Lahore Municipality and Lahore Cantonment.[7]: 32 
2. 1931-1941: Including Ad-Dharmis
3. Only includes protestant population.[8]: 152 

References

1. Dyson, Tim (2018). A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-882905-8.
2. "Pakistan: Provinces and Major Cities - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". citypopulation.de.
3. Demography of Lahore Archived 2008-12-29 at the Wayback Machine, Lahore City Government. Retrieved on 19 September 2007.
4. "Population of Major Cities Census – 2017 [pdf]" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
5. "District Wise Population by Sex and Rural/Urban – Census 2017 [pdf]" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
6. "Lahore Population 2018". 18 October 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
7. "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1941 VOLUME VI PUNJAB". Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
8. "Census of India, 1881 Report on the Census of the Panjáb Taken on the 17th of February 1881, vol. I." 1881. JSTOR saoa.crl.25057656. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
9. "Census of India, 1881 Report on the Census of the Panjáb Taken on the 17th of February 1881, vol. II". 1881. JSTOR saoa.crl.25057657. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
10. "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1891 GENERAL TABLES BRITISH PROVINCES AND FEUDATORY STATES VOL I". Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
11. "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1901 VOLUME I-A INDIA PART II-TABLES". Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
12. "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1911 VOLUME XIV PUNJAB PART II TABLES". Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
13. "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1921 VOLUME XV PUNJAB AND DELHI PART II TABLES". Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
14. "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1931 VOLUME XVII PUNJAB PART II TABLES". Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
15. "Final Results (Census-2017)". Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
16. PBC 2017 Statistics (PDF).
17. "Lahore". FindPK. Archived from the original on 2010-12-04. Retrieved 2011-03-15.