Tamil population by nation

This is a list of Tamil population per nation.

Country	Tamil Population	Percent	Year	Notes	Refs
India	69,810,141[ clarify ]	5.89%	2011 census	[a]	[1]
Sri Lanka	3,135,770	15.40%	2012 census	[b]	[2]
Malaysia	2,327,000	6.7%	2020 estimates	[c]	[4]
Myanmar	1,000,000	1.8%	2018 estimates	[d] [3]	[7] [8] [9]
United States	341,396	0.1%	2021 estimates	[e]	[10] [11] [12]
South Africa	250,000	0.4%	2018 estimates		[13]
Canada	237,890	0.7%	2021 census		[14]
Singapore	198,449	4.9%	2020 census	[f]	[15]
France	125,000	0.18%	2018 estimates		[16]
England	123,203	0.2%	2021 census		[17]
Réunion	120,000	14.5%	2017 estimates		[3]
Australia	95,411	0.38%	2021 Census		[18]
Fiji	80,000	9.5%	2017 estimates		[3]
Mauritius	72,089	5.83%	2011 census	[g]	[19]
Germany	60,000	0.07%	2020 estimates		[20]
Switzerland	40,000	0.46%	2020 estimates		[3]
Indonesia	40,000	0.01%	2020 estimates		[21]
Guadeloupe	36,000	9%	2020 estimates		[22]
Italy	25,000	0.04%	2020 estimates		[3]
Netherlands	20,000	0.12%	2020 estimates		[3]
Norway	13,000	0.24%	2019 estimates		[23]
New Zealand	10,107	0.21%	2018 Census		[24]
United Arab Emirates	10,000	0.1%	2020 estimates		[3]
Austria	10,000	0.11%	2016 estimates		[25]
Scotland	7,398	0.1%	2011 census		[26]
Denmark	7,000	0.12%	2020 estimates		[3]
Belgium	7,000	0.06%	2016 estimates		[27]
Bahrain	7,000	0.2%	2020 estimates		[3]
China	5,000	0.0003%	2020 estimates		[3]
Qatar	4,000	0.2%	2020 estimates		[3]
Seychelles	4,000	4.2%	2020 estimates		[3]
Wales	4,296	0.1%	2011 census		[28]
Ireland	1,800	0.04%	2016 census		[29]
Spain	1,500	0.003%	2020 estimates		[30]
Finland	1,000	0.02%	2019 estimates		[31]
Portugal	1,000	0.01%	2020 estimates		[32]
Cambodia	1,000	0.006%	2020 estimates		[3]
Malta	1,000	0.2%	2020 estimates		[3]
Maldives	500	0.1%	2020 estimates		[33]
Greece	500	0.005%	2020 estimates		[34]
Poland	500	0.001%	2020 estimates		[35]
Czech Republic	300	0.003%	2020 estimates		[36]
Hungary	200	0.002%	2016 estimates		[37]
Nauru	200	2%	2020 estimates		[38]
Luxembourg	50	0.008%	2018 estimates		[39]
Romania	50	0.00025%	2020 estimates		[40]
Bulgaria	50	0.0007%	2020 estimates		[41]
Slovakia	50	0.0009%	2020 estimates		[42]
Pakistan	At least 200	0.0%	2018 estimates	[h]	[43]
Guyana	At least 1	0.0%	2018 data		[44]
Papua New Guinea	At least 1	0.0%	2018 data		[45]

See also

• List of countries and territories where Tamil is an official language
• Tamil population by cities
• States of India by Tamil speakers

Notes

1. Mother tongue Tamil.
2. Sri Lankan Tamil and Indian Tamil only. Sri Lankan Moors and other ethnic groups whose mother tongue is Tamil are excluded.
3. Another source puts the Tamil population in Malaysia at 1,060,000. ^[3]
4. The Times of India gives Myanmar's Tamil population as 10 lakh (1,000,000) as of 2018. The Union of Catholic Asian News and La Croix International state that Tamil people comprise about 2 percent of Myanmar's population of 51 million as of 2018. This is contradicted by other sources. Sivasupramaniam states that Burma had a Tamil population of 200,000 once but this had reduced after the end of World War II. ^[3] Tamil Nation states that Burma had a Tamil population of 200,000 as of 1966. ^[5] Tamil Catholics are estimated to number about 50,000. ^[6]
5. The U.S. census data considers only the population age 5 and older.
6. Resident Indian Tamil population. Another source puts the Tamil population in Singapore at 200,000. Note: The Singapore Tamil population data provided by the Singapore government excludes Tamils who were unable to speak, and those in one-person households and households comprising only unrelated persons. The figure for the 'percentage of Tamils' is based on the number of ethnic Tamils among the resident population of Singapore, ignoring the foreign workers. ^[3]
7. Tamil, Tamil Hindu, and Christian Tamil. Another source puts the Tamil population in Mauritius at 115,000. ^[3]
8. The Hindu mentions Pakistan's Tamil population as 100 families.

References

1. "Abstract of speakers strength and mother tongues – 2011" (PDF). Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
2. "Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka, 2012 – Table A3: Population by district, ethnic group and sex" (PDF). Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
3. Sivasupramaniam, V. "History of the Tamil Diaspora". International Conferences on Skanda-Murukan.
4. "Malaysian Indian population". Department of Statistics Malaysia.
5. "Tamil Diaspora – Myanmar – மியன்மார்". Tamilnation.
6. "Myanmar's Tamil Catholics reclaim their identity". UCAnews.
7. "Valluvar Kottam goes overseas, to be inaugurated at Myanmar in May". The Times of India.
8. "Elderly Tamil Catholic prays for new church in Myanmar". La Croix International.
9. "Tamil Catholics dig deep for Myanmar church". UCA News.
10. US Census. "Nation's Linguistic Diversity". United States Census Bureau.
11. "Commuting Times, Median Rents and Language other than English Use in the Home on the Rise". December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
12. "B16001 LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME BY ABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH FOR THE POPULATION 5 YEARS AND OVER". American Community Survey of the United States Census Bureau.
13. "Tamil Population by Country". Tamil Funda. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
14. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-08-17). "Knowledge of languages by age and gender: Canada, provinces and territories". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
15. "Census of Population 2020 Statistical Release 1" (PDF). Department of Statistics, Singapore.
16. "Politically French, culturally Tamil: 12 Tamils elected in Paris and suburbs". TamilNet . 18 March 2008.
17. "Ethnic group by English regions". Office for National Statistics.
18. "2021 Census QuickStats: Tamil". Australian Bureau of Statistics.
19. "Volume: II Demographic and Fertility Characteristics" (PDF). The 2011 Housing and Population Census. Statistics Mauritius.
20. "Tamils in Germany". Tamil Culture.
21. "Indonesia's Indian Community". The Diplomat.
22. "Guadeloupe Population 2019". World Population Review.
23. "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents". Statistics Norway.
24. "2018 Census ethnic group summaries". Statistics New Zealand.
25. "Tamils in Austria". Tamil Culture.
26. "Ethnicity, Identity, Language and Religion". National Records of Scotland.
27. "Tamil community in Belgium". VRT News.
28. "Ethnicity by Welsh regions". StatsWales.
29. "Census 2016 Summary Results - Part 1". Central Statistics Office Ireland.
30. "Tamil community in Spain". El País.
31. "Foreign citizens and persons with foreign background". Statistics Finland.
32. "Immigrant Communities in Portugal". Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service.
33. "Maldives population". Worldometers.
34. "Tamil migrants in Greece". The National Herald.
35. "Indian Community in Poland". Embassy of India, Warsaw.
36. "Foreigners in the Czech Republic" (PDF). Czech Statistical Office.
37. "Minorities in Hungary". Minority Rights Group International.
38. "Nauru population". World Population Review.
39. "Luxembourger Patrick part of new Tamil association". Delano.lu.
40. "Indian Community in Romania". Embassy of India, Bucharest.
41. "Indian Community in Bulgaria". Embassy of India, Sofia.
42. "Indian Community in Slovakia". Embassy of India, Bratislava.
43. "For Tamil cuisine, away in Pakistan". The Hindu.
44. "First Tamil Prime Minister of Guyana". Special Broadcasting Service.
45. "Papua New Guinea's Tamil Governor". Special Broadcasting Service.