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]	^[7]^[8]^[9]
United States	341,396	0.1%	2021 estimates	^[e]	^[10]^[11]^[12]
South Africa	250,000	0.4%	2018 estimates	^[3]
Canada	237,890	0.7%	2021 census		^[13]
Singapore	198,449	4.9%	2020 census	^[f]	^[14]^[15]^[16]
England &  Wales	125,363	0.2%	2021 census		^[3]
France	125,000				^[17]
Réunion	120,000				^[3]
Australia	95,411	0.38%	2021 Census		^[18]
Fiji	80,000				^[3]
Mauritius	72,089	5.83%	2011 census	^[g]	^[19]
Germany	50,000				^[3]
Indonesia	40,000				^[20]^[21]
Switzerland	40,000				^[3]
Guadeloupe	36,000	9%	2019		^[22]
Italy	25,000				^[3]
Netherlands	20,000				^[3]
New Zealand	10,107	0.002%	2018 Census		^[3]
Norway	10,000				^[3]
Scotland	10,000		2020 estimates		^[3]
Thailand	10,000				^[3]
United Arab Emirates	10,000				^[3]
Bahamas	7,000				^[3]
Denmark	7,000				^[3]
China	5,000				^[3]
Qatar	4,000				^[3]
Seychelles	4,000				^[3]
Vietnam	3,000				^[3]
Martinique	3,000				^[23]
Hong Kong	3,000		2017		^[24]
Sweden	2,000				^[3]
Cambodia	1,000				^[3]
Finland	1,000				^[3]
Malta	1,000				^[3]
Luxembourg	250	4.2%	2018 estimates		^[25]
Pakistan	At least 200	0.0%	2018 estimates	^[h]	^[26]
Guyana	At least 1	0.0%	2018 data		^[27]^[28]
Papua New Guinea	At least 1	0.0%	2018 data		^[29]

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 states 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 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. A family must consist of at least 2 persons; thus, the estimated number of Tamils in Pakistan is at least 200.

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.
3. Sivasupramaniam, V. "History of the Tamil Diaspora". International Conferences on Skanda-Murukan.^{[unreliable source?][year needed]}
4. "Tamil". Ethnologue.
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". LaCroix 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. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-08-17). "Knowledge of languages by age and gender: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
14. . Census of Population 2010 Statistical Release 1: Demographic Characteristics, Education, Language and Religion. Department of Statistics, Singapore. Archived from the original on 2013-09-08.
16. [singstat.gov.sg/-/media/files/publications/cop2020/sr1/cop2020sr1.pdf Singapore Census 2020]
17. "Politically French, culturally Tamil: 12 Tamils elected in Paris and suburbs". TamilNet. 18 March 2008.
18. "Census Explorer". Special Broadcasting Service.
19. "Volume: II Demographic and Fertility Characteristics" (PDF). The 2011 Housing and Population Census. Statistics Mauritius. p. 68.
20. "Indonesia". TamilNation.
21. "Indonesia's Indian Community". The Diplomat.
22. "Guadeloupe Population 2019". World Population Review.
23. "Martinique Population 2019". World Population Review.
24. "Tamil community in Hong Kong more than 50 years in the making". South China Morning Post.
25. "Luxembourger Patrick part of new Tamil association". Delano.lu.
26. "For Tamil cuisine, away in Pakistan". The Hindu.
27. "First Tamil Prime Minister of Guyana". Special Broadcasting Service.
28. "From Guyana, memorable echoes of Tamil". TheWeekendLeader.
29. "Papua New Guinea's Tamil Governor". Special Broadcasting Service.