Editing Andaman and Nicobar Islands (section)

==Demographics==
{{Historical population|state=collapsed|source=[[Census of India]]<ref>{{cite report |url=https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/A2_Data_Table.html |title=Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901 |website=Census of India : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India |access-date=19 May 2021 |archive-date=10 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010234955/https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/A2_Data_Table.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="UT"/>
|1901|24649
|1911|26459
|1921|27086
|1931|29463
|1941|33768
|1951|30971
|1961|63548
|1971|115133
|1981|188741
|1991|280661
|2001|356152
|2011|380581
|2019|434192{{efn|Projected}}
}}

As per the [[2011 Census of India|2011 census]], the population was 380,581, of which 202,871 (53.3%) were males and 177,710 (46.7%) were females.<ref name="Pop"/> The sex ratio was 878 females per 1,000 males.<ref>{{cite report |title=Census of India |url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/data_files/ani/ani_press_release.pdf |access-date=13 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113163050/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/data_files/ani/ani_press_release.pdf |archive-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> There were a total of 94,551 households and about 143,488 (37.7%) of the population lived in urban areas.<ref name="Pop"/> [[Hinduism]] (69.5%) is the major religion of people of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands followed by Christianity (21.7%) and [[Islam]] (8.5%).<ref name="RL"/>
{{bar box
|title=Religion in Andaman and Nicobar (2011)<ref name="RL">{{cite report |title=Population by religion community – 2011 |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/11361/download/14474/DDW00C-01%20MDDS.XLS |publisher=[[Government of India]] |access-date=1 December 2023}}</ref>
|titlebar=#Fcd116
|left1=Religion
|right1=Percent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Hinduism]]|darkorange|69.45}}
{{bar percent|[[Christianity]]|blue|21.28}}
{{bar percent|[[Islam]]|green|8.52}}
{{bar percent|Others|black|0.75}}
}}

The Andaman islands were populated by the [[Andamanese peoples|indigenous people]] (the [[Great Andamanese]], the [[Onge]], the [[Jarawas (Andaman Islands)|Jarawa]] and the [[Sentinelese]]) who were isolated and spoke [[Andamanese languages]] for thousands of years.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.and.nic.in/C_charter/Dir_tw/pri_tri.htm |title=Tribes of Andaman |publisher=[[Government of India]] |access-date=1 December 2023}}</ref> The Nicobar islands, which was part of trade routes and was frequented by travellers, were populated by [[Shompen people]] before the islands were settled by [[Nicobarese people]], who spoke [[Austroasiatic]] languages.<ref name="Williams"/> The islands include the [[North Sentinel Island]], home to the Sentinelese people, among the only known [[Uncontacted people|uncontacted tribe]] in India.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pandit |first=T. N. |year=1990 |title=The Sentinelese |pages=17–20 |location=Kolkata |publisher=Seagull Books |isbn=978-81-7046-081-7}}</ref> When the islands were first colonised, the population of the natives were estimated to be around 5,000 and while the population of islands temporarily increased during colonisation, the population saw a massive spike post-1960s due to the policies of the Union Government that encouraged settlers from other parts of the country.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sekhsaria |first=Pankaj |title=How a statist vision of development has brought Andaman's tribals close to extinction |url=https://scroll.in/article/833293/how-a-statist-vision-of-development-has-brought-andamans-tribals-close-to-extinction |work=Scroll |date=3 April 2017 |access-date=21 November 2020 |archive-date=29 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129063143/https://scroll.in/article/833293/how-a-statist-vision-of-development-has-brought-andamans-tribals-close-to-extinction |url-status=live}}</ref> In the early 21st century, the population of indigenous people has drastically dropped. {{as of|2016}}, it was estimated to consist of 44 Great Andamanese, 380 Jarawas, 101 Onges, 15 Sentinelese and 229 Shompens.<ref name="IT">{{cite press release |url=https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=136700 |title=Tribals in A & N Islands |date=24 February 2016 |publisher=[[Government of India]] |access-date=1 December 2023}}</ref> The Government of India is trying to protect the remnant population by providing access to healthcare facilities, communication and social engagement.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1774260 |title=Tribal Communities of Andaman and Nicobar celebrate Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav week of Tribal Affairs with fanfare in their inimitable style |date=23 November 2021 |publisher=[[Government of India]] |access-date=1 December 2023}}</ref><ref name="IT"/>

{{bar box
|title=Distribution of languages in Andaman and Nicobar (2011)<ref name="Lang"/>
|titlebar=#Fcd116
|left1=Language
|right1=Percent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Bengali language|Bengali]]|red|28.49}}
{{bar percent|[[Tamil language|Tamil]]|#C46210|15.20}}
{{bar percent|[[Telugu language|Telugu]]|blue|13.24}}
{{bar percent|[[Hindi language|Hindi]]|darkorange|12.91}}
{{bar percent|[[Nicobarese languages|Nicobarese]]|#F88379|7.60}}
{{bar percent|[[Malayalam]]|midnightblue|7.22}}
{{bar percent|[[Nagpuri language|Nagpuri]]|
#FDEE00|5.53}}
{{bar percent|[[Kurukh language|Kurukh]]|#D0FF14|3.96}}
{{bar percent|Others|grey|5.84}}
}}

===Languages===
The Andamanese people speak about a dozen endangered Andamanese languages, which belong to two families, [[Great Andamanese languages|Great Andamanese]] and [[Ongan languages|Ongan]] that are unrelated to each other or to any other language group.<ref>{{cite journal |first=S |last=Manoharan |year=1983 |title=Subgrouping Andamanese group of languages |journal=International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics |volume=12 |pages=82–95}}</ref> There are two unattested languages: [[Sentinelese language|Sentinelese]], spoken by Sentinelese people, who refuse contact with outsiders, which might be related to Ongan as per [[Anvita Abbi]] and [[Jangil]], which became extinct in the 1920s.<ref>{{cite web |last=Abbi |first=Anvita |date=20 April 2020 |title=The Pandemic Also Threatens Endangered Languages |work=Scientific American |url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/voices/the-pandemic-also-threatens-endangered-languages/ |access-date=28 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Webber |first=George |date=20 May 2013 |title=George Webber's Lonely Islands, Chapter 8: The Tribes |url=http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/chapter8/text8.htm#jangil |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520161055/http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/chapter8/text8.htm#jangil |access-date=29 December 2023 |archive-date=20 May 2013}}</ref> Indigenous to the Nicobar Islands are the [[Shompen language]], spoken by Shompen people and the five [[Nicobarese languages]], which form part of the [[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]] language family and are spoken by about {{sigfig|28912|2}} people or 7.6% of the population.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lal |first=Parmanand |year=1977 |title=Great Nicobar Island: study in human ecology |publisher=Anthropological Survey of India}}</ref><ref name="Lang"/>

The majority of the population, however, are speakers of immigrant languages which include [[Bengali language|Bengali]] (28.5%), [[Tamil language|Tamil]] (15.2%), [[Telugu language|Telugu]] (13.2%), [[Hindi]] (12.9%), [[Malayalam]] (7.2%). [[Sadri language|Sadri]] (5.5%), and [[Kurukh language|Kurukh]] (4%).<ref name="Lang">{{cite report |title=C-16: Population by mother tongue, India - 2011 |work=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/10191 |access-date=7 November 2022 |archive-date=14 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014173010/https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/10191 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Hindi]] is the official language of the region, while English is declared an additional official language for communication purposes.<ref>{{cite report |url=http://164.100.166.181/annualreport/52ndReport_CLM_English.pdf |title=Report of the Commissioner for linguistic minorities: 52nd report (July 2014 to June 2015) |pages=49–53 |publisher=Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities, Ministry of Minority Affairs, [[Government of India]] |access-date=10 October 2023}}</ref>