Editing Malayalam (section)

== Geographic distribution and population ==
{{See also|Kerala Gulf diaspora|States of India by Malayalam speakers}}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
! scope="col" | State/Union Territory
! scope="col" | Malayalam speakers 2011<ref name="mw" />
! scope="col" | Proportion
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#fde"| [[Kerala]]
|style="background:#fde"| 32,413,213
|style="background:#fde"| 97.03%
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#fde"| [[Lakshadweep]]
|style="background:#fde"| 54,264
|style="background:#fde"| 84.17%
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#fde"| [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]]
|style="background:#fde"| 27,475
|style="background:#fde"| 7.22%
|-
!scope="row"style="background:#fde"| [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]]
|style="background:#fde"| 47,973
|style="background:#fde"| 3.84%
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#fde"| [[Karnataka]]
|style="background:#fde"| 701,673
|style="background:#fde"| 1.14%
|-
!scope="row"style="background:#fde"| [[Tamil Nadu]]
|style="background:#fde"| 957,705
|style="background:#fde"| 2.70%
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#fde"| '''[[India]]'''
|style="background:#fde"| '''34,838,819'''
|style="background:#fde"| '''2.88%'''
|}
Malayalam is a language spoken by the native people of southwestern India and the islands of [[Lakshadweep]] in the [[Arabian Sea]]. According to the Indian census of 2011, there were 32,413,213 speakers of Malayalam in Kerala, making up 93.2% of the total number of Malayalam speakers in India, and 97.03% of the total population of the state. There were a further 701,673 (1.14% of the total number) in [[Karnataka]], 957,705 (2.70%) in [[Tamil Nadu]], and 406,358 (1.2%) in [[Maharashtra]].

The number of Malayalam speakers in [[Lakshadweep]] is 51,100, which is only 0.15% of the total number, but is as much as about 84% of the population of Lakshadweep. Malayalam was the most spoken language in erstwhile [[Gudalur taluk]] (now Gudalur and Panthalur taluks) of [[Nilgiris district]] in Tamil Nadu which accounts for 48.8% population and it was the second most spoken language in [[Mangalore]] and Puttur taluks of [[South Canara]] accounting for 21.2% and 15.4% respectively according to 1951 census report.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://lsi.gov.in/| title = South Kanara, The Nilgiris, Malabar and Coimbators Districts| access-date = 29 April 2021| archive-date = 2 October 2022| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221002110639/http://lsi.gov.in/MTSI_APP/(S(d5i44a45mqlxje45spluigat))/default.aspx| url-status = live}}</ref> 25.57% of the total population in the [[Kodagu district]] of [[Karnataka]] are [[Malayali]]s, and they form the single largest linguistic group accounting for 35.5% in the [[Virajpet]] Taluk.<ref name="censusindiagovin">{{cite web |title=Census of India – Language |url=http://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-16.html |website=censusindia.gov.in |access-date=17 April 2020 |archive-date=1 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101020704/https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-16.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Around one-third of the [[Malayali]]s in [[Kodagu district]] speak the [[Ravula language|Yerava dialect]] according to the 2011 census, which is native to Kodagu and [[Wayanad]].<ref name="censusindiagovin" />

In all, Malayalis made up 3.22% of the total Indian population in 2011. Of the total 34,713,130 Malayalam speakers in India in 2011, 33,015,420 spoke the standard dialects, 19,643 spoke the ''Yerava'' dialect and 31,329 spoke non-standard regional variations like ''Eranadan''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/data_on_language.html |title=Census of India – Data on Language |publisher=Censusindia.gov.in |access-date=30 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110230245/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/data_on_language.html |archive-date=10 January 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> As per the 1991 census data, 28.85% of all Malayalam speakers in India spoke a second language and 19.64% of the total knew three or more languages.

Just before independence, [[British Malaya|Malaya]] attracted many Malayalis. Large numbers of Malayalis have settled in [[Chennai]], [[Bengaluru]], [[Mangaluru]], [[Hyderabad, Telangana|Hyderabad]], [[Mumbai]], [[Navi Mumbai]], [[Pune]], [[Mysuru]] and [[Delhi]]. Many Malayalis have also emigrated to the [[Middle East]], the United States, and Europe. There were 179,860 speakers of Malayalam in the United States, according to the 2000 census, with the highest concentrations in [[Bergen County, New Jersey]], and [[Rockland County, New York]].<ref>[http://40days.homestead.com/Day_22_-_People.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073622/http://40days.homestead.com/Day_22_-_People.pdf|date=4 March 2016}}. Retrieved 22 November 2014.</ref> There are 144,000 of Malayalam speakers in [[Malaysia]].{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} There were 11,687 Malayalam speakers in Australia in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sbs.com.au/news/census/ |title=Census 2011 Australia – ABS Population Income |publisher=Sbs.com.au |access-date=10 July 2013 |archive-date=17 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130717085953/http://www.sbs.com.au/news/census/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The 2001 [[Canadian census]] reported 7,070 people who listed Malayalam as their mother tongue, mainly in [[Toronto]]. The 2006 New Zealand census reported 2,139 speakers.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090810095915/http://www.stats.govt.nz/ServicePages/NotFound.aspx Statistics New Zealand:Language spoken (total responses) for the 1996–2006 censuses (Table 16)], ''stats.govt.nz''</ref> 134 Malayalam speaking households were reported in 1956 in [[Fiji]]. There is also a considerable [[Malayali]] population in the [[Persian Gulf]] regions, especially in [[Dubai]], [[Kuwait]] and [[Doha]].