Christian Population in India
In the 2011 census, out of India’s 1.21 billion population, a little over 27.8 million or 2.78 crore (2.3% of India’s population) are Christians. Christianity is the third largest religion in India, after Hinduism and Islam. Christianity is predominant in three Northeastern states: Nagaland, Mizoram, and Meghalaya. It also has a significant presence in Manipur, Goa, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Kerala, and Arunachal Pradesh. In 2024, the Christian population in India is estimated to be approximately 3.3 crore or 33 million people.
Christianity by Indian States and UTs (Census 2011)
Christianity is a major religion in Nagaland, Mizoram, and Meghalaya. Manipur (41.29%), Goa (25.10%), Andaman & Nicobar Islands (21.28%), Kerala (18.38%), and Arunachal Pradesh (30.26%) have a considerable percentage of the Christian population.
| # | State | Total Population | Christian Population | % of Total |
| 1 | Nagaland | 1,978,502 | 1,739,651 | 87.93% |
| 2 | Mizoram | 1,097,206 | 956,331 | 87.16% |
| 3 | Meghalaya | 2,966,889 | 2,213,027 | 74.59% |
| 4 | Manipur | 2,855,794 | 1,179,043 | 41.29% |
| 5 | Arunachal Pradesh | 1,383,727 | 418,732 | 30.26% |
| 6 | Goa | 1,458,545 | 366,130 | 25.10% |
| 7 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 380,581 | 80,984 | 21.28% |
| 8 | Kerala | 33,406,061 | 6,141,269 | 18.38% |
| 9 | Sikkim | 610,577 | 60,522 | 9.91% |
| 10 | Puducherry | 1,247,953 | 78,550 | 6.29% |
| 11 | Tamil Nadu | 72,147,030 | 4,418,331 | 6.12% |
| 12 | Tripura | 3,673,917 | 159,882 | 4.35% |
| 13 | Jharkhand | 32,988,134 | 1,418,608 | 4.30% |
| 14 | Assam | 31,205,576 | 1,165,867 | 3.74% |
| 15 | Orissa | 41,974,218 | 1,161,708 | 2.77% |
| 16 | Chhattisgarh | 25,545,198 | 490,542 | 1.92% |
| 17 | Karnataka | 61,095,297 | 1,142,647 | 1.87% |
| 18 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli | 343,709 | 5,113 | 1.49% |
| 19 | Andhra Pradesh / Telangana | 84,580,777 | 1,129,784 | 1.34% |
| 20 | Punjab | 27,743,338 | 348,230 | 1.26% |
| 21 | Daman and Diu | 243,247 | 2,820 | 1.16% |
| 22 | Maharashtra | 112,374,333 | 1,080,073 | 0.96% |
| 23 | Delhi | 16,787,941 | 146,093 | 0.87% |
| 24 | Chandigarh | 1,055,450 | 8,720 | 0.83% |
| 25 | West Bengal | 91,276,115 | 658,618 | 0.72% |
| 26 | Gujarat | 60,439,692 | 316,178 | 0.52% |
| 27 | Lakshadweep | 64,473 | 317 | 0.49% |
| 28 | Uttarakhand | 10,086,292 | 37,781 | 0.37% |
| 29 | Madhya Pradesh | 72,626,809 | 213,282 | 0.29% |
| 30 | Jammu and Kashmir | 12,541,302 | 35,631 | 0.28% |
| 31 | Haryana | 25,351,462 | 50,353 | 0.20% |
| 32 | Himachal Pradesh | 6,864,602 | 12,646 | 0.18% |
| 33 | Uttar Pradesh | 199,812,341 | 356,448 | 0.18% |
| 34 | Rajasthan | 68,548,437 | 96,430 | 0.14% |
| 35 | Bihar | 104,099,452 | 129,247 | 0.12% |
Source: Census 2011
Top 10 States by Christian Population
Kerala (6.2 million) has the largest Christian population in India followed by Tamil Nadu (4.4 million) & Meghalaya (2.2 million). Let’s look at the top 10 states in India with the largest Christianity followers.
Top 10 States with Christian Population
| # | State | Christian Population | Pop. in million |
| 1 | Kerala | 6,141,269 | 6.2 million |
| 2 | Tamil Nadu | 4,418,331 | 4.4 million |
| 3 | Meghalaya | 2,213,027 | 2.2 million |
| 4 | Nagaland | 1,739,651 | 1.8 million |
| 5 | Jharkhand | 1,418,608 | 1.4 million |
| 6 | Manipur | 1,179,043 | 1.17 million |
| 7 | Assam | 1,165,867 | 1.16 million |
| 8 | Orissa | 1,161,708 | 1.16 million |
| 9 | Karnataka | 1,142,647 | 1.15 million |
| 10 | Maharashtra | 1,080,073 | 1 million |
| 11 | Mizoram | 956,331 | 0.95 million |
Source: Census 2011
Christianity in India by Affiliations
As per the estimates among Christians in India, Protestantism has the largest number of adherents followed by Catholics, Orthodox, and other Christians.
| # | Affiliations | Estimated Population |
| 1 | Protestants | 18,860,000 |
| 2 | Catholics | 10,570,000 |
| 3 | Orthodox | 2,370,000 |
| 4 | Other Christians | 50,000 |
The largest denomination is the Roman Catholic Church (10 million), Anglicans within the United Church of North India and Church of South India, constitute the second largest group at over 5 million.