Statistics about Urdu Speakers
- Official Language in the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir, where 14K people speak it.
- One of six languages designated as a classic language by the Indian Government.
- It is an officially recognized language in Telangana & Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.
- It has a significant presence in other states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Orissa, Tamilnadu, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Punjab, and Kerala.
- ~230M people speak Urdu worldwide
- 69M as a first language
- 161M as a secondary language
- ~63M people speak Urdu in India, 7% of Indian population
- ~51M as a first language
- ~12M as a secondary language

Urdu is not a primary language in any Indian state or territory.
It is a secondary language in: Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
Urdu Diaspora
- Pakistan (167M speakers, 76%)
- India (63M, 5%)
- Saudi Arabia (757K, 2%)
- Nepal (700K, 2%)
- UK (400K, <1%)
- USA (400K, <1%)
- Bangladesh (250K, <1%)
- Canada (250K, <1%)
- Qatar (173K, 6%)
- Oman (100K, 2%)
- Iran (90K, <1%)
- Bahrain (75K, <1%)
- Norway (35K, <1%)
- Turkey (25K, <1%)
- Germany (23K, <1%)
Lutheran Study Bible Translation Project: Urdu Status
We need your help to finish this language. As you’ll see in the table at bottom of this page, all 66 books of the Bible have projected costs associated with them – this is the cost of completing the exhaustive 12-step process. Obviously, we’ve got a long way to go, but we are absolutely committed to finishing Urdu and the 14 other languages. Naturally, the timing is based on availability of resources and funding – but these will get done! Can you help us get there sooner?
See the Translation for Yourself
Assamese Progress Report
The table below shows the 66 books of the Lutheran Study Bible, as well as the approximate cost to complete each book’s 12-step translation process.
Note that we update our Urdu progress in this table quarterly.