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General Information 

Most of the people in Delhi practice Hinduism. Shown here is the Akshardham temple in East Delhi.

Delhi is a very cosmopolitan city due to the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural presence of the vast Indian bureaucracy and political system, and now expanding economy. There are more than 160 embassies and an ever-growing expatriate population. In 2003, the National Capital Territory of Delhi had a population of 14.1 million people making it the second largest metropolitan area in India after Mumbai.[15] This figure includes about 295,000 people living in New Delhi and 125,000 in Delhi Cantonment. There are 821 women per 1000 men; the literacy rate is 81.67%[16] and approximately 91% of the population is urban. Delhi is the most densely populated state in India with 9294 persons per sq. km. In 1999, Delhi recorded a birth rate, death rate and infant mortality rate (per 1000 population) of 22.15, 6.06 and 23.18 respectively.[16] According to the Economic Survey of Delhi held in 2001, 2.6 million people were living in slum designated areas across Delhi while 1.7 million and 3.3 million were living in regularised and planned colonies respectively.

Hinduism is practised by 82% of Delhi's population. There are also large, vibrant communities of Muslims (11.7%), Sikhs (4.0%), Jains (1.1%) and Christians (0.9%). Other minorities include Buddhists and Jews.[19] Hindi is the principal spoken and written language. Other commonly spoken languages are English, Punjabi and Urdu (English being an associate official language, and Punjabi and Urdu being second official languages). Since Delhi is the capital, linguistic groups from all over India are well represented including: Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and many others.
Delhi has one of the highest living standards in India with a per capita income of (at current prices for the year 2000-2001) 38864 INR.[16] Due to relatively high employment opportunities and better living conditions, Delhi has attracted millions of people from rural areas in neighbouring Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. As a consequence, Delhi's demographics has changed drastically in the past few years. In 1999, the population of Delhi increased by 259,000 due to migration whereas the natural increase in population was 209,000.[20] Punjabis, Gujjars and Jats are large ethnic communities, however a collage of peoples from almost every Indian state inhabits the city. According to the United Nations, by 2015, Delhi will be the 3rd largest agglomeration in the world after Tokyo and Mumbai, with an estimated population of 20.1 million people.