Total population | |
---|---|
77,000,000 | |
Regions with significant populations | |
India | 60,793,814 (2001) |
Sri Lanka | 4,092,676 (2001) |
Malaysia | 2,900,000 (2007) |
Canada | 200,000 (2007) |
Singapore | 436,550 (2006) |
Languages | |
Tamil | |
Religion | |
88% Hindu, 6% Muslim, 5.5% Christian. | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Dravidians · Telugus · Kannadigas · Tuluvas · Malayalis · Giraavarus · Sinhalese |
The Tamil people are an ethnic group from South Asia. Traditionally, they have been living in the southern parts of India, and the northeastern parts of Sri Lanka.
The Tamil people number around 74 million in the world. Of that, there are about 63,000,000 in India; about 3,600,000 live in Sri Lanka; about 2,900,000 live in Malaysia; and about 430,000 live in Singapore. The remaining Tamil people live in many other places. Other peoples are related to the Tamil people by language, culture, and ancestry. Some of them are Brahui people, Kannadigas, Malayalis, Telugu people and Tuluvas. Tamil people, are not closely related to people in the Middle East and Europe, except the Romani people.