Urdu language

Speakers and geographic distribution

In Pakistan, Urdu is spoken as a mother tongue by a majority of urban dwellers in such cities as Karachi and Hyderabad in the southern province of Sindh. In spite of its status as the national language, however, only 8% of Pakistanis speak Urdu as their first language with about 48% speaking Punjabi as a mother tongue. It is, however, the language of prestige and all signage, and literacy is compulsory in the Pakistani school system. As time goes by, more and more Pakistanis of Punjabi or other backgrounds are speaking Urdu as a first language. It is evident that the number of native Urdu speakers is increasing quickly in urban centers.

Related Topics:
Karachi - Hyderabad - Sindh - Punjabi

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In India, Urdu is spoken as a mother tongue by many in the northern and central states. While in India Muslims might ostensibly be seen as identifying more with Urdu, Hindus and Sikhs naturally speak Urdu regardless of religion, especially when they have grown up in such traditional Urdu strongholds as Lucknow and Hyderabad. Some would contend that the language spoken in Bollywood films is in fact closer to Urdu than Hindi, especially in filmi songs.

Related Topics:
Bollywood - Filmi song

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Apart from the Indian subcontinent, Urdu is also spoken in urban Afghanistan. It is also spoken to some extent in the major urban centres in the Persian Gulf countries and in Saudi Arabia. Urdu is spoken by a large number of people in the major urban centres of the UK, the USA, Canada and Australia.

Related Topics:
Afghanistan - Persian Gulf - Saudi Arabia - UK - USA - Canada - Australia

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Countries with large numbers of First Language Urdu speakers.

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• Afghanistan,
• Bahrain,
• Bangladesh,
• Belgium,
• Botswana,
• Canada,
• Denmark,
• Fiji,
• Germany,
• Guyana,
• India (48 Million),

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• Malawi,
• Mauritius (64,000),
• Myanmar,
• Nepal,
• The Netherlands,
• Norway,
• Oman,
• Pakistan (14 Million),
• Qatar,

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• Saudi Arabia,
• South Africa (170,000),
• Surinam,
• Spain,
• Thailand,
• Tanzania,
• Trinidad and Tobago,
• United Arab Emirates,
• United Kingdom (1 Million),
• United States (1 Million),
• Zambia.

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Official Status

Urdu is the national language of Pakistan. According to Pakistani government websites, it also shares official language status with English. Although English is an official language and is used in most elite circles, and Punjabi has a plurality of native speakers, Urdu is seen as the one lingua franca that is expected to prevail. Urdu is one of the official languages of India, and while the government school system - especially in northern states - emphasizes Hindi , many universities, especially in Lucknow, continue to foster Urdu as a language of prestige and learning. In Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh, Urdu has official language status.

Related Topics:
Official language - Lingua franca - Hindi - Lucknow - Jammu and Kashmir - Andhra Pradesh

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