# States of India by Malayalam speakers

This is a list of states and territories of India by number of people for whom Malayalam is their mother tongue (first language) as of census 2001. Gross population figures are
| Rank | State/ Union territory | 1981 census | 1981 census | 1981 census | 1991 census | 1991 census | 1991 census | 2001 census | 2001 census | 2001 census | 2011 census | 2011 census | 2011 census |
| Rank | State/ Union territory | Malayalam speakers | % of state | % of Malayalam | Malayalam speakers | % of state | % of Malayalam | Malayalam speakers | % of state | % of Malayalam | Malayalam speakers | % of state | % of Malayalam |
| — | India | 25,952,966 | 3.92% | 100% | 30,377,176 | 3.62% | 100% | 33,066,392 | 3.21% | 100% | 34,838,819 | 2.88% (Tenth most spoken in India) | 100% |
| 1 | Kerala | 24,231,396 | 95.99% | 93.37% | 28,096,376 | 96.56% | 92.49 | 30,803,747 | 96.75% | 93.16 | 32,413,213 | 97.03% | 93.04 |
| 2 | Tamil Nadu | 577,890 | 1.20% | 2.23% | 661,137 | 1.18% | 2.18 | 557,705 | 0.90% | 1.69 | 774,057 | 1.01% | 2.22 |
| 3 | Karnataka | 590,709 | 1.60% | 2.28% | 757,030 | 1.68% | 2.49 | 701,673 | 1.33% | 2.12 | 726,096 | 1.27% | 2.08 |
| 4 | Maharashtra | 220,871 | 0.36% | 0.85% | 340,597 | 0.43% | 1.12 | 406,358 | 0.42% | 1.23 | 366,153 | 0.33% | 1.05 |
| 5 | Delhi | 31,143 | 0.50% | 0.12% | 64,952 | 0.69% | 0.21 | 92,009 | 0.66% | 0.28 | 88,662 | 0.53% | 0.25 |
| 6 | Gujarat | 30,610 | 0.09% | 0.12% | 57,701 | 0.14% | 0.19 | 67,838 | 0.13% | 0.21 | 64,998 | 0.11% | 0.19 |
| 7 | Andhra Pradesh/ Telangana | 44,489 | 0.08% | 0.17% | 66,409 | 0.10% | 0.22 | 62,214 | 0.08% | 0.19 | 61,147 | 0.07% | 0.18 |
| 8 | Lakshadweep | 33,559 | 84.51% | 0.13% | 43,678 | 84.47% | 0.14 | 51,555 | 84.10% | 0.16 | 54,264 | 84.17% | 0.16 |
| 9 | Madhya Pradesh | 59,928 | 0.11% | 0.23% | 80,759 | 0.12% | 0.27 | 48,515 | 0.08% | 0.15 | 37,761 | 0.05% | 0.11 |
| 10 | Puducherry | 30,886 | 5.15% | 0.12% | 38,392 | 4.75% | 0.13 | 42,782 | 4.39% | 0.13 | 47,973 | 3.84% | 0.14 |
| 11 | Rajasthan | 12,679 | 0.04% | 0.05% | 26,450 | 0.06% | 0.09 | 33,975 | 0.06% | 0.10 | 24,439 | 0.04% | 0.07 |
| 12 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 18,662 | 10.43% | 0.07% | 26,075 | 9.29% | 0.09 | 28,869 | 8.09% | 0.09 | 27,475 | 7.22% | 0.08 |
| 13 | Chhattisgarh | - | - | - | - | - | - | 26,319 | 0.13% | 0.08 | 23,370 | 0.09% | 0.07 |
| 14 | Uttar Pradesh | 5,410 | 0.01% | 0.02% | 15,721 | 0.01% | 0.05 | 19,683 | 0.01% | 0.06 | 24,450 | 0.01% | 0.07 |
| 15 | West Bengal | 10,478 | 0.02% | 0.04% | 17,215 | 0.03% | 0.06 | 17,043 | 0.02% | 0.05 | 10,952 | 0.01% | 0.03 |
| 16 | Goa | 7,634 | 0.72% | 0.03% | 12,962 | 1.10% | 0.04 | 15,081 | 1.12% | 0.05 | 12,983 | 0.89% | 0.04 |
| 17 | Haryana | 4,423 | 0.03% | 0.02% | 8,038 | 0.05% | 0.03 | 13,989 | 0.07% | 0.04 | 14,518 | 0.06% | 0.04 |
| 18 | Odisha | 13,536 | 0.05% | 0.05% | 16,246 | 0.05% | 0.05 | 10,440 | 0.03% | 0.03 | 9,004 | 0.02% | 0.03 |
| 19 | Jammu and Kashmir | 1,135 | 0.02% | 0.00% | n/a | n/a | n/a | 10,063 | 0.10% | 0.03 | 11,248 | 0.09% | 0.03 |
| 20 | Punjab | 3,591 | 0.02% | 0.01% | 7,139 | 0.04% | 0.02 | 10,669 | 0.04% | 0.03 | 9,734 | 0.04% | 0.03 |
| 21 | Jharkhand | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8,783 | 0.03% | 0.03 | 6,549 | 0.02% | 0.02 |
| 22 | Assam | n/a | n/a | n/a | 3,575 | 0.02% | 0.01 | 8,141 | 0.03% | 0.02 | 5,768 | 0.02% | 0.02 |
| 23 | Arunachal Pradesh | 2,164 | 0.36% | 0.01% | 5,046 | 0.58% | 0.02 | 5,583 | 0.50% | 0.02 | 4,012 | 0.29% | 0.01 |
| 24 | Nagaland | 2,414 | 0.32% | 0.01% | 4,493 | 0.37% | 0.01 | 3,901 | 0.20% | 0.01 | 2,916 | 0.15% | 0.01 |
| 25 | Uttarakhand | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2,870 | 0.03% | 0.01 | 3,168 | 0.03% | 0.01 |
| 26 | Chandigarh | 1,639 | 0.37% | 0.01% | 2,435 | 0.38% | 0.01 | 2,356 | 0.26% | 0.01 | 1,979 | 0.01% | 0.01 |
| 27 | Meghalaya | 914 | 0.07% | 0.00% | 2,142 | 0.12% | 0.01 | 2,000 | 0.09% | 0.01 | 1,789 | 0.06% | 0.01 |
| 28 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli | 286 | 0.28% | 0.00% | 803 | 0.58% | 0.00 | 1,839 | 0.83% | 0.01 | 2,172 | 0.63% | 0.01 |
| 29 | Tripura | 208 | 0.01% | 0.00% | 1,231 | 0.05% | 0.00 | 1,747 | 0.05% | 0.01 | 1,173 | 0.03% | 0.00 |
| 30 | Mizoram | 532 | 0.11% | 0.00% | 1,375 | 0.20% | 0.00 | 1,322 | 0.15% | 0.00 | 718 | 0.07% | 0.00 |
| 31 | Manipur | 409 | 0.03% | 0.00% | 1,792 | 0.10% | 0.01 | 1,231 | 0.05% | 0.00 | 1,519 | 0.06% | 0.00 |
| 32 | Himachal Pradesh | 1,034 | 0.03% | 0.00% | 1,257 | 0.02% | 0.00 | 1,231 | 0.02% | 0.00 | 1,211 | 0.02% | 0.00 |
| 33 | Daman and Diu | - | - | - | 283 | 0.28% | 0.00 | 1,166 | 0.74% | 0.00 | 1,229 | 0.50% | 0.00 |
| 34 | Sikkim | 577 | 0.19% | 0.00% | 710 | 0.18% | 0.00 | 1,021 | 0.19% | 0.00 | 899 | 0.15% | 0.00 |
| 35 | Bihar | 13,760 | 0.02% | 0.00% | 15,157 | 0.02% | 0.05 | 2,674 | 0.00% | 0.01 | 1,220 | 0.00% | 0.00 |