Tribal people in India, also known as adivasi, constitute 8.6% of India’s total population, which is approximately 104 million people1. They are considered the largest population of tribal people in the world.
The extent to which a state’s population is tribal varies considerably. In northeastern states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland, over 90% of the population is tribal1. However, in other northeastern states like Assam, Manipur, Sikkim, and Tripura, tribal peoples form between 20% and 30% of the population1. The largest tribes are found in central India, although the tribal population there accounts for only around 10% of the region’s total population. Some of the major tribes in India include Gonds, Bhils, Santhal, Munda, Khasi, Garo, Angami, Bhutia, Chenchu, Kodaba, and the Great Andamanese Tribes2. The Bhil tribal group is the largest tribe in India, constituting about 38% of the country’s total scheduled tribal population.
