A district in voices · Census 2011

Dhenkanal
More than a single voice.

The largest recorded language group was ODIA, with 11,47,428 people (96.20%). Open the individual entries below: broad groups can contain distinct names and stories.

District population · 201111,92,811

Rural population90.15%10,75,305 people

Urban population9.85%1,17,506 people

This is a historical district profile, not a city survey or a present-day forecast. Mother tongue, community identity, ancestry and the languages used at work are different questions.

The whole district

Denominator: 11,92,811 people in Dhenkanal · all areas, 2011.

Census language groups · mutually exclusive totals
Group	People	Share
ODIA	11,47,428	96.20%
MUNDA	14,315	1.20%
SANTALI	10,902	0.91%
JUANG	5,784	0.48%
HINDI	3,462	0.29%
HO	3,160	0.26%
URDU	2,360	0.20%
OTHERS	1,798	0.15%
BENGALI	1,059	0.09%
TELUGU	950	0.08%
MUNDARI	528	0.04%
KUI	382	0.03%
KURUKH/ORAON	201	0.02%
GUJARATI	102	<0.01%
TAMIL	80	<0.01%
SANSKRIT	44	<0.01%
ENGLISH	40	<0.01%
MALAYALAM	39	<0.01%
BHILI/BHILODI	36	<0.01%
SAVARA	29	<0.01%
MARATHI	20	<0.01%
NEPALI	17	<0.01%
PUNJABI	17	<0.01%
GONDI	9	<0.01%
MAITHILI	8	<0.01%
KANNADA	6	<0.01%
KISAN	6	<0.01%
JATAPU	5	<0.01%
ASSAMESE	4	<0.01%
KHOND/KONDH	4	<0.01%
GARO	3	<0.01%
KHASI	2	<0.01%
KOCH	2	<0.01%
KOYA	2	<0.01%
LOTHA	2	<0.01%
LUSHAI/MIZO	2	<0.01%
MANIPURI	1	<0.01%
BHUMIJ	1	<0.01%
KHARIA	1	<0.01%

Look inside the groups: individual mother-tongue entries

The entries below are already included in their parent groups above. Do not add both tables together. Only positive recorded counts for this residence category are shown; omission is not proof of an absence of speakers today. Residual group OTHERS has no subordinate entries here.

Individual entries · Census labels and parent classifications retained
Entry / parent group	People	Male	Female	Share
Odia Under ODIA · C-16 row 11283	11,47,087	5,89,323	5,57,764	96.17%
Munda Under MUNDA · C-16 row 11338	14,314	7,018	7,296	1.20%
Santali Under SANTALI · C-16 row 11291	10,902	5,345	5,557	0.91%
Juang Under JUANG · C-16 row 11314	5,784	2,861	2,923	0.48%
Hindi Under HINDI · C-16 row 11259	3,231	2,064	1,167	0.27%
Ho Under HO · C-16 row 11310	3,160	1,572	1,588	0.26%
Urdu Under URDU · C-16 row 11297	2,360	1,224	1,136	0.20%
Bengali Under BENGALI · C-16 row 11251	1,059	630	429	0.09%
Telugu Under TELUGU · C-16 row 11295	950	496	454	0.08%
Mundari Under MUNDARI · C-16 row 11340	528	269	259	0.04%
Kui Under KUI · C-16 row 11328	382	167	215	0.03%
Others Under ODIA · C-16 row 11285	257	139	118	0.02%
Others Under KURUKH/ORAON · C-16 row 11331	119	66	53	<0.01%
Gujarati Under GUJARATI · C-16 row 11253	102	63	39	<0.01%
Kurukh/Oraon Under KURUKH/ORAON · C-16 row 11330	82	44	38	<0.01%
Tamil Under TAMIL · C-16 row 11293	80	44	36	<0.01%
Proja (Ori) Under ODIA · C-16 row 11284	72	31	41	<0.01%
Marwari Under HINDI · C-16 row 11262	65	35	30	<0.01%
Bhojpuri Under HINDI · C-16 row 11256	56	37	19	<0.01%
Laria Under HINDI · C-16 row 11261	49	26	23	<0.01%
Sanskrit Under SANSKRIT · C-16 row 11289	44	11	33	<0.01%
English Under ENGLISH · C-16 row 11303	40	24	16	<0.01%
Malayalam Under MALAYALAM · C-16 row 11272	39	22	17	<0.01%
Baori Under BHILI/BHILODI · C-16 row 11299	36	16	20	<0.01%
Others Under HINDI · C-16 row 11266	29	17	12	<0.01%
Savara Under SAVARA · C-16 row 11342	29	17	12	<0.01%
Marathi Under MARATHI · C-16 row 11276	18	9	9	<0.01%
Nepali Under NEPALI · C-16 row 11279	17	12	5	<0.01%
Punjabi Under PUNJABI · C-16 row 11287	17	11	6	<0.01%
Bhumijali Under ODIA · C-16 row 11282	11	4	7	<0.01%
Sadan/Sadri Under HINDI · C-16 row 11265	8	6	2	<0.01%
Maithili Under MAITHILI · C-16 row 11270	8	4	4	<0.01%
Others Under GONDI · C-16 row 11308	8	3	5	<0.01%
Bharmauri/Gaddi Under HINDI · C-16 row 11255	6	2	4	<0.01%
Kurmali Thar Under HINDI · C-16 row 11260	6	4	2	<0.01%
Kannada Under KANNADA · C-16 row 11268	6	3	3	<0.01%
Kisan Under KISAN · C-16 row 11322	6	4	2	<0.01%
Jatapu Under JATAPU · C-16 row 11312	5	2	3	<0.01%
Assamese Under ASSAMESE · C-16 row 11249	4	2	2	<0.01%
Pahari Under HINDI · C-16 row 11264	4	3	1	<0.01%
Khond/Kondh Under KHOND/KONDH · C-16 row 11320	4	2	2	<0.01%
Chhattisgarhi Under HINDI · C-16 row 11258	3	1	2	<0.01%
Nagpuria Under HINDI · C-16 row 11263	3	2	1	<0.01%
Garo Under GARO · C-16 row 11305	3	2	1	<0.01%
Bundeli/Bundel khandi Under HINDI · C-16 row 11257	2	2	0	<0.01%
Others Under MARATHI · C-16 row 11277	2	1	1	<0.01%
Khasi Under KHASI · C-16 row 11318	2	2	0	<0.01%
Koch Under KOCH · C-16 row 11324	2	1	1	<0.01%
Koya Under KOYA · C-16 row 11326	2	0	2	<0.01%
Lotha Under LOTHA · C-16 row 11333	2	2	0	<0.01%
Lushai/Mizo Under LUSHAI/MIZO · C-16 row 11335	2	2	0	<0.01%
Manipuri Under MANIPURI · C-16 row 11274	1	0	1	<0.01%
Bhuiya/Bhuyan[Ori] Under ODIA · C-16 row 11281	1	1	0	<0.01%
Bhumij Under BHUMIJ · C-16 row 11301	1	0	1	<0.01%
Gondi Under GONDI · C-16 row 11307	1	0	1	<0.01%
Kharia Under KHARIA · C-16 row 11316	1	0	1	<0.01%
Kol Under MUNDA · C-16 row 11337	1	0	1	<0.01%

Rural and urban: two views within the district

Each share below uses the population of that residence category. Rural and urban counts add to the district total; their percentages use different denominators.

Rural population breakdown

Denominator: 10,75,305 people in Dhenkanal · rural areas, 2011.

Census language groups · mutually exclusive totals
Group	People	Share
ODIA	10,34,777	96.23%
MUNDA	14,123	1.31%
SANTALI	10,697	0.99%
JUANG	5,695	0.53%
HO	3,153	0.29%
HINDI	1,801	0.17%
OTHERS	1,795	0.17%
URDU	839	0.08%
TELUGU	665	0.06%
MUNDARI	523	0.05%
BENGALI	387	0.04%
KUI	382	0.04%
KURUKH/ORAON	201	0.02%
TAMIL	53	<0.01%
SANSKRIT	44	<0.01%
BHILI/BHILODI	36	<0.01%
SAVARA	29	<0.01%
ENGLISH	27	<0.01%
PUNJABI	17	<0.01%
MARATHI	14	<0.01%
NEPALI	9	<0.01%
GONDI	9	<0.01%
MALAYALAM	5	<0.01%
JATAPU	5	<0.01%
KANNADA	4	<0.01%
MAITHILI	4	<0.01%
KHOND/KONDH	4	<0.01%
ASSAMESE	3	<0.01%
KOYA	2	<0.01%
BHUMIJ	1	<0.01%
KHARIA	1	<0.01%

Look inside the groups: individual mother-tongue entries

Individual entries · Census labels and parent classifications retained
Entry / parent group	People	Male	Female	Share
Odia Under ODIA · C-16 row 11283	10,34,436	5,30,658	5,03,778	96.20%
Munda Under MUNDA · C-16 row 11338	14,122	6,956	7,166	1.31%
Santali Under SANTALI · C-16 row 11291	10,697	5,213	5,484	0.99%
Juang Under JUANG · C-16 row 11314	5,695	2,814	2,881	0.53%
Ho Under HO · C-16 row 11310	3,153	1,569	1,584	0.29%
Hindi Under HINDI · C-16 row 11259	1,705	1,229	476	0.16%
Urdu Under URDU · C-16 row 11297	839	432	407	0.08%
Telugu Under TELUGU · C-16 row 11295	665	342	323	0.06%
Mundari Under MUNDARI · C-16 row 11340	523	264	259	0.05%
Bengali Under BENGALI · C-16 row 11251	387	264	123	0.04%
Kui Under KUI · C-16 row 11328	382	167	215	0.04%
Others Under ODIA · C-16 row 11285	257	139	118	0.02%
Others Under KURUKH/ORAON · C-16 row 11331	119	66	53	0.01%
Kurukh/Oraon Under KURUKH/ORAON · C-16 row 11330	82	44	38	<0.01%
Proja (Ori) Under ODIA · C-16 row 11284	72	31	41	<0.01%
Tamil Under TAMIL · C-16 row 11293	53	31	22	<0.01%
Sanskrit Under SANSKRIT · C-16 row 11289	44	11	33	<0.01%
Baori Under BHILI/BHILODI · C-16 row 11299	36	16	20	<0.01%
Laria Under HINDI · C-16 row 11261	30	16	14	<0.01%
Savara Under SAVARA · C-16 row 11342	29	17	12	<0.01%
Others Under HINDI · C-16 row 11266	27	17	10	<0.01%
English Under ENGLISH · C-16 row 11303	27	13	14	<0.01%
Bhojpuri Under HINDI · C-16 row 11256	18	15	3	<0.01%
Punjabi Under PUNJABI · C-16 row 11287	17	11	6	<0.01%
Marathi Under MARATHI · C-16 row 11276	12	6	6	<0.01%
Bhumijali Under ODIA · C-16 row 11282	11	4	7	<0.01%
Nepali Under NEPALI · C-16 row 11279	9	6	3	<0.01%
Others Under GONDI · C-16 row 11308	8	3	5	<0.01%
Kurmali Thar Under HINDI · C-16 row 11260	6	4	2	<0.01%
Sadan/Sadri Under HINDI · C-16 row 11265	6	5	1	<0.01%
Malayalam Under MALAYALAM · C-16 row 11272	5	3	2	<0.01%
Jatapu Under JATAPU · C-16 row 11312	5	2	3	<0.01%
Pahari Under HINDI · C-16 row 11264	4	3	1	<0.01%
Kannada Under KANNADA · C-16 row 11268	4	2	2	<0.01%
Maithili Under MAITHILI · C-16 row 11270	4	2	2	<0.01%
Khond/Kondh Under KHOND/KONDH · C-16 row 11320	4	2	2	<0.01%
Assamese Under ASSAMESE · C-16 row 11249	3	1	2	<0.01%
Nagpuria Under HINDI · C-16 row 11263	3	2	1	<0.01%
Bundeli/Bundel khandi Under HINDI · C-16 row 11257	2	2	0	<0.01%
Others Under MARATHI · C-16 row 11277	2	1	1	<0.01%
Koya Under KOYA · C-16 row 11326	2	0	2	<0.01%
Bhuiya/Bhuyan[Ori] Under ODIA · C-16 row 11281	1	1	0	<0.01%
Bhumij Under BHUMIJ · C-16 row 11301	1	0	1	<0.01%
Gondi Under GONDI · C-16 row 11307	1	0	1	<0.01%
Kharia Under KHARIA · C-16 row 11316	1	0	1	<0.01%
Kol Under MUNDA · C-16 row 11337	1	0	1	<0.01%

Urban population breakdown

Denominator: 1,17,506 people in Dhenkanal · urban areas, 2011.

Census language groups · mutually exclusive totals
Group	People	Share
ODIA	1,12,651	95.87%
HINDI	1,661	1.41%
URDU	1,521	1.29%
BENGALI	672	0.57%
TELUGU	285	0.24%
SANTALI	205	0.17%
MUNDA	192	0.16%
GUJARATI	102	0.09%
JUANG	89	0.08%
MALAYALAM	34	0.03%
TAMIL	27	0.02%
ENGLISH	13	0.01%
NEPALI	8	<0.01%
HO	7	<0.01%
MARATHI	6	<0.01%
KISAN	6	<0.01%
MUNDARI	5	<0.01%
MAITHILI	4	<0.01%
GARO	3	<0.01%
OTHERS	3	<0.01%
KANNADA	2	<0.01%
KHASI	2	<0.01%
KOCH	2	<0.01%
LOTHA	2	<0.01%
LUSHAI/MIZO	2	<0.01%
ASSAMESE	1	<0.01%
MANIPURI	1	<0.01%

Look inside the groups: individual mother-tongue entries

Individual entries · Census labels and parent classifications retained
Entry / parent group	People	Male	Female	Share
Odia Under ODIA · C-16 row 11283	1,12,651	58,665	53,986	95.87%
Hindi Under HINDI · C-16 row 11259	1,526	835	691	1.30%
Urdu Under URDU · C-16 row 11297	1,521	792	729	1.29%
Bengali Under BENGALI · C-16 row 11251	672	366	306	0.57%
Telugu Under TELUGU · C-16 row 11295	285	154	131	0.24%
Santali Under SANTALI · C-16 row 11291	205	132	73	0.17%
Munda Under MUNDA · C-16 row 11338	192	62	130	0.16%
Gujarati Under GUJARATI · C-16 row 11253	102	63	39	0.09%
Juang Under JUANG · C-16 row 11314	89	47	42	0.08%
Marwari Under HINDI · C-16 row 11262	65	35	30	0.06%
Bhojpuri Under HINDI · C-16 row 11256	38	22	16	0.03%
Malayalam Under MALAYALAM · C-16 row 11272	34	19	15	0.03%
Tamil Under TAMIL · C-16 row 11293	27	13	14	0.02%
Laria Under HINDI · C-16 row 11261	19	10	9	0.02%
English Under ENGLISH · C-16 row 11303	13	11	2	0.01%
Nepali Under NEPALI · C-16 row 11279	8	6	2	<0.01%
Ho Under HO · C-16 row 11310	7	3	4	<0.01%
Bharmauri/Gaddi Under HINDI · C-16 row 11255	6	2	4	<0.01%
Marathi Under MARATHI · C-16 row 11276	6	3	3	<0.01%
Kisan Under KISAN · C-16 row 11322	6	4	2	<0.01%
Mundari Under MUNDARI · C-16 row 11340	5	5	0	<0.01%
Maithili Under MAITHILI · C-16 row 11270	4	2	2	<0.01%
Chhattisgarhi Under HINDI · C-16 row 11258	3	1	2	<0.01%
Garo Under GARO · C-16 row 11305	3	2	1	<0.01%
Sadan/Sadri Under HINDI · C-16 row 11265	2	1	1	<0.01%
Others Under HINDI · C-16 row 11266	2	0	2	<0.01%
Kannada Under KANNADA · C-16 row 11268	2	1	1	<0.01%
Khasi Under KHASI · C-16 row 11318	2	2	0	<0.01%
Koch Under KOCH · C-16 row 11324	2	1	1	<0.01%
Lotha Under LOTHA · C-16 row 11333	2	2	0	<0.01%
Lushai/Mizo Under LUSHAI/MIZO · C-16 row 11335	2	2	0	<0.01%
Assamese Under ASSAMESE · C-16 row 11249	1	1	0	<0.01%
Manipuri Under MANIPURI · C-16 row 11274	1	0	1	<0.01%

Follow a voice into its story

These introductions connect to individual mother-tongue entries recorded here. They are a selection from our growing collection, not a complete list of the district’s languages.

Take curiosity into a conversation

Ask which name a speaker uses for their language and which language they prefer for your conversation. A family memory, a local publication or a song they choose can add context that a table cannot supply.

Read about multilingual Odisha → · Share a source or correction →

Sources, geography & interpretation

Census C-16, Odisha, 2011. District code 383; source name Dhenkanal. All figures derive from the original workbook retained in our KB. Parent groups contain their individual entries; classification does not determine community-preferred naming.

District figures cannot establish the languages of a particular town, accommodation provider or individual. C-17 multilingualism is statewide and is not apportioned to this district. No migration or ancestry claim is inferred.

Prepared with AI assistance under Ahimanikya Satapathy, Founder & Editor-in-Chief. Community naming and visual review remain open.

The whole district

Rural and urban: two views within the district

Follow a voice into its story

Take curiosity into a conversation

Your cookie choices