URD ISO 639-3
Urdu
اُردُو (Urdū) Autonym
A language of Pakistan
- ISO 639
- urd
- Alternate Names
- Bihari, Modern Standard Urdu
- Autonym
- اُردُو (Urdū)
- Population
- 164,000,000 in Pakistan, all users. L1 users: 15,000,000 in Pakistan (2018 census). L2 users: 149,000,000 (2018). Total users in all countries: 230,122,840 (as L1: 69,077,040; as L2: 161,045,800).
- Location:
- Widespread.
- Language Status
- 1 (National). Statutory national language (1973, Constitution, Article 251(1)).
- Classification
- Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Western Hindi, Hindustani
- Dialects
- Intelligible with Hindi [hin]. Derived from Sanskrit into the Prakrit languages with lexical elements borrowed from Arabic and Persian (2021 Maldonado Garcia). Dakhini dialect of Urdu [urd] in India has fewer Persian and Arabic loans than Urdu. Rekhta is a form of Urdu used in poetry.
- Typology
- SOV; postposition; noun head final; gender (masculine/feminine); no articles; direct and oblique cases; verb affixes mark person, number, gender of subject; passives; tense and aspect; causatives; 35 consonants, 21 vowels; non-tonal; stress on penultimate syllable.
- Language Use
- All domains. Used by all.
- Language Development
- Taught in primary and secondary schools. Fully developed. Bible: 1843–1998.
- Language Resources
- OLAC resources in and about Urdu
- Writing
- Arabic script, Naskh variant [Arab]. Arabic script, Nastaliq variant [Aran], primary usage. Braille script [Brai]. Devanagari script [Deva], used in India (Ahmad 2011).
- Other Comments
- Muslim.
Also Spoken in
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Afghanistan
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
5,700 in Afghanistan (2017 J. Leclerc).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Australia
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
69,300 in Australia (2016 census).
- Location
- Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, and Rangpur divisions; mainly refugee camps in 13 districts.
- Language Status
- 5 (Dispersed)
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Bangladesh
Language Name
Bihari
User Population
250,000 in Bangladesh (2003 SIL).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Belgium
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
9,480 in Belgium (2020 census). , based on nationality.
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Bahrain
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
65,400 in Bahrain (2019).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Canada
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
211,000 in Canada (2016 census).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Germany
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
23,000 in Germany.
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Denmark
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
14,500 in Denmark (2020 census). , based on nationality.
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Spain
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
64,300 in Spain (2020 census). , based on nationality.
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Finland
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
3,170 in Finland (2018 census).
- Language Status
- 5 (Dispersed)
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Fiji
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
4,500 in Fiji (2019).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of United Kingdom
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
269,000 in United Kingdom (2011 census).
- Location
- Scattered.
- Language Status
- 8a (Moribund)
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. Muslim. View other languages of Guyana
Language Name
Urdu
- Location
- Jammu and Kashmir state: widespread use by Muslims; Maharashtra state: Hyderabad (Dakhini).
- Dialects
- Dakhini (Dakani, Dakkhini, Deccan, Desia, Mirgan), Pinjari, Rekhta (Rekhti).
- Language Status
- 2 (Provincial)
- Other Comments
- Muslim. View other languages of India
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
62,800,000 in India, all users. L1 users: 50,800,000 in India (2011 census). L2 users: 12,000,000 (2011 census).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Iraq
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
4,350 in Iraq (2020).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Iran
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
89,000 in Iran (2019).
- Location
- Widespread.
- Language Status
- 4 (Educational)
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. Muslim. View other languages of Mauritius
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
800 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Malaysia
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
15,000 in Malaysia (2021 Joshua Project). , based on ethnicity.
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Norway
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
39,300 in Norway (2021 census). , based on nationality.
- Location
- Janakpur province: scattered; Kosi province: Jhapa, Morang, and Sunsari districts, southern municipalities; Lumbini province: Banke and Kapilvastu districts, southern municipalities.
- Language Status
- 5 (Dispersed)
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. Muslim. View other languages of Nepal
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
737,800 in Nepal, all users. L1 users: 692,000 in Nepal (2011 census). L2 users: 45,800 (2011 census).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of New Zealand
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
5,050 in New Zealand (2013 census).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Oman
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
73,300 in Oman (2020).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Qatar
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
180,000 in Qatar (2010).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Saudi Arabia
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
740,000 in Saudi Arabia (2018). , based on ethnicity.
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Sweden
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
8,590 in Sweden (2020 census). , based on nationality.
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Singapore
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
3,000 in Singapore (2010 R. Jain).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Turkey
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
24,300 in Turkey (2019).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of United States
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
398,000 in United States (2015 census).
- Location
- KwaZulu-Natal province: Durban coastal and urban areas; Gauteng province: Johannesburg area, and scattered smaller towns.
- Language Status
- 5 (Dispersed)
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. Muslim. View other languages of South Africa
Language Name
Urdu
User Population
15,000 in South Africa (2020 Joshua Project). , based on ethnicity.
Map
Location: Widespread.
Size and Vitality
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