Austroasiatic language

Santali

सन्थाली

Santali is spoken as a mother tongue by 53,677 people in Nepal — 0.18% of the population and the 17th most-spoken language in the country (Census 2021).

Speakers

53,677

Mother tongue (2021)

Share of Nepal

0.18%

Language family

Austroasiatic

Rank

#17

By mother-tongue speakers

About Santali

Munda branch; Ol Chiki script

Questions

Santali, answered

How many people speak Santali in Nepal?+

Santali is the mother tongue of 53,677 people in Nepal — 0.18% of the population (Census 2021).

What language family does Santali belong to?+

Santali is a Austroasiatic language. The Austroasiatic (Munda) family covers 0.19% of Nepal's population.

What is special about Santali?+

Munda branch; Ol Chiki script

Sources & data note

All population, ethnicity, language and religion figures are the final published counts of the National Population and Housing Census 2021 (National Statistics Office). The NSO enumerates 142 caste/ethnic groups and 124 mother tongues; entries for 'others/foreigners/not stated' explain small residuals. Where community-chosen names replaced older census labels (Bishwokarma for Kami, Pariyar for Damai/Dholi, Mijar for Sarki), both are shown. Language-family shares follow the NSO's own table (Indo-Aryan 83.07%, Sino-Tibetan 16.59%); some secondary sources round differently.