Population of Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Population of Andaman and Nicobar islands take into account the inhabitants of about 38 of the 500 odd islands that comprise the entire Union territory. Given the total land area of the islands, the total population of Andaman and Nicobar islands taken together according to the 2001 census amounted to a shade above 350, 000.

Distribution of the Population in Andaman and Nicobar Islands

The population of Andaman and Nicobar islands is spread over the two districts of Andaman and Nicobar. A tehsil wise division of the total population in Andaman and Nicobar islands are given below:

Andaman District

Name of the Tehsil	Population
Ferragunj	48,628
Diglipur	42,877
Mayabander	23,912
Port Blair	159,845
Ranagat	38,324

Nicobar District

Name of the Tehsil	Population
Car Nicobar	20,292
Nancowry	21,776

Ethnicities

The population of Andaman and Nicobar islands features a number of ethnicities. Given the small area, it is surprising to notice the sheer variety of ethnic groups that comprise Andaman and Nicobar islands population. The tribal communities of Andaman and Nicobar belong to both the African and Mongoloid groups. Some of them still continue with the primitive hunter-gatherer way of lives, some depend solely on fishing. There are also the descendants of the prisoners who were sent here as penal measures, and they also contribute largely to the population of the area. Some of the major proto-African Negroid tribes within the population at Andaman and Nicobar islands are:

• Jarawa
• Onge
• Santinelese

The Shompen and the Nicobase are the two main Mongoloid tribes of Andaman and Nicobar. Many of these tribes have fearfully low number of people left and are s taring extinctions. The many earthquakes and natural disasters including the tsunami, have made a lasting damage tot he total demographic strengths of these tribes.