Punjabis

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This article is about an ethnic group. For information on the geographical Punjabi region,
see Punjab. For other uses, see Punjabi (disambiguation).

Punjabis

‫پنجابی‬
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ

Total population

c. 124 million[1][2]

Regions with significant populations

Pakistan 91,454,609[3][4]
India 33,124,726[5]

United Kingdom 700,000[6]

Canada 668,240[7]

United States 253,740[8]

Australia 132,496[9]

Malaysia 56,400[10]

Libya 54,000[11]
 Philippines 50,000[12]

New Zealand 34,227[13]

Norway 24,000[14]

Bangladesh 23,700[15]

Germany 18,000[16]

Nepal 10,000[17]

Others See Punjabi diaspora

Languages

Majority: Punjabi and its dialects

Minority: Urdu (in Pakistan) and Hindi (in India)

Religion

Pakistan: West Punjab – Islam (97%), Christianity (2.31), with

less Sikh and Hindu populations
India: East Punjab – Sikhism (57.7%), Hinduism (38.5%),
Islam (1.9%), Christianity (1.26)[18][19]

Related ethnic groups

Indo-Aryan peoples

Part of a series on the

Punjabis
 History[show]

Diaspora[show]

Culture[show]

Language[show]

Punjab portal

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The Punjabis (Punjabi (Shahmukhi): ‫ ; پنجابی‬Punjabi (Gurmukhi): ਪੰਜਾਬੀਆਂ) or Punjabi

people are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region
in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, presently
divided between Punjab, India and Punjab, Pakistan. They speak Punjabi, a language
from the Indo-Aryan language family.[20] The name Punjab literally means the land of five
waters in Persian: panj ("five") āb ("waters").[21] The name of the region was introduced
by the Turko-Persian conquerors[22] of the Indian subcontinent. The Punjabis are the 7th
largest ethnic group in the world by total population.
The historical Punjab region (see Partition of Punjab for important historical context) is
often referred to as the breadbasket in both India and Pakistan.[23][24] The coalescence of
the various tribes, castes and the inhabitants of the Punjab region into a broader
common "Punjabi" identity initiated from the onset of the 18th century CE. Prior to that
the sense and perception of a common "Punjabi" ethno-cultural identity and community
did not exist, even though the majority of the various communities of the Punjab region
had long shared linguistic, cultural and racial commonalities.[25][26][27]
Traditionally, Punjabi identity is primarily linguistic, geographical and cultural. Its identity
is independent of historical origin or religion and refers to those who reside in the
Punjab region or associate with its population and those who consider the Punjabi
language their mother tongue.[28] Integration and assimilation are important parts of
Punjabi culture, since Punjabi identity is not based solely on tribal connections. More or
less all Punjabis share the same cultural background.[29][30]
Historically, the Punjabi people were a heterogeneous group and were subdivided into a
number of clans called biradari (literally meaning "brotherhood") or tribes, with each
person bound to a clan. However, Punjabi identity also included those who did not
belong to any of the historical tribes. With the passage of time, tribal structures are
coming to an end and are being replaced with a more cohesive[31] and holistic society,
as community building and group cohesiveness[32][33] form the new pillars of Punjabi
society.[34] In relative contemporary terms, Punjabis can be referred to in four most
common subgroups; Punjabi Muslims, Punjabi Sikhs, Punjabi Hindus and Punjabi
Christians.[35]