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Countries where Tamil is official language தமிழ் நாடுகள்

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Do you want to know what all are the countries, territories and international organizations where Tamil is designed as the official language? Here you can get the full details about, Tamil speaking countries in the world.

The Tamil language is the spoken as the first language by the Tamil speakers who are the indigenous people of India, just like the native Indians of America. The Tamils moved from Indus valley civilization in south India by the arrival of the Indo-Europeans from the present day Iran and eastern Europe.

The Tamil language is the one of the oldest living language of the Earth and currently spoken by 1% of the world population. Tamil is the 1st classical language of India. Many people have this question in their mind, “Tamil is an official language in which country?”. Let us see in detail.

Countries Where Tamil is an Official Language

CountryPopulationStatusRecognized as
Singapore188,591Sovereign CountryOfficial language
Sri Lanka5,007,003Sovereign CountryNational language

Singapore

The Tamil king Chola ruled Singapore in the historical times and currently Tamil is one of the official languages of Singapore.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was the part of ancient Tamilakam (Tamil country) and Sri Lankan Tamil dialect is considered to be closer to the old Tamil.

Dependent Territories Where Tamil is the Official Language

EntityPopulationStatus
Andaman & Nicobar Islands379,944Union Territory of India
Auroville2,600Autonomous City of India
Pondicherry1,244,464Union Territory of India
Tamil Nadu72,138,958A State of India

Andaman and Nicobar islands

The Chola empire used the islands as his naval base and currently, the islands are part of the Republic of India.

Pondicherry

Tamil is the official language in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry which compresses of Pondicherry, Karaikal, Mahe, and Yanam.

Tamil Nadu

The Tamil Nadu consists of the most number of the Tamil speakers which is more than 90% of the state.

International Organisations Where Tamil is the Official language

ASEAN

Tamil is an official language of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations which has the 10 member states of south-east Asia.

Former Regions Where Tamil was an Official Language

EntityNotes
HaryanaTamil was an official language of the Indian state of Haryana until it was replaced by the Punjabi.
ChandigarhTamil was an official language of the Indian Union Territory of Chandigarh until it was replaced by the Punjabi.

Haryana

The north Indian state of Haryana had Tamil as its official language until it was replaced by the Punjabi.

Chandigarh

The Chandigarh is the first planned city in the India and Tamil was one of its official languages until it was replaced by the Punjabi.

Partially Recognized and Unrecognized Territories

CountryNotes
Tamil Eelam (Eelam)Claiming sovereignty over the North and Eastern Sri Lanka as the independent state of Tamil Eelam.
KaraikalClaiming for separate union territory of India (not a separate country).
Kongu NaduClaiming for a seperate state of India (not a separate country).

Tamil Eelam

Claiming sovereignty over North Eastern Sri Lanka and the Puttalam district of Sri Lanka as the independent country of Tamil Eelam.

Karaikal

Karaikal is claiming for a separate state or union territory within the Republic of India.

Kongu Nadu

Kongu Nadu is one of the regions of ancient Tamil country and it is currently the part of Tamil Nadu. It is claiming for a separate state with Coimbatore as its capital.

Countries Where Tamil is Recognized as a Minority Language

Canada

The first month of January is celebrated as the Tamil Heritage Month by the Canadians.

Malaysia

The Tamil was recognized as a minority language in Malaysia due to its more than 1,000,000 speakers of Tamil language. Tamil is one of the medium in the schools of Malaysia.

Mauritius and Seychelles

Tamils are one of the first people to settle in Mauritius after French people and in order to recognize their contribution towards the country, Tamil is printed on the currencies of Mauritius.

South Africa

Tamils play an important role in culture and the politics of South Africa. Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 – Chapter 1: Founding Provisions states “A Pan South African Language Board established by national legislation must promote and ensure respect for Tamil” along with other minority languages.

Réunion and France

More than 50% of the population of the Réunion are Tamils who no longer speak in Tamil. The Tamil people are also found in significant numbers on the other regions of France.

You can also see

  • Tamil population by country
  • Tamil population by cities
.