The total population of Andaman, as per the census of 2011, was 356,152. Of the total population 53.25% were male, and 46.75% were the female. Major languages spoken here are Hindi, Nicobarese, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu. The variety of languages may have been caused by the establishment of a penal colony here during british rule. The British brought in slaves and forced labourers, as well as prisoners here. These people stayed to make this place their home, resulting in such a divere population.