Editing Meitei language (section)

== Geographical distribution ==
{{Further|States of India by Meitei speakers}}
The majority of Meitei speakers, about 1.5&nbsp;million<ref name="census">{{cite web |title=Census Tables |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/census.website/data/census-tables |website=Census of India |publisher=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India |access-date=15 February 2024 |date=2011}}</ref> live in the Indian state of Manupur. Meitei is the official language of the [[Government of Manipur]] as well as its [[lingua franca]].<ref name="Britannica_Meitei_language">{{Cite web |title=Manipuri language |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Manipuri-language |access-date=14 March 2023 |website=Britannica |language=en}}</ref> [[File:Map of Barak Valley.jpg|thumb|Districts of Barak Valley – Meitei speaking population settlement areas of Assam]]
There are nearly 170,000 Meitei-speakers in Assam,<ref name="census"/> mainly in the [[Barak Valley]], where it is the third most commonly-used language after Bengali and Hindi.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mishra |first=Awadesh |date=1 January 1999 |title=The Manipuris in the Barak Valley: A Case Study of Language Maintenance' |url=https://www.academia.edu/1059019 |journal=Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area}}</ref> Manipuri is also spoken by about 9500 people in Nagaland, in communities such as [[Dimapur]], [[Kohima]], [[Peren, Nagaland|Peren]] and [[Phek]].<ref name="ethnologue_mni"/><ref name="census"/> Meitei is a [[second language]] for various [[Naga people|Naga]] and [[Kuki-Chin-Mizo people|Kuki-Chin]] ethnic groups.<ref name="ethnologue_mni"/>

[[File:Sylhet in Bangladesh.svg|thumb|Areas with significany numbers of Meitei speakers in Bangladesh]]
There are around 15,000 [[Meitei language in Bangladesh|Meitei speakers in Bangladesh]]{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} mainly are in the districts of [[Sylhet District|Sylhet]], [[Moulvibazar District|Moulvibazar]], [[Sunamganj District|Sunamganj]] and [[Habiganj District|Habiganj]] in the [[Sylhet Division]] of Bangladesh. In the past, there was a Meitei speaking population in [[Dhaka]], [[Mymensingh]] and [[Comilla]] also.<ref name=":Bangladesh">{{Cite web |title=Textile Bdesh Myanmar 3 |url=http://www.e-pao.net/epSubPageExtractor.asp?src=manipur.Arts_and_Culture.Mutua_Bahadur_Art_Collection.Textile_Bdesh_Myanmar_3 |access-date=14 March 2023 |website=www.e-pao.net}}</ref> Manipuri is used as a second language by the [[Bishnupriya Manipuri people]].<ref name="ethnologue_mni"/>

Myanmar has a significant Meitei speaking population in the states of [[Kachin state|Kachin]] and [[Shan state|Shan]] and the regions of [[Yangon Region|Yangon]], [[Sagaing Region|Sagaing]], and [[Ayeyarwady Region|Ayeyarwady]], among others.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Manipuri in Myanmar 1 |url=http://e-pao.net/epSubPageExtractor.asp?src=manipur.Arts_and_Culture.Mutua_Bahadur_Art_Collection.Manipuri_in_Myanmar_1 |access-date=14 March 2023 |website=e-pao.net}}</ref>