Every tiger India counted, 2006–2022
India's tiger estimate went from 1,411 in 2006 to 3,682 in 2022. Madhya Pradesh alone now has 785. Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand have fewer than before.
Every four years since 2006, the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Wildlife Institute of India estimate how many wild tigers live in India, using camera traps and field surveys. Each dot above is one tiger in a state’s estimate. Press play to watch them arrive.
The national estimate rose from 1,411 in 2006 to 3,682 in 2022, a 2.6-fold increase. These are estimates, not headcounts: the 2022 figure is likely between 3,439 and 3,925 (±1 standard error), and the survey photographed 3,080 individual tigers. Most of the growth is in a few states. Madhya Pradesh went from 300 to 785, Maharashtra from 103 to 444 and Uttarakhand from 178 to 560.
Not every state is gaining. Odisha fell from 45 to 20 and Chhattisgarh from 26 to 17. Jharkhand went from 10 in 2010 to an estimated 1 in 2022. Mizoram’s estimate fell from 6 in 2006 to zero. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana together had 84 tigers in 2022, below undivided Andhra’s 95 in 2006.
Switch to By state to rank the states as rows of dots, with each range drawn on the same scale. Hover over a cluster or row to see that state’s numbers for all five cycles. Survey methods and effort improved over the years, so some of the increase may come from finding tigers that were already there.