Next tiger census
India is in the middle of its sixth national tiger count. Results are not out, so this page explains how the count works, what has been reported, and what the new numbers will and won't tell us. Last checked: 31 October 2026.
Past figures are official estimates. The 2022 results were announced in April 2023, a year after that cycle's fieldwork, so the 2026 results will also arrive well after the surveys end. The report date shown is what recent news reports say; it is not an official date.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority reviewed the sixth All India Tiger Estimation in December 2025 and said ground surveys had started in November 2025. State forest departments are carrying them out, with the Wildlife Institute of India.
The sixth cycle is reported to cover all 58 tiger reserves, up from 51 in the fifth, and to estimate tigers outside reserves as well as inside. It also covers leopards.
Some reports mention ministry sources expecting a rise of 10 to 15 percent. Those are unofficial predictions, not results, and this site does not use them as data.
Tigers are not counted one by one. The estimate is built in steps, and that is why it comes with a range.
Teams walk forest grids recording pugmarks, scat, scratch marks, prey and habitat, to find where tigers are present.
Paired cameras are set up across forested areas. Each tiger is told apart by its unique stripe pattern, and the cameras photograph both flanks.
Capture-recapture models turn the photographed individuals into a population estimate with an uncertainty range. In 2022 that range was 3,167 to 3,925 around 3,682.
There is no confirmed date. Earlier reports in 2025 said 2026; more recent coverage, in January 2026, points to around July 2027. We will update this page when the National Tiger Conservation Authority announces the results.
It is an estimate. Officials involved describe it as using statistical models and confidence intervals rather than a head-count, which is why every result has a range.
No. We only publish official figures. When the 2026 report is out, the charts and maps will add a 2026 column.
Sources: ThePrint, January 2026; The Tribune, August 2025; the National Tiger Conservation Authority's December 2025 meeting as reported in the press; Press Information Bureau (2006 to 2022 figures). News reports differ on some dates, so please check the National Tiger Conservation Authority for official announcements. This is an independent awareness project.