Telugu diaspora in the context of "United Andhra Pradesh"

Telugu (/ˈtɛlʊɡuː/; తెలుగు, Telugu pronunciation: [ˈt̪eluɡu]) is a Dravidian language native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. Spoken by about 96 million people (2022), Telugu is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language family, and one of the twenty-two scheduled languages of the Republic of India. It is one of the few languages that has primary official status in more than one Indian state, alongside Hindi and Bengali. Telugu is one of the languages designated as a classical language by the Government of India. It is the fourteenth most spoken native language in the world. Modern Standard Telugu is based on the accent and dialect of erstwhile Krishna, Guntur, East Godavari and West Godavari districts of Coastal Andhra.

Telugu is also spoken in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and the union territories of Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is also spoken by members of the Telugu diaspora spread across countries like the United States, Australia, Malaysia, Mauritius, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and others. Telugu is the fastest-growing language in the United States. It is also a protected language in South Africa and is offered as an optional third language in schools in KwaZulu-Natal province.

Telugus, also known by the ethnonym Āndhras, are a Dravidian ethnic group native to the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and the union territory of Puducherry (Yanam district). They natively speak the Telugu language and form the most populous Dravidian linguistic group. A significant number of Telugus also reside in the Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Maharashtra; with a significant diasporic population spread across the Western world, with larger concentrations in North America, the Far East, Mauritius, the Gulf Arab states, Malaysia, Burma, Australia and other parts of the world, Telugu is the 3rd most spoken language in India with 96 million speakers in the country and 14th most spoken language in the World with 110 million speakers across the globe.

Telugu is the fourth most spoken language in India and the 14th most spoken native language in the world. Telugu is the fastest-growing language in the United States. It is also a protected language in South Africa.