In the 1961 census, Meitei language (also known as Manipuri language) speakers account for 64.66 percent of the total population of Manipur. There were 6,466 Meitei native speakers in every 10,000 people of Manipur, as stated in the census reports. Tangkhul and Thadou languages came to the second and the third places, following Meitei. 