Tiger Numbers: The 2022 Estimation
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The All India Tiger Estimation 2022, detailed report released in July 2023, is the current benchmark figure for "how many tigers does India have." It was the fifth cycle of the standardised, camera-trap-based national estimation exercise conducted roughly every four years since 2006, and it drew on the largest camera-trapping effort of its kind in the world by number of camera locations and forest area surveyed.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Point estimate (2022) | 3,682 tigers |
| Statistical range | 3,167–3,925 |
| Point estimate (2018, for comparison) | 2,967 tigers |
| Point estimate (2006, for comparison) | 1,411 tigers |
| Approx. annual growth rate since 2006 | ~6.1% per year |
| Share of world's wild tiger population held by India | ~75% |
Memory hook: "1,411 in '06 became 3,682 by '22" — the two numbers bookend the entire modern tiger-recovery story and are the single most commonly tested figures in this whole book. If a question gives you the 2018 figure instead (2,967), don't panic — it's simply the estimation cycle immediately before the current one, part of the same rising trend.
Practice Recall: Without checking the table, recall the tiger population point estimates for 2006, 2018, and 2022, plus the report's release year for the 2022 cycle... (Answer: 1,411 (2006) → 2,967 (2018) → 3,682 (2022, range 3,167–3,925), report released July 2023.)