A recent survey found that India is not as vegetarian as many people think, although still holding by far the largest vegetarian population in the world.

The study carried out by the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) questioned a random sample of 20,719 households drawn across India's 28 states.

It found that 64.4 per cent of families consume non-vegetarian food, with the highest reported in southern states (92.2 per cent) and the least in north (40.4 per cent).

If we take the assumption that most of India's Muslims and Christians are meat-eaters, who collectively make up approximately 17% of the population, it can be estimated that just over half of all Hindus are vegetarian.

As well as the prevalence of vegetarianism, the survey also looked into general attitudes, beliefs and practices of Indians with regards to food and medicines.

The report was released by the Union minister of state for health and family welfare, Panabaka Lakshmi, in Hyderabad on October 16.