NSE unique investors base crosses 12 crore, median age down to 33 years; all you need to know

The National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) unique investor base crossed the 12-crore mark on September 23, with the latest one crore addition taking place in just eight months, the bourse said on Thursday.

The stock exchange said that there has been a rising interest in financial markets and stock ownership among the Indian youth in recent years, adding that the 12 crore registered investors in India have a median age of about 33 years, down from 38 years just five years ago, with nearly 40% of them being less than 30 years old.

The exchange surpassed the 11-crore mark in January this year.

"The registered investor base hit the 1 crore mark -- 14 years after NSE started operations, the next 1 crore additions took about seven years, the subsequent 1 crore addition took about three-and-a-half years, and the next one a little over a year," the exchange said in a statement.

In other words, it took over 25 years for the registered investor base to hit the 4 crore mark in March 2021, with the subsequent 1 crore investors being added in about 6-7 months.

The expansion of the investor base has accelerated over time, driven by digitisation, greater fintech access, an expanding middle class, and supportive policy measures.

Overall, the total number of investor accounts registered with NSE stood at 23.5 crore as of September 23, 2025. This includes all client registrations done to date. Notably, clients can register with more than one trading member.

Furthermore, one in four investors is a woman, the stock exchange said in a press release.

This has been accompanied by widening participation across the country. The investor base covers 99.85% of India's pin codes.

The bourse added that three states had a unique registered investor count of more than a crore, with Maharashtra leading the pack at 1.9 crore investors, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 1.4 crore, and Gujarat at 1.03 crore, as of August 31.

Commenting on the achievement, Sriram Krishnan, Chief Business Development Officer, NSE, said: “This year, we have crossed another significant yardstick in terms of our investor base. After crossing the 11-crore mark in January, it is commendable that the investors onboarded by NSE have increased by an additional crore in about eight months, despite persistent concerns regarding the contours of global trade and geopolitics. This steady growth is supported by several key drivers: a streamlined Know Your Customer (KYC) process, enhanced financial literacy through stakeholder-led investor awareness programs, and sustained positive market sentiment.”

Krishnan highlighted that the rise in participation across exchange-traded instruments, such as equities, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), real estate investment trusts (REITs), infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs), government bonds, and corporate bonds, underscores these factors.

During the current fiscal year (as of September 23), the benchmark NIFTY50 index has generated returns of 7%, while the NIFTY500 index has delivered a 9.3% gain.