Inuktitut belongs to the Eskaleut (Eskimo-Aleut) language family, within the Inuit branch of the Eskimoan sub-family. Described as having "a very rich morphological system," typical of the family.
2021 census figures: approximately 38,000 first-language speakers, roughly 42,000 total speakers including second-language users.
Geographic distribution: Nunavut (~24,000 Inuit, over 80% Inuktitut-speaking), Nunavik/northern Quebec (~15,800 Inuit, 80.9% Inuktitut-speaking), Nunatsiavut/Labrador (~550 native speakers as of 2001), and recognition as one of eight official Indigenous languages of the Northwest Territories.
Dialects include South Baffin, North Baffin, Nunavik, Labrador (Inuttitut), and others; "Inuktut" is increasingly used as a cover term for Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun together.