Statistical information India 1991

India in the World
India - Introduction 1991
top of pageBackground: The Indus Valley civilization one of the oldest in the world goes back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier inhabitants created classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish in 12th were followed by European traders beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism under Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU led to independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. Fundamental concerns in India include the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir massive overpopulation environmental degradation extensive poverty and ethnic strife all this despite impressive gains in economic investment and output.
top of pageLocationGeographic coordinatesMap referenceAreaLand boundaries:
14,103 km total
Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Myanmar 1,463 km, China 3,380, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km
Coastline: 7,000 km
Maritime claimsContiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
Terrain: upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north
ElevationNatural resources: coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, crude oil, limestone
Land use: arable land: 55%; permanent crops: 1%; meadows and pastures 4%; forest and woodland 23%; other 17%; includes irrigated 13%
Irrigated landMajor riversMajor watersheds area km²Total water withdrawalTotal renewable water resourcesNatural hazardsGeographyNote: dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes
top of pagePopulation: 866,351,738 (July 1991), growth rate 1.9% (1991)
Nationality: noun--Indian(s; adjective--Indian
Ethnic groups: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3%
Languages: Hindi, English, and 14 other official languages--Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; 24 languages spoken by a million or more persons each; numerous other languages and dialects, for the most part mutually unintelligible; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindustani, a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu, is spoken widely throughout northern India
Religions: Hindu 82.6%, Muslim 11.4%, Christian 2.4%, Sikh 2.0%, Buddhist 0.7%, Jains 0.5%, other 0.4%
Demographic profileAge structureDependency ratiosMedian agePopulation growth rateBirth rate: 29 births/1000 population (1991)
Death rate: 10 deaths/1000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1000 population (1991)
Population distributionUrbanizationMajor urban areasEnvironmentCurrent issues: droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; air and water pollution; desertification
Air pollutantsSex ratioMothers mean age at first birthMaternal mortality ratioInfant mortality rate: 87 deaths/1000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 57 years male, 59 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 3.7 children born/woman (1991)
Contraceptive prevalence rateDrinking water sourceCurrent health expenditurePhysicians densityHospital bed densitySanitation facility accessHiv/AidsMajor infectious diseasesObesity adult prevalence rateAlcohol consumptionTobacco useChildren under the age of 5 years underweightEducation expendituresLiteracy: 48% (male 62%, female 34%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
School life expectancy primary to tertiary educationYouth unemploymenttop of pageCountry name: conventional long form: Republic of India
Government type: federal republic
Capital: New Delhi
Administrative divisions: 25 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal
Dependent areasIndependence: 15 August 1947 (from UK)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic, 26 January (1950)
Constitution: 26 January 1950
Legal system: based on English common law; limited judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
International law organization participationCitizenshipSuffrage: universal at age 18
Executive branch: Chief of State--President Ramaswamy Iyer VENKATARAMAN (since 25 July 1987; Vice President Dr. Shankar Dayal SHARMA (since 3 September 1987; Head of Government--Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha RAO (since 21 June 1991)
Legislative branch: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force, Border Security Forces, Coast Guard, Assam Rifles
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leadersInternational organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-6, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representationIn the us: Ambassador Abid HUSSEIN; Chancery at 2,107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20,008; telephone (202) 939-7,000; there are Indian Consulates General in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco; US--Ambassador William CLARK, Jr.; Embassy at Shanti Path, Chanakyapuri 110,021, New Delhi; telephone [91] (11) 600,651; there are US Consulates General in Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras
Flag description
: three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and green with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Niger which has a small orange disk centered in the white band India IndiaIndia
National symbolsNational anthemNational heritagetop of pageEconomy overview: India's economy is a mixture of traditional village farming and handicrafts, modern agriculture, old and new branches of industry, and a multitude of support services. It presents both the entrepreneurial skills and drives of the capitalist system and widespread government intervention of the socialist mold. Growth of 4% to 5% annually in the 1980s has softened the impact of population growth on unemployment, social tranquility, and the environment. Agricultural output has continued to expand, reflecting the greater use of modern farming techniques and improved seed that have helped to make India self-sufficient in food grains and a net agricultural exporter. However, tens of millions of villagers, particularly in the south, have not benefited from the green revolution and live in abject poverty. Industry has benefited from a partial liberalization of controls. The growth rate of the service sector has also been strong. India, however, has been challenged more recently by much lower foreign exchange reserves, higher inflation, and a large debt service burden.
Real gdp purchasing power parityReal gdp growth rateReal gdp per capitaGross national savingGdp composition by sector of origin
Gdp composition by end useGdp composition by sector of originAgriculture products: accounts for about 30% of GNP and employs 67% of labor force; self-sufficient in food grains; principal crops--rice, wheat, oilseeds, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; livestock--cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats and poultry; fish catch of about 3 million metric tons ranks among the world's top 10 fishing nations
Industries: textiles, food processing, steel, machinery, transportation equipment, cement, jute manufactures, mining, petroleum, power, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics
Industrial production growth rate: 8.4% (1990; accounts for about 25% of GDP
Labor force: 284,400,000; 67% agriculture (FY85)
Unemployment rate: 20% (1990 est.)
Youth unemploymentPopulation below poverty lineGini indexHousehold income or consumption by percentage shareDistribution of family income gini indexBudget: revenues $34 billion; expenditures $54 billion, including capital expenditures of $13.3 billion (FY91)
Taxes and other revenuesPublic debtRevenueFiscal year: 1 April-31 March
Inflation rate consumer pricesCentral bank discount rateCommercial bank prime lending rateStock of narrow moneyStock of broad moneyStock of domestic creditMarket value of publicly traded sharesCurrent account balanceExports: $17.0 billion (f.o.b., FY90)
Commodities: gems and jewelry, engineering goods, clothing, textiles, chemicals, tea, coffee, fish products
Partners: EC 25%, US 19%, USSR and Eastern Europe 17%, Japan 10%
Imports: $24.8 billion (c.i.f., FY90)
Commodities: petroleum, capital goods, uncut gems and jewelry, chemicals, iron and steel, edible oils
Partners: EC 33%, Middle East 19%, Japan 10%, US 9%, USSR and Eastern Europe 8%
Reserves of foreign exchange and goldDebt external: $69.8 billion (1990 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment at homeStock of direct foreign investment abroadExchange rates: Indian rupees (Rs) per US$1--18.329 (January 1990), 17.504 (1990), 16.226 (1989), 13.917 (1988), 12.962 (1987), 12.611 (1986), 12.369 (1985)
top of pageElectricityCapacity: 70,000,000 kW capacity; 245,000 million kWh produced, 290 kWh per capita (1990)
CoalPetroleumCrude oilRefined petroleumNatural gasCarbon dioxide emissionsEnergy consumption per capitaIndia - Communication 1991
top of pageTelephonesTelephone systemBroadcast mediaInternetBroadband fixed subscriptionstop of pageMilitary expendituresPercent of gdp: $9.2 billion, 3.5% of GNP (FY91)
Military and security forcesMilitary service age and obligationSpace programTerrorist groupsIndia - Transportation 1991
top of pageNational air transport systemCivil aircraft registration country code prefixAirports: 345 total, 288 usable; 198 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 57 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 88 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
HeliportsPipelines: crude oil, 3,497 km; refined products, 1,703 km; natural gas, 902 km (1989)
RailwaysRoadwaysWaterways: 16,180 km; 3,631 km navigable by large vessels
Merchant marine: 308 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,087,451 GRT/10,150,460 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 8 passenger-cargo, 100 cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 8 container, 54 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 10 chemical tanker, 9 combination ore/oil, 115 bulk, 2 combination bulk
Ports and terminalsIndia - Transnational issues 1991
top of pageDisputes international: boundaries with Bangladesh, China, and Pakistan; water sharing problems with downstream riparians, Bangladesh over the Ganges and Pakistan over the Indus
Refugees and internally displaced personsIllicit drugs: licit producer of opium poppy for the pharmaceutical trade, but some opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets; major transit country for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries