Statistical information India 1991India

Map of India | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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India in the World

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India - Introduction 1991
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Background: 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.


India - Geography 1991
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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area

Land 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 claims
Contiguous 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

Elevation

Natural resources: coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, crude oil, limestone
Land use

Land use: arable land: 55%; permanent crops: 1%; meadows and pastures 4%; forest and woodland 23%; other 17%; includes irrigated 13%

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography
Note: dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes


India - People 1991
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Population: 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 profile
Age structure

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 29 births/1000 population (1991)

Death rate: 10 deaths/1000 population (1991)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1000 population (1991)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; air and water pollution; desertification

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant 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 rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 48% (male 62%, female 34%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


India - Government 1991
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Country 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 areas

Independence: 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 participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 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 leaders

International 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 representation
In 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 descriptionflag of India: 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 symbols

National anthem

National heritage


India - Economy 1991
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Economy 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 parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving
Gdp composition by sector of origin

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture 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)
Labor force

Unemployment rate: 20% (1990 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $34 billion; expenditures $54 billion, including capital expenditures of $13.3 billion (FY91)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $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 gold

Debt external: $69.8 billion (1990 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange 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)


India - Energy 1991
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Electricity
Capacity: 70,000,000 kW capacity; 245,000 million kWh produced, 290 kWh per capita (1990)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


India - Communication 1991
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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


India - Military 1991
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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: $9.2 billion, 3.5% of GNP (FY91)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


India - Transportation 1991
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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 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

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil, 3,497 km; refined products, 1,703 km; natural gas, 902 km (1989)

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 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 terminals


India - Transnational issues 1991
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Disputes 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 persons

Illicit 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


Economy Bookings


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