Map of India | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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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.


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Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Pakistan

Geographic coordinates

Map reference: Asia

Area
Total area total: 3,287,590 km²
Land: 2,973,190 km²
Comparative: slightly more than one-third the size of the US

Land boundaries: total 14,103 km, Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km

Coastline: 7,000 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
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, petroleum, limestone

Land use
Arable land: 55%
Permanent crops: 1%
Meadows and pastures: 4%
Forest and woodland: 23%
Other: 17%

Irrigated land: 430,390 km² (1989)

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


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Population: 936,545,814 (July 1995 est.)
Growth rate: 1.77% (1995 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Indian(s)
Adjective: Indian

Ethnic groups: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3%

Languages: English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication, Hindi the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people, Bengali (official), Telugu (official), Marathi (official), Tamil (official), Urdu (official), Gujarati (official), Malayalam (official), Kannada (official), Oriya (official), Punjabi (official), Assamese (official), Kashmiri (official), Sindhi (official), Sanskrit (official), Hindustani a popular variant of Hindu/Urdu, is spoken widely throughout northern India
Note: 24 languages each spoken by a million or more persons; numerous other languages and dialects, for the most part mutually unintelligible

Religions: Hindu 80%, Muslim 14%, Christian 2.4%, Sikh 2%, Buddhist 0.7%, Jains 0.5%, other 0.4%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 35% (female 159,921,309; male 168,812,255)
15-64 years: 61% (female 274,105,407; male 296,145,798)
65 years and over: 4% (female 18,870,762; male 18,690,283) (July 1995 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 1.77% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 27.78 births/1000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 10.07 deaths/1000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (1995 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification; air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap water is not potable throughout the country; huge and rapidly growing population is overstraining natural resources
Current issues natural hazards: droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; earthquakes
Current issues international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 76.3 deaths/1000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 59.04 years
Male: 58.5 years
Female: 59.61 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.4 children born/woman (1995 est.)

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: age 7 and over can read and write (1991)
Total population: 52%
Male: 64%
Female: 39%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of India
Conventional short form: 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: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Shankar Dayal SHARMA (since 25 July 1992); Vice President Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN (since 21 August 1992)
Head of government: Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha RAO (since 21 June 1991)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president on recommendation of the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Sansad)
Council of States Rajya Sabha: body consisting of not more than 250 members, up to 12 appointed by the president, the remainder chosen by the elected members of the state and territorial assemblies
People's Assembly Lok Sabha: elections last held 21 May, 12 and 15 June 1991 (next to be held by 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (545 total, 543 elected, 2 appointed) Congress (I) Party 245, BJP 119, Janata Dal Party 39, Janata Dal (Ajit Singh) 20, CPI/M 35, CPI 14, Telugu Desam 13, AIADMK 11, Samajwadi Janata Party 5, Shiv Sena 4, RSP 4, BSP 1, Congress (S) Party 1, other 23, vacant 9; note - the distribution of seats as of 18 January 1995 is as follows:Congress (I) Party 260, BJP 117, CPI/M 36, Janata Dal Party 24, Samta Party 14, CPI 14, AIADMK 12, Janata Dal (Ajit) 7, Telugu Desam 7, RSP 4, Janata Dal (Ex-Ajit) 3, Samajwadi Party 3, BSP 3, AIFB 3, Shiv Sena 2, Congress (S) Party 1, Kerala Congress (Mani faction) 1, Bihar Peoples Party 1, India National League 1, other 14, vacant 16

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G- 6, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), PCA, SAARC, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNOMIL, UNOMOZ, UNOSOM, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Siddhartha Shankar RAY
In the us chancery: 2,107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 939-7,000
In the us consulates general: Chicago, New York, and San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Frank G. WISNER
From the us embassy: Shanti Path, Chanakyapuri 110,021, New Delhi
From the us mailing address: use embassy street address
From the us telephone: [91] (11) 600,651
From the us FAX: [91] (11) 6,872,028
From the us consulates general: Bombay, Calcutta, 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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: India's economy is a mixture of traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of support services. Faster economic growth in the 1980s permitted a significant increase in real per capita private consumption. A large share of the population, perhaps as much as 40%, remains too poor to afford an adequate diet. Financial strains in 1990 and 1991 prompted government austerity measures that slowed industrial growth but permitted India to meet its international payment obligations without rescheduling its debt. Production, trade, and investment reforms since 1991 have provided new opportunities for Indian businessmen and an estimated 100 million to 200 million middle class consumers. New Delhi has always paid its foreign debts on schedule and has stimulated exports, attracted foreign investment, and revived confidence in India's economic prospects. Foreign exchange reserves, precariously low three years ago, now total more than, 19 billion. Positive factors for the remainder of the 1990s are India's strong entrepreneurial class and the central government's recognition of the continuing need for market-oriented approaches to economic development, for example in upgrading the wholly inadequate communications facilities. Negative factors include the desperate poverty of hundreds of millions of Indians and the impact of the huge and expanding population on an already overloaded environment.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 5% (1994 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $1,360 (1994 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for 34% of GDP; principal crops - rice, wheat, oilseeds, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; livestock - cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, poultry; fish catch of about 3 million metric tons ranks India among the world's top 10 fishing nations

Industries: textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery

Industrial production growth rate: 7% (1994 est.), accounts for 28% of GDP

Labor force: 314.751 million (1990)
By occupation: agriculture 65% (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $30.85 billion
Expenditures: $48.35 billion, including capital expenditures of $10.5 billion (FY93/94)

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: $24.4 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
Commodoties: clothing, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather manufactures, cotton yarn, and fabric
Partners: US, Japan, Germany, UK, Hong Kong

Imports: $25.5 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
Commodoties: crude oil and petroleum products, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals
Partners: US, Germany, Saudi Arabia, UK, Belgium, Japan

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $89.2 billion (November 1994)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Indian rupees (Rs) per US$1 - 31.374 (January 1995), 31.374 (1994), 30.493 (1993), 25.918 (1992), 22.742 (1991), 17.504 (1990)


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Electricity
Capacity: 81,200,000 kW
Production: 314 billion kWh
Production consumption per capita: 324 kWh (1993)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system: NA telephones; 5 telephones/1000 persons; domestic telephone system is poor; long-distance telephoning has been improved by a domestic satellite system which also carries TV
Local: NA
Intercity: NA
International: 3 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) earth stations and submarine cables to Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $7.8 billion, 2.8% of GDP (FY94/95)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 352
With paved runways over 3047 m: 11
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 48
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 85
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 72
With paved runways under 914 m: 81
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2438 m: 7
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 46

Heliports

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

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 16,180 km; 3,631 km navigable by large vessels

Merchant marine
Total: 299 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,288,902 GRT/10,454,178 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 114, cargo 78, chemical tanker 9, combination bulk 2, combination ore/oil 5, container 10, liquefied gas tanker 6, oil tanker 68, passenger-cargo 5, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1, short-sea passenger 1

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: boundaries with Bangladesh and China; status of Kashmir with 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 an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets; major transit country for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries; illicit producer of hashish and methaqualone; produced 82 metric tons of illicit opium in 1994