Map of India | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide19891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023 | 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 Burma and Pakistan

Geographic coordinates: 20 00 N, 77 00 E

Map reference: Asia

Area
Total: 3,287,590 km²
Land: 2,973,190 km²
Water: 314,400 km²
Comparative: slightly more than one-third the size of the US

Land boundaries
Total: 14,103 km
Border countries: (6) 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
Extremes lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m

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: 56%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 4%
Forests and woodland: 23%
Other: 16% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 480,000 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; earthquakes

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


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Population: 1,000,848,550 (July 1999 est.)
Growth rate: 1.68% (1999 est.)
Below poverty line: 35% (1994 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 Hindi/Urdu 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: 34% (male 175,463,726; female 165,722,164)
15-64 years: 61% (male 318,004,920; female 295,245,556)
65 years and over: 5% (male 23,571,270; female 22,840,914) (1999 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 1.68% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 25.39 births/1000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 8.5 deaths/1000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.08 migrant(s)/1000 population (1999 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
International agreements party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 60.81 deaths/1000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 63.4 years
Male: 62.54 years
Female: 64.29 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.18 children born/woman (1999 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
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 52%
Male: 65.5%
Female: 37.7% (1995 est.)

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 Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN (since 25 July 1997); Vice President Krishnan KANT (since 21 August 1997)
Head of government: Prime Minister Atal Behari VAJPAYEE (since 19 March 1998)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
Elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of the states for a five-year term; election last held 14 July 1997 (next to be held NA July 2002); vice president elected by both houses of Parliament; election last held 16 August 1997 (next to be held NA August 2002); prime minister elected by parliamentary members of the majority party following legislative elections; election last held NA March 1998 (next to be held NA March 2003)
Election results: Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN elected president; percent of electoral college vote_NA; Krishnan KANT elected vice president; percent of Parliament vote_NA; Atal Behari VAJPAYEE elected prime minister; percent of vote_NA

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Sansad consists of the Council of States or Rajya Sabha (a body consisting of not more than 250 members, up to 12 of which are appointed by the president, the remainder are chosen by the elected members of the state and territorial assemblies; members serve six-year terms) and the People's Assembly or Lok Sabha (545 seats; 543 elected by popular vote, 2 appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms)
Elections: People's Assembly_last held 16 February through 7 March 1998 (next to be held NA March 2003)
Election results: People's Assembly_percent of vote by party_NA; seats by party_BJP 178, Congress (I) Party 141, CPI/M 32, SP 20, ADMK 18, RJD 17, Telugu Desam 12, SAP 12, CPI 9, BJD 9, Akali Dal factions 8, Trinamool Congress 7, SHS 6, DMK 6, Janata Dal Party 6, BSP 5, RSP 5, independents and others 44, vacant 8, appointed by the president 2

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the age of 65

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: AfDB, AsDB, BIS, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G- 6, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIPONUH, MONUA, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNOMIL, UNOMSIL, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Naresh CHANDRA
In the us chancery: 2,107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008; note_Embassy located at 2,536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 939-7,000
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 483-3,972
In the us consulates general: Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Richard F. CELESTE
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) 688-9,033, 611-3,033
From the us FAX: [91] (11) 419-0017
From the us consulates general: Calcutta, Chennai (Madras), Mumbai (Bombay)

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 encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of support services. 67% of India's labor force work in agriculture, which contributes 25% of the country's GDP. Production, trade, and investment reforms since 1991 have provided new opportunities for Indian businesspersons and an estimated 300 million middle class consumers. New Delhi has avoided debt rescheduling, attracted foreign investment, and revived confidence in India's economic prospects since 1991. Many of the country's fundamentals_including savings rates (26% of GDP) and reserves (now about $30 billion)_are healthy. Even so, the Indian Government needs to restore the early momentum of reform, especially by continuing reductions in the extensive remaining government regulations. India's exports, currency, and foreign institutional investment were affected by the East Asian crisis in late 1997 and 1998; but capital account controls, a low ratio of short-term debt to reserves, and enhanced supervision of the financial sector helped insulate it from near term balance-of-payments problems. Exports fell 5% in 1998 mainly because of the fall in Asian currencies relative to the rupee. Energy, telecommunications, and transportation bottlenecks continue to constrain growth. A series of weak coalition governments have lacked the political strength to push reforms forward to address these and other problems. Indian think tanks project GDP growth of about 4.5% in 1999. Inflation will remain a worrisome problem.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 5.4% (1998 est.)

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 25%
Industry: 30%
Services: 45% (1997)

Agriculture products: rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish

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

Industrial production growth rate: 5.5% (1997)

Labor force: NA
By occupation agriculture: 67%
By occupation services: 18%
By occupation industry: 15% (1995 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 35% (1994 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $42.12 billion
Expenditures: $63.79 billion, including capital expenditures of $13.8 billion (FY98/99 budget est.)

Public debt

Taxes and other revenues

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 April_31 March

Current account balance

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: $32.17 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Commodities: textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather manufactures
Partners: US 19%, Hong Kong 6%, UK 6%, Japan 6%, Germany 5% (1997)

Imports: $41.34 billion (c.i.f., 1998)
Commodities: crude oil and petroleum products, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals
Partners: US 10%, Belgium 7%, UK 7%, Germany 7%, Saudi Arabia 6%, Japan 6% (1997)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $93 billion (1998)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Indian rupees (Rs) per US$1_42.508 (January 1999), 41.259 (1998), 36.313 (1997), 35.433 (1996), 32.427 (1995), 31.374 (1994)


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Electricity access

Electricity production: 404.475 billion kWh (1996)
By source fossil fuel: 80.35%
By source hydro: 17.8%
By source nuclear: 1.83%
By source other: 0.02% (1996)

Electricity consumption: 406.02 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity exports: 130 million kWh (1996)

Electricity imports: 1.675 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity installed generating capacity

Electricity transmission distribution losses

Electricity generation sources

Petroleum

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones fixed lines

Telephones mobile cellular

Telephone system: mediocre; local and long distance service provided throughout all regions of the country, with services primarily concentrated in the urban areas; major objective is to continue to expand and modernize long-distance network in order to keep pace with rapidly growing number of local subscriber lines; steady improvement is taking place with the recent admission of private and private-public investors, but demand for communication services is also growing rapidly
Domestic: local service is provided by microwave radio relay and coaxial cable, with open wire and obsolete electromechanical and manual switchboard systems still in use in rural areas; starting in the 1980s, a substantial amount of digital switch gear has been introduced for local- and long-distance service; long-distance traffic is carried mostly by coaxial cable and low-capacity microwave radio relay; since 1985, however, significant trunk capacity has been added in the form of fiber-optic cable and a domestic satellite system with 254 earth stations; cellular telephone service in four metropolitan cities
International: satellite earth stations_8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean Region); four gateway exchanges operating from Mumbai, New Delhi, Calcutta, and Chennai; submarine cables to Malaysia, UAE, Singapore, and Japan

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $10.012 billion (FY98/99)
Percent of gdp: 2.7% (FY98/99)

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: 341 (1998 est.)
With paved runways total: 230
With paved runways over 3047 m: 11
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 48
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 82
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 70
With paved runways under 914 m: 19 (1998 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 111
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 8
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 50
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 51 (1998 est.)

Airports with paved runways
Total: 230
Over 3047 m: 11
2438 to 3047 m: 48
15-24 to 2437 m: 82
914 to 1523 m: 70
Under 914 m: 19 (1998 est.)

Airports with unpaved runways
Total: 111
2438 to 3047 m: 2
15-24 to 2437 m: 8
914 to 1523 m: 50
Under 914 m: 51 (1998 est.)

Heliports: 17 (1998 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 3,005 km; petroleum products 2,687 km; natural gas 1,700 km (1995)

Railways
Total: 62,915 km (12,307 km electrified; 12,617 km double track)
Broad gauge: 40,620 km 1.676-m gauge
Narrow gauge: 18,501 km 1.000-m gauge; 3,794 km 0.762-m and 0.610-m gauge (1998 est.)

Roadways

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

Merchant marine
Total: 311 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,627,497 GRT/11,038,723 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 126, cargo 63, chemical tanker 11, combination bulk 2, combination ore/oil 3, container 12, liquefied gas tanker 10, oil tanker 76, passenger-cargo 5, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 2 (1998 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: boundary with China in dispute; status of Kashmir with Pakistan; water-sharing problems with Pakistan over the Indus River (Wular Barrage; a portion of the boundary with Bangladesh is indefinite; dispute with Bangladesh over New Moore/South Talpatty Island

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: world's largest producer of licit opium 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; cultivated 2,050 hectares of illicit opium in 1997, a 34% decrease from 1996, with a potential production of 30 metric tons, a 36% decrease from 1996