Statistical information India 2000
India in the World
India - Introduction 2000
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 pageLocation: 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:
AsiaAreaTotal: 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 boundariesTotal: 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 kmCoastline: 7,000 km
Maritime claimsContiguous 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
ElevationExtremes 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 arable land
Land useArable land: 56%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 4%
Forests and woodland: 23%
Other: 16% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 535,100 km² (1995/96 est.)
Major riversMajor watersheds area km²Total water withdrawalTotal renewable water resourcesNatural hazards: droughts flash floods severe thunderstorms common; earthquakes
GeographyNote: dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes
top of pagePopulation: 1,029,991,145 (July 2000 est.)
Growth rate: 1.55% (2000 est.)
Below poverty line: 35% (1994 est.)
NationalityNoun: Indian
Adjective: Indian
Ethnic groups: Indo-Aryan 72% Dravidian 25% Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)
LanguagesNote: 24 languages each spoken by a million or more persons; numerous other languages and dialects, for the most part mutually unintelligible
Religions: Hindu 81.3% Muslim 12% Christian 2.3% Sikh 1.9% other groups including Buddhist Jain Parsi 2.5% (2000)
Demographic profileAge structure0-14 years: 33.12% (male 175,630,537; female 165,540,672)
15-64 years: 62.2% (male 331,790,850; female 308,902,864)
65 years and over: 4.68% (male 24,439,022; female 23,687,200) (2000 est.)
Dependency ratiosMedian agePopulation growth rate: 1.55% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 24.28 births/1000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 8.74 deaths/1000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.08 migrant(s)/1000 population (2000 est.)
Population distributionUrbanizationMajor urban areasEnvironmentCurrent 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 growing population is overstraining natural resources
International agreements party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, 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 pollutantsSex ratioAt birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.06 male/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male/female
65 years and over: 1.03 male/female
Total population: 1.07 male/female (2000 est.)
Mothers mean age at first birthMaternal mortality ratioInfant mortality rate: 63.19 deaths/1000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birthTotal population: 62.86 years
Male: 62.22 years
Female: 63.53 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.04 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rateDrinking water sourceCurrent health expenditurePhysicians densityHospital bed densitySanitation facility accessHiv/AidsAdult prevalence rate: 0.7% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: 3.7 million (1999 est.)
Deaths: 310,000 (1999 est.)
Major infectious diseasesObesity adult prevalence rateAlcohol consumptionTobacco useChildren under the age of 5 years underweightEducation expendituresLiteracyDefinition: 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 educationYouth unemploymenttop of pageCountry nameConventional long form: Republic of India
Conventional short form: India
Government type: federal republic
Capital: New Delhi
Administrative divisions: 28 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands* Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chandigarh* Chhattisgarh Dadra and Nagar Haveli* Daman and Diu* Delhi* Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Lakshadweep* Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Orissa Pondicherry* Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Tripura Uttaranchal Uttar Pradesh West Bengal
Dependent areasIndependence: 15 August 1947 (from UK)
National holiday: Republic Day 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: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branchChief 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 for a five-year term; 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 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004)
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 branchElections: People's Assembly - last held 5 September through 3 October 1999 (next to be held NA 2004)
Election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - BJP alliance 40.8%, Congress alliance 33.8%, other 25.4%; seats by party - BJP alliance 304, Congress alliance 134, other 107
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: All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or AIADMK [C. Jayalalitha JAYARAM]; All India Forward Bloc or AIFB [Prem Dutta PALIWAL (chairman) Chitta BASU (general secretary)]; Asom Gana Parishad [Prafulla Kumar MAHANTA]; Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [Kanshi RAM]; Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Bangaru LAXMAN president]; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI [Ardhendu Bhushan BARDHAN]; Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist or CPI/ML [Vinod MISHRA]; Congress (I) Party [Sonia GANDHI president]; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or DMK (a regional party in Tamil Nadu) [M. KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National League [Suliaman SAIT]; Janata Dal (Secular) [H. D. Deve GOWDA]; Janata Dal (United) or JDU [Sharad YADAV president I. K. GUJRAL]; Kerala Congress (Mani faction) [K. M. MANI]; Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or MDMK [VAIKO]; Muslim League [G. M. BANATWALA]; Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]; National Democratic Alliance a 16-party alliance including BJP DMK Janata Dal (U) SHS Shiromani Akali Dal Telugu Desam BJD Rinamool Congress]; Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD [Laloo Prasad YADAV]; Revolutionary Socialist Party or RSP [Tridip CHOWDHURY]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV president]; Shiromani Akali Dal [Prakash Singh BADAL]; Shiv Sena [Bal THACKERAY]; Tamil Maanila Congress [G. K. MOOPANAR]; Telugu Desam Party or TDP (a regional party in Andhra Pradesh) [Chandrababu NAIDU]; Trinamool Congress [Mamata BANERJEE]
International organization participation: AfDB ARF (dialogue partner) AsDB ASEAN (dialogue partner) 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 MINURSO MIPONUH MONUC NAM OAS (observer) OPCW PCA SAARC UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNIFIL UNIKOM UNMEE UNMIBH UNMIK UNU UPU WCL WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO
Diplomatic representationIn 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: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110,021
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) 419-0025
From the us consulates general: Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), 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 symbolsNational anthemNational heritagetop of pageEconomy overview: India's economy encompasses traditional village farming modern agriculture handicrafts a wide range of modern industries and a multitude of support services. More than a third of the population is too poor to be able to afford an adequate diet. India's international payments position remained strong in 2000 with adequate foreign exchange reserves moderately depreciating nominal exchange rates and booming exports of software services. Growth in manufacturing output slowed and electricity shortages continue in many regions.
Real gdp purchasing power parityReal gdp growth rate: 6% (2000 est.)
Real gdp per capita pppGross national savingGdp composition by sector of origin
Gdp composition by end useGdp composition by sector of originAgriculture: 25%
Industry: 24%
Services: 51% (2000)
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 software
Industrial production growth rate: 7.5% (2000 est.)
Labor force: NA
By occupation agriculture: 67%
By occupation services: 18%
By occupation industry: 15% (1995 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Youth unemploymentPopulation below poverty line: 35% (1994 est.)
Gini indexHousehold income or consumption by percentage shareLowest 10: 3.5%
Highest 10: 33.5% (1997)
Distribution of family income gini indexBudgetRevenues: $44.3 billion
Expenditures: $73.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.)
Public debtTaxes and other revenuesRevenueFiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Current account balanceInflation rate consumer prices: 5.4% (2000 est.)
Central bank discount rateCommercial bank prime lending rateStock of narrow moneyStock of broad moneyStock of domestic creditMarket value of publicly traded sharesCurrent account balanceExports: $43.1 billion (f.o.b. 2000)
Commodities: textile goods gems and jewelry engineering goods chemicals leather manufactures
Partners: US 22% UK 6% Germany 5% Japan 5% Hong Kong 5% UAE 4% (1999)
Imports: $60.8 billion (f.o.b. 2000)
Commodities: crude oil machinery gems fertilizer chemicals
Partners: US 9% Benelux 8% UK 6% Saudi Arabia 6% Japan 6% Germany 5% (1999)
Reserves of foreign exchange and goldDebt external: $99.6 billion (2000)
Stock of direct foreign investment at homeStock of direct foreign investment abroadExchange rates: Indian rupees per US dollar - 46.540 (January 2000) 44.942 (2000) 43.055 (1999) 41.259 (1998) 36.313 (1997) 35.433 (1996)
top of pageElectricity accessElectricity production: 454.561 billion kWh (1999)
By source fossil fuel: 79.41%
By source hydro: 17.77%
By source nuclear: 2.52%
By source other: 0.3% (1999)
Electricity consumption: 424.032 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity exports: 200 million kWh (1999)
Electricity imports: 1.49 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity installed generating capacityElectricity transmission distribution lossesElectricity generation sourcesPetroleumRefined petroleumNatural gasCarbon dioxide emissionsEnergy consumption per capitaIndia - Communication 2000
top of pageTelephones fixed linesTelephones mobile cellular: 2.93 million (November 2000)
Telephone systemGeneral assessment: mediocre service; 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, with telephone density at about two for each 100 persons and a waiting list of over 2 million, demand for main line telephone service will not be satisfied for a very long time
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 significant trunk capacity has been added in the form of fiber-optic cable and a domestic satellite system with 254 earth stations; mobile cellular service is provided in four metropolitan cities
International: satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region); nine gateway exchanges operating from Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), Chennai (Madras), Jalandhar, Kanpur, Gaidhinagar, Hyderabad, and Ernakulam; 4 submarine cables - LOCOM linking Chennai (Madras) to Penang; Indo-UAE-Gulf cable linking Mumbai (Bombay) to Al Fujayrah, UAE; India-SEA-ME-WE-3, SEA-ME-WE-2 with landing sites at Cochin and Mumbai (Bombay); Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) with landing site at Mumbai (Bombay) (2000)
Broadcast mediaInternet country code: .in
Internet users: 4.5 million (2000)
Broadband fixed subscriptionstop of pageMilitary expendituresDollar figure: $13.02 billion (FY01)
Percent of gdp: 2.5% (FY00)
Military and security forcesMilitary service age and obligationSpace programTerrorist groupsIndia - Transportation 2000
top of pageNational air transport systemCivil aircraft registration country code prefixAirports: 337 (2000 est.)
With paved runways total: 235
With paved runways over 3047 m: 13
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 48
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 81
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 77
With paved runways under 914 m: 16 (2000 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 102
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 6
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 40
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 55 (2000 est.)
Airports with paved runwaysTotal: 235
Over 3047 m: 13
2438 to 3047 m: 48
15-24 to 2437 m: 81
914 to 1523 m: 77
Under 914 m: 16 (2000 est.)
Airports with unpaved runwaysTotal: 102
2438 to 3047 m: 1
15-24 to 2437 m: 6
914 to 1523 m: 40
Under 914 m: 55 (2000 est.)
Heliports: 16 (2000 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 3,005 km; petroleum products 2,687 km; natural gas 1700 km (1995)
RailwaysTotal: 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.)
RoadwaysWaterwaysNote: 3,631 km navigable by large vessels
Merchant marineTotal: 315 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,433,831 GRT/10,691,973 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 117, cargo 70, chemical tanker 15, combination bulk 1, combination ore/oil 3, container 15, liquefied gas 9, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 76, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 2 (2000 est.)
Ports and terminalsIndia - Transnational issues 2000
top of pageDisputes 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; exchange of 151 enclaves along border with Bangladesh subject to ratification by Indian parliament; dispute with Bangladesh over New Moore/South Talpatty Island
Refugees and internally displaced personsIllicit drugs