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.

Map reference: Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area
Total: 3,287,590 km²
Land: 2,973,190 km²

Land boundaries:

Coastline: 7,000 km
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or the edge of continental margin
Exclusive economic zone: 200 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

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)

Population: 903,158,968 (July 1993 est.)
Growth rate: 1.86% (1993 est.)

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

Languages:

Religions: Hindu 82.6%, Muslim 11.4%, Christian 2.4%, Sikh 2%, Buddhist 0.7%, Jains 0.5%, other 0.4%

Population growth rate: 1.86% (1993 est.)

Birth rate: 29.11 births/1000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate: 10.52 deaths/1000 population (1993 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (1993 est.)

Environment
Current issues: droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; air and water pollution; desertification
Current issues note: dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes

Infant mortality rate: 80.5 deaths/1000 live births (1993 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 58.12 years
Male: 57.69 years
Female: 58.59 years (1993 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.57 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Noun: Indian(s)
Adjective: Indian

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
Total population: 48%
Male: 62%
Female: 34%

Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of India
Conventional short form: India

Government type: federal republic

Capital: New Delhi

Administrative divisions:

Independence: 15 August 1947 (from UK)

National holiday:

Constitution: 26 January 1950

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: president, vice president, prime minister, Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Sansad) consists of an upper house or Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and a lower house or People's Assembly (Lok Sabha)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

International organization participation:

Diplomatic representation
In the us chancery: 2,107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: (202) 939-7,000
In the us consulates general: Chicago, New York, and San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering
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) 687-2,028, 687-2,391
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

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. Policy reforms since 1991 have extended earlier economic liberalization and greatly reduced government controls on production, trade, and investment.

Real gdp growth rate: 4% (FY93 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $270 (FY93 est.)

Agriculture products: accounts for about 30% of GDP and employs 67% of labor force; 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: growth rate 2.5% (FY93 est.), accounts for about 25% of GDP

Labor force: 284.4 million
By occupation: agriculture 67% (FY85)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $39.2 billion; expenditures $41.06 billion, including capital expenditures of $10.2 billion (FY92)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Exports: $19.8 billion (f.o.b., FY93 est.)
Commodoties: gems and jewelry, clothing, engineering goods, leather manufactures, cotton yarn, and fabric
Partners: USSR 16.1%, US 14.7%, West Germany 7.8% (FY91)

Imports: $25.5 billion (c.i.f., FY93 est.) chemicals, machinery
Partners: US 12.1%, West Germany 8.0%, Japan 7.5% (FY91)

Exchange rates: Indian rupees (Rs) per US$1 - 26.156 (January 1993), 25.918 (1992), 22.742 (1991), 17.504 (1990), 16.226 (1989), 13.917 (1988)

Electricity
Production: 82,000,000 kW capacity; 310,000 million kWh produced, 340 kWh per capita (1992)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: exchange rate conversion - $5.8 billion, 2.4% of GDP (FY93/94)

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

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

Merchant marine:
Total: 336
Usable: 285
With permanentsurface runways: 205
With runways over 3659 m: 2
With runways 2440-3659 m: 58
With runways 1220-2439 m: 90

Disputes international:

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; illicit producer of hashish