Background: The Indus Valley civilization, one of the world's oldest, flourished during the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C. and extended into northwestern India. Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated the Indian subcontinent about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maurya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. -- which reached its zenith under ASHOKA -- united much of South Asia. The Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) ushered in The Golden Age, which saw a flowering of Indian science, art, and culture. Islam spread across the subcontinent over a period of 700 years. In the 10th and 11th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded India and established the Delhi Sultanate. In the early 16th century, the Emperor BABUR established the Mughal Dynasty, which ruled large sections of India for more than three centuries. European explorers began establishing footholds in India during the 16th century. By the 19th century, Great Britain had become the dominant political power on the subcontinent, and India was seen as the 'Jewel in the Crown' of the British Empire. The British Indian Army played a vital role in both World Wars. Years of nonviolent resistance to British rule, led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU, eventually resulted in Indian independence in 1947. Large-scale communal violence took place before and after the subcontinent partition into two separate states -- India and Pakistan. The neighboring countries have fought three wars since independence, the last of which was in 1971 and resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. India's nuclear weapons tests in 1998 emboldened Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year. In 2008, terrorists originating from Pakistan conducted a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital. India's economic growth after economic reforms in 1991, a massive youth population, and a strategic geographic location have contributed to the country's emergence as a regional and global power. However, India still faces pressing problems such as extensive poverty, widespread corruption, and environmental degradation, and its restrictive business climate challenges economic growth expectations.

Area
Total: 3,287,263 km²
Land: 2,973,193 km²
Water: 314,070 km²
Comparative: slightly more than one-third the size of the US

Land boundaries
Total: 13,888 km
Border countries (6): (6) Bangladesh 4,142 km; Bhutan 659 km; Burma 1,468 km; China 2,659 km; Nepal 1,770 km; Pakistan 3,190 km

Coastline: 7,000 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

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
Highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,586 m
Lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation: 160 m

Land use
Agricultural land: 60.1% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 51.8% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 4.9% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 3.4% (2023 est.)
Forest: 24.4% (2023 est.)
Other: 15.5% (2023 est.)

Irrigated land: 754,562 km² (2022)

Major rivers: Brahmaputra (shared with China [s] and Bangladesh [m]) - 3,969 km; Indus (shared with China [s] and Pakistan [m]) - 3,610 km; Ganges river source (shared with Bangladesh [m]) - 2,704 km; Godavari - 1,465 km; Sutlej (shared with China [s] and Pakistan [m]) - 1,372 km; Yamuna - 1,370 km; Narmada - 1,289 km; Chenab river source (shared with Pakistan [m]) - 1,086 km ; Ghaghara river mouth (shared with China [s] and Nepal) - 1,080 km
Note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Natural hazards: droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes
Volcanism: Barren Island (354 m) in the Andaman Sea has been active in recent years

Geography
Note: dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal

Population
Total: 1,409,128,296 (2024 est.)
Male: 725,784,825
Female: 683,343,471
Distribution: a very high population density exists throughout most of the country, with the notable exception of the deserts in the northwest and the mountain fringe in the north; the core of the population is in the north along the banks of the Ganges, with other river valleys and southern coastal areas also having large population concentrations
Growth rate: 0.72% (2024 est.)

Languages: Hindi 43.6%, Bengali 8%, Marathi 6.9%, Telugu 6.7%, Tamil 5.7%, Gujarati 4.6%, Urdu 4.2%, Kannada 3.6%, Odia 3.1%, Malayalam 2.9%, Punjabi 2.7%, Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.1%, other 5.6%; English is the subsidiary official language but is the most important one for national, political, and commercial communication (2011 est.)
Major-language sample(s): ; विश्व फ़ैक्टबुक, आधारभूत जानकारी का एक अनिवार्य स्रोत (Hindi); The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Note 1: there are 22 other recognized languages -- Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu
Note 2: Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language

Religions: Hindu 79.8%, Muslim 14.2%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.7%, other and unspecified 2% (2011 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 24.5% (male 181,115,052/female 163,647,028)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 500,568,593/female 467,593,781)
65 years and over: 6.8% (2024 est.) (male 44,101,180/female 52,102,662)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 45.5 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 35.6 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 9.9 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio: 10.1 (2024 est.)

Median age
Total: 29.8 years (2024 est.)
Male: 29.1 years
Female: 30.5 years

Population growth rate: 0.72% (2024 est.)

Birth rate: 16.2 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Death rate: 9.1 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Population distribution: a very high population density exists throughout most of the country, with the notable exception of the deserts in the northwest and the mountain fringe in the north; the core of the population is in the north along the banks of the Ganges, with other river valleys and southern coastal areas also having large population concentrations

Urbanization
Urban population: 36.4% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 2.33% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 32.941 million NEW DELHI (capital), 21.297 million Mumbai, 15.333 million Kolkata, 13.608 million Bangalore, 11.776 million Chennai, 10.801 million Hyderabad (2023)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.1 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.11 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 80 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 30.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male: 30 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 30.8 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 68.2 years (2024 est.)
Male: 66.5 years
Female: 70.1 years

Total fertility rate: 2.03 children born/woman (2024 est.)

Drinking water source
Urban: 4.2% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 8.1% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 6.7% of population (2022 est.)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 0.6% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 17% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 11.1% of population (2022 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 31.5% (2020 est.)

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 4.3% (2024 est.); 4.2% (2023 est.); 4.9% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment

Capital
Name: New Delhi
Geographic coordinates: 28 36 N, 77 12 E
Time difference: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: the name is of unknown origin; one theory says it may come from the Hindi word dehli (threshold), because of the city's location between the Indus and the Ganges Rivers

Administrative divisions: 28 states and 8 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir*, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Ladakh*, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Puducherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal
Note: the official name of Delhi is National Capital Territory of Delhi, even though it is considered a union territory

Legal system: common law system based on the English model; separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus; judicial review of legislative acts

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Droupadi MURMU (since 25 July 2022)
Head of government: Prime Minister Narendra MODI (since 26 May 2014)
Cabinet: Union Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister, appointed by the president
Election/appointment process: president indirectly elected for a 5-year term (no term limits) by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament; vice president indirectly elected for a 5-year term (no term limits) by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament; following legislative elections, the prime minister is elected by Lok Sabha members of the majority party
Most recent election date: president: 18 July 2022
Vice president: August 2,027
2022: Droupadi MURMU elected president; percent of electoral college vote - Droupadi MURMU (BJP) 64%, Yashwant SINHA (AITC) 35.9%; Jagdeep DHANKHAR elected vice president; percent of electoral college vote - Jagdeep DHANKHAR (BJP) 74.4%, Margaret ALVA (INC) 25.6%
2017: Ram Nath KOVIND elected president; percent of electoral college vote - Ram Nath KOVIND (BJP) 65.6%, Meira KUMAR (INC) 34.4%; Venkaiah NAIDU elected vice president; percent of electoral college vote - Venkaiah NAIDU (BJP) 67.9%, Gopal-krishna GANDHI 32.1%
Expected date of next election: president: July 2,027

Legislative branch
Legislature name: Parliament (Sansad)
Legislative structure: bicameral
Note: in September 2023, both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha passed a bill that reserves one third of the House seats for women; implementation could begin for the House election in 2,029

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of saffron (top), white, and green, with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band

National anthem
Title: 'Jana-Gana-Mana' (Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All People)
Lyrics/music: Rabindranath TAGORE
History: adopted 1950; Rabindranath TAGORE, a Nobel laureate, also wrote Bangladesh's national anthem

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 44 (36 cultural, 7 natural, 1 mixed)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:

Real gdp growth rate: 6.5% (2024 est.); 9.2% (2023 est.); 7.6% (2022 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real gdp per capita: 6.5% (2024 est.); 9.2% (2023 est.); 7.6% (2022 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 61.5% (2024 est.)
Government consumption: 10.1% (2024 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 29.6% (2024 est.)
Investment in inventories: 3% (2024 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 21.2% (2024 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -23.5% (2024 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 16.4% (2024 est.)
Industry: 24.5% (2024 est.)
Services: 49.9% (2024 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

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

Industrial production growth rate: 5.6% (2024 est.)
Note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

Labor force: 607.691 million (2024 est.)
Note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

Unemployment rate: 4.3% (2024 est.); 4.2% (2023 est.); 4.9% (2022 est.)
Note: % of labor force seeking employment

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 4.3% (2024 est.); 4.2% (2023 est.); 4.9% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment

Budget
Revenues: $311.824 billion (2022 est.)
Expenditures: $486.598 billion (2022 est.)
Note: central government revenues and expenses (excluding grants/extrabudgetary units/social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

Taxes and other revenues: 6.7% (of GDP) (2022 est.)
Note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP

Exports: $822.046 billion (2024 est.); $773.177 billion (2023 est.); $767.643 billion (2022 est.)
Note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: refined petroleum, packaged medicine, diamonds, broadcasting equipment, garments (2023)
Commodities note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars

Imports: $923.081 billion (2024 est.); $859.507 billion (2023 est.); $902.304 billion (2022 est.)
Note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: crude petroleum, gold, coal, natural gas, integrated circuits (2023)
Commodities note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

Electricity
Installed generating capacity: 499.136 million kW (2023 est.)
Consumption: 1.5 trillion kWh (2023 est.)
Exports: 9.529 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Imports: 7.843 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 303.066 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Access electrification - total population: 99.2% (2022 est.)
Access electrification - urban areas: 100%
Access electrification - rural areas: 99.3%
Generation sources fossil fuels: 75.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 2.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources solar: 6.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources wind: 5.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 8.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 1.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

Coal
Production: 1.02 billion metric tons (2023 est.)
Consumption: 1.262 billion metric tons (2023 est.)
Exports: 1.632 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Imports: 243.488 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Proven reserves: 127.727 billion metric tons (2023 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 822,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 5.271 million bbl/day (2023 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 4.605 billion barrels (2021 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 35.168 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Consumption: 62.196 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Exports: 91.921 million cubic meters (2019 est.)
Imports: 29.337 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Proven reserves: 1.381 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 2.821 billion metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 2.054 billion metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 642.909 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 124.226 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 25.179 million Btu/person (2023 est.)

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 27.455 million (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 2 (2023 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 1.14 billion (2022 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 81 (2022 est.)

Internet
Users percent of population: 56% (2022 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 39.3 million (2023 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 2 (2022 est.)

Military expenditures: 2% of GDP (2024 est.); 2.3% of GDP (2023 est.); 2.1% of GDP (2022 est.); 2.2% of GDP (2021 est.); 2.5% of GDP (2020 est.)

Airports: 315 (2025)

Heliports: 289 (2025)

Railways
Total: 65,554 km (2014)
Narrow gauge: 1,604 km (2014) 1.000-m gauge
Broad gauge: 63,950 km (2014) (39, 329 km electrified)

Merchant marine
Total: 1,859 (2023)
By type: bulk carrier 66, container ship 22, general cargo 607, oil tanker 144, other 1020