mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds,
petroleum, limestone, arable land
Land use:
arable land: 48.83%
permanent crops: 2.8%
other: 48.37% (2005)
Irrigated land:
558,080 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
1,907.8 cu km (1999)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 645.84 cu km/yr (8%/5%/86%)
per capita: 585 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive
flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes
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 growing
population is overstraining natural resources
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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
People ::India
Population:
1,166,079,217 (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
Age structure:
0-14 years: 31.1% (male 190,075,426/female 172,799,553)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 381,446,079/female 359,802,209)
65 years and over: 5.3% (male 29,364,920/female 32,591,030) (2009
est.)
Median age:
total: 25.3 years
male: 24.9 years
female: 25.8 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.548% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 84
Birth rate:
21.76 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 87
Death rate:
6.23 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 154
Net migration rate:
-0.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 87
Urbanization:
urban population: 29% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 2.4% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 30.15 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 73
male: 34.61 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 25.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.89 years
country comparison to the world: 145
male: 67.46 years
female: 72.61 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.72 children born/woman (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 83
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.3% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 89
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
2.4 million (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 4
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
310,000 (2001 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E,
and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: chikungunya, dengue fever, Japanese
encephalitis, and malaria
animal contact disease: rabies
water contact disease: leptospirosis
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in
this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases
possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)
Nationality:
noun: Indian(s)
adjective: Indian
Ethnic groups:
Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)
Religions:
Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%,
unspecified 0.1% (2001 census)
Languages:
Hindi 41%, Bengali 8.1%, Telugu 7.2%, Marathi 7%, Tamil 5.9%, Urdu
5%, Gujarati 4.5%, Kannada 3.7%, Malayalam 3.2%, Oriya 3.2%, Punjabi
2.8%, Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.2%, other 5.9%
note: English enjoys associate status but is the most important
language for national, political, and commercial communication;
Hindi is the most widely spoken language and primary tongue of 41%
of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali,
Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya,
Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a
popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern
India but is not an official language (2001 census)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 61%
male: 73.4%
female: 47.8% (2001 census)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 10 years
male: 11 years
female: 9 years (2005)
Education expenditures:
3.2% of GDP (2005)
country comparison to the world: 140
Government ::India
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of India
conventional short form: India
local long form: Republic of India/Bharatiya Ganarajya
local short form: India/Bharat
Government type:
federal republic
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)
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, Puducherry*, Punjab,
Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand,
West Bengal
Independence:
15 August 1947 (from the UK)
National holiday:
Republic Day, 26 January (1950)
Constitution:
26 January 1950; amended many times
Legal system:
based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; separate
personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Pratibha PATIL (since 25 July 2007); Vice
President Hamid ANSARI (since 11 August 2007)
head of government: Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH (since 22 May 2004)
cabinet: Cabinet 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 (no term limits); election last held
in July 2007 (next to be held in July 2012); vice president elected
by both houses of Parliament for a five-year term; election last
held in August 2007 (next to be held August 2012); prime minister
chosen by parliamentary members of the majority party following
legislative elections; election last held April - May 2004 (next to
be held no later than May 2009)
election results: Pratibha PATIL elected president; percent of vote
- Pratibha PATIL 65.8%, Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT - 34.2%
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 whom 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 in five phases 16, 22-23,
30 April and 7, 13 May 2009 (next must be held by May 2014)
election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - INC 206, BJP 116, SP 23, BSP 21, JD (U) 20, AITC
19, DMK 18, CPI-M 16, BJD 14, SS 11, AIADMK 9, NCP 9, other 61,
vacant 2
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (one chief justice and 25 associate justices are
appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the
age of 65 or are removed for "proved misbehavior")
Political parties and leaders:
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or AIADMK [J.
JAYALALITHAA]; All India Trinamool Congress or AITC [Mamata
BANERJEE]; Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [Kumari MAYAWATI]; Bharatiya
Janata Party or BJP [Rajnath SINGH]; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen
PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI [Ardhendu Bhushan
BARDHAN]; Communist Party of India-Marxist or CPI-M [Prakash KARAT];
Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or DMK [M. KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National
Congress or INC [Sonia GANDHI]; Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) [Sharad
YADAV]; Jharkhand Mukti Morcha or JMM [Shibu SOREN]; Left Front (an
alliance of Indian leftist parties); Lok Jan Shakti Party or LJSP
[Ram Vilas PASWAN]; Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad
PAWAR]; Pattali Makkal Katchi or PMK [S. RAMADOSS]; Rashtriya Janata
Dal or RJD [Laloo Prasad YADAV]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam
Singh YADAV]; Shiromani Akali Dal or SAD [Parkash Singh BADAL]; Shiv
Sena or SS [Bal THACKERAY]; note - India has dozens of national and
regional political parties; only parties or coalitions with four or
more seats in the People's Assembly are listed
Political pressure groups and leaders:
All Parties Hurriyat Conference in the Kashmir Valley (separatist
group); Bajrang Dal (religious organization); National Socialist
Council of Nagaland in the northeast (separatist group); Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (religious organization); Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(religious organization
other: numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations;
various separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or regional
autonomy
International organization participation:
ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner),
BIMSTEC, BIS, C, CERN (observer), CP, EAS, FAO, G-15, G-20, G-24,
G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO,
IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS
(observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, PIF
(partner), SAARC, SACEP, SCO (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL,
WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Meera SHANKAR
chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; note -
Consular Wing located at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000
FAX: [1] (202) 265-4351
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires A. Peter
BURLEIGH
embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [91] (011) 2419-8000
FAX: [91] (11) 2419-0017
consulate(s) general: Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai
(Bombay)
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of saffron (subdued 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 ::India
Economy - overview:
India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming,
modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries,
and a multitude of services. Services are the major source of
economic growth, accounting for more than half of India's output
with less than one third of its labor force. Slightly more than half
of the work force is in agriculture, leading the United Progressive
Alliance (UPA) government to articulate a rural economic development
program that includes creating basic infrastructure to improve the
lives of the rural poor and boost economic performance. The
government has reduced controls on foreign trade and investment.
Higher limits on foreign direct investment were permitted in a few
key sectors, such as telecommunications. However, tariff spikes in
sensitive categories, including agriculture, and incremental
progress on economic reforms still hinder foreign access to India's
vast and growing market. Privatization of government-owned
industries remains stalled and continues to generate political
debate; populist pressure from within the UPA government had
restrained needed initiatives. The economy has posted an average
growth rate of more than 7% in the decade since 1997, reducing
poverty by about 10 percentage points. India achieved 9.6% GDP
growth in 2006, 9.0% in 2007, and 6.6% in 2008, significantly
expanding manufactures through late 2008. India also is capitalizing
on its large numbers of well-educated people skilled in the English
language to become a major exporter of software services and
software workers. Strong growth combined with easy consumer credit,
a real estate boom, and fast-rising commodity prices fueled
inflation concerns from mid-2006 to August 2008. Rising tax revenues
from better tax administration and economic expansion helped New
Delhi make progress in reducing its fiscal deficit for three
straight years before skyrocketing global commodity prices more than
doubled the cost of government energy and fertilizer subsidies. The
ballooning subsidies, amidst slowing growth, brought the return of a
large fiscal deficit in 2008. In the long run, the huge and growing
population is the fundamental social, economic, and environmental
problem.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$3.304 trillion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5
$3.077 trillion (2007 est.)
$2.823 trillion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$1.207 trillion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
7.4% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 29
9% (2007 est.)
9.7% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$2,900 (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 167
$2,700 (2007 est.)
$2,500 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 17.6%
industry: 29%
services: 53.4% (2008 est.)
Labor force:
523.5 million (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 60%
industry: 12%
services: 28% (2003)
Unemployment rate:
9.1% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 118
7.2% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
25% (2007 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 31.1% (2005)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
36.8 (2004)
country comparison to the world: 79
37.8 (1997)
Investment (gross fixed):
39% of GDP (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6
Budget:
revenues: $126.7 billion
expenditures: $202.6 billion (2008 est.)
Public debt:
56.4% of GDP (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 30
59.7% of GDP (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
8.3% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 129
6.4% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
6% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 74
6% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
13.31% (31 December 2008)
Stock of money:
$NA (31 December 2008)
$250.9 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$NA (31 December 2008)
$647.3 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$NA (31 December 2008)
$769.3 billion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$645.5 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 9
$1.819 trillion (31 December 2007)
$818.9 billion (31 December 2006)
Agriculture - products:
rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes;
onions, dairy products, sheep, goats, poultry; fish
Industries:
textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation
equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software
Industrial production growth rate:
4.8% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 51
Electricity - production:
761.7 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6
Electricity - consumption:
568 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6
Electricity - exports:
216 million kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
4.96 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Oil - production:
883,500 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 23
Oil - consumption:
2.94 million bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5
Oil - exports:
671,200 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 23
Oil - imports:
2.518 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
Oil - proved reserves:
5.625 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 22
Natural gas - production:
32.2 billion cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 26
Natural gas - consumption:
42.99 billion cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 19
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2008)
country comparison to the world: 65
Natural gas - imports:
10.79 billion cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 22
Natural gas - proved reserves:
1.075 trillion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 25
Current account balance:
-$36.09 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 182
-$10.88 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$187.9 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 25
$150.7 billion (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
petroleum products, textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering
goods, chemicals, leather manufactures
Exports - partners:
US 12.3%, UAE 9.4%, China 9.3% (2008)
Imports:
$315.1 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 15
$231.6 billion (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals
Imports - partners:
China 11.1%, Saudi Arabia 7.5%, US 6.6%, UAE 5.1%, Iran 4.2%,
Singapore 4.2%, Germany 4.2% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$254 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5
$273.9 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$229.3 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 29
$206 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$144.2 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 23
$103.1 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$61.77 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 30
$38.82 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Exchange rates:
Indian rupees (INR) per US dollar - 43.319 (2008 est.), 41.487
(2007), 45.3 (2006), 44.101 (2005), 45.317 (2004)
Communications ::India
Telephones - main lines in use:
37.54 million (2009)
country comparison to the world: 7
Telephones - mobile cellular:
427.3 million (2009)
country comparison to the world: 2
Telephone system:
general assessment: recent deregulation and liberalization of
telecommunications laws and policies have prompted rapid growth;
local and long distance service provided throughout all regions of
the country, with services primarily concentrated in the urban
areas; steady improvement is taking place with the recent admission
of private and private-public investors, but combined fixed and
mobile telephone density remains low at about 40 for each 100
persons nationwide and much lower for persons in rural areas;
extremely rapid growth in cellular service with modest declines in
fixed lines
domestic: mobile cellular service introduced in 1994 and organized
nationwide into four metropolitan areas and 19 telecom circles each
with multiple private service providers and one or more state-owned
service providers; in recent years significant trunk capacity added
in the form of fiber-optic cable and one of the world's largest
domestic satellite systems, the Indian National Satellite system
(INSAT), with 6 satellites supporting 33,000 very small aperture
terminals (VSAT)
international: country code - 91; a number of major international
submarine cable systems, including Sea-Me-We-3 with landing sites at
Cochin and Mumbai (Bombay), Sea-Me-We-4 with a landing site at
Chennai, Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) with a landing
site at Mumbai (Bombay), South Africa - Far East (SAFE) with a
landing site at Cochin, the i2i cable network linking to Singapore
with landing sites at Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai (Madras), and Tata
Indicom linking Singapore and Chennai (Madras), provide a
significant increase in the bandwidth available for both voice and
data traffic; satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region); 9 gateway exchanges operating
from Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), Chennai
(Madras), Jalandhar, Kanpur, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, and Ernakulam
(2008)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 153, FM 91, shortwave 68 (1998)
Television broadcast stations:
562 (1997)
Internet country code:
.in
Internet hosts:
3.611 million (2009)
country comparison to the world: 22
Internet users:
81 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 4
Transportation ::India
Airports:
349 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 23
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 250
over 3,047 m: 20
2,438 to 3,047 m: 56
1,524 to 2,437 m: 76
914 to 1,523 m: 84
under 914 m: 14 (2009)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 99
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 42
under 914 m: 47 (2009)
Heliports:
37 (2009)
Pipelines:
condensate/gas 2 km; gas 6,061 km; liquid petroleum gas 2,156 km;
oil 7,678 km; refined products 6,876 km (2008)
Railways:
total: 63,327 km
country comparison to the world: 4
broad gauge: 49,820 km 1.676-m gauge (17,786 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 10,621 km 1.000-m gauge (135 km electrified); 2,886 km
0.762-m gauge and 0.610-m gauge (2007)
Roadways:
total: 3,316,452 km (includes 200 km of expressways) (2006)
country comparison to the world: 2
Waterways:
14,500 km
country comparison to the world: 9
note: 5,200 km on major rivers and 485 km on canals suitable for
mechanized vessels (2008)
Merchant marine:
total: 501
country comparison to the world: 23
by type: bulk carrier 102, cargo 241, carrier 1, chemical tanker 19,
container 13, liquefied gas 18, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 11,
petroleum tanker 92, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 12 (China 1, Germany 2, Hong Kong 1, UAE 6, UK 2)
registered in other countries: 61 (Barbados 1, Comoros 2, Cyprus 2,
Dominica 2, Liberia 2, Malta 2, Marshall Islands 1, Panama 27, Saint
Kitts and Nevis 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 7, Singapore 13,
unknown 1) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Chennai, Haldia, Jawaharal Nehru, Kandla, Kolkata (Calcutta),
Mormugao, Mumbai (Bombay), New Mangalore, Vishakhapatnam
Military ::India
Military branches:
Army, Navy (includes naval air arm), Air Force (Bharatiya Vayu
Sena), Coast Guard (2009)
Military service age and obligation:
16 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription;
women officers allowed in noncombat roles only (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 301,094,084
females age 16-49: 283,047,141 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 237,042,868
females age 16-49: 243,276,310 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 11.795 million
female: 10,820,590 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures:
2.5% of GDP (2006)
country comparison to the world: 66
Transnational Issues ::India
Disputes - international: