2022 Edition

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 Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) 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 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 November 2008, terrorists originating from Pakistan conducted a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital. India's economic growth following the launch of economic reforms in 1991, a massive youthful population, and a strategic geographic location have contributed to India's emergence as a regional and global power. However, India still faces pressing problems such as environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and widespread corruption, and its restrictive business climate challenges economic growth expectations.

Area

land

2,973,193 sq km

total

3,287,263 sq km

water

314,070 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly more than one-third the size of the US

Climate

varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north

Coastline

7,000 km

Elevation

highest point

Kanchenjunga 8,586 m

lowest point

Indian Ocean 0 m

mean elevation

160 m

Geographic coordinates

20 00 N, 77 00 E

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

Irrigated land

715,539 sq km (2020)

Land boundaries

border countries

Bangladesh 4,142 km; Bhutan 659 km; Burma 1,468 km; China 2,659 km; Nepal 1,770 km; Pakistan 3,190 km

total

13,888 km

Land use

agricultural land

60.5% (2018 est.)

agricultural land: arable land

arable land: 52.8% (2018 est.)

agricultural land: permanent crops

permanent crops: 4.2% (2018 est.)

agricultural land: permanent pasture

permanent pasture: 3.5% (2018 est.)

forest

23.1% (2018 est.)

other

16.4% (2018 est.)

Location

Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan

Major aquifers

Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin

Major lakes (area sq km)

salt water lake(s)

Chilika Lake - 1,170 sq km

Major rivers (by length in km)

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 kmnote – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Indian Ocean drainage: Brahmaputra (651,335 sq km), Ganges (1,016,124 sq km), Indus (1,081,718 sq km), Irrawaddy (413,710 sq km)

Map references

Asia

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

Natural hazards

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

Natural resources

coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), antimony, iron ore, lead, manganese, mica, bauxite, rare earth elements, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land

Population distribution

with the notable exception of the deserts in the northwest, including the Thar Desert, and the mountain fringe in the north, a very high population density exists throughout most of the country; 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

Terrain

upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north

Age structure

0-14 years

26.31% (male 185,017,089/female 163,844,572)

15-24 years

17.51% (male 123,423,531/female 108,739,780)

25-54 years

41.56% (male 285,275,667/female 265,842,319)

55-64 years

7.91% (male 52,444,817/female 52,447,038)

65 years and over

6.72% (male 42,054,459/female 47,003,975) (2020 est.)

Alcohol consumption per capita

beer

0.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits

2.85 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total

3.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Birth rate

16.82 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)

Child marriage

men married by age 18

4.2% (2016 est.)

women married by age 15

6.8%

women married by age 18

27.3%

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

33.4% (2016/18)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

66.7% (2019/20)

Current health expenditure

3% of GDP (2019)

Death rate

10.3 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)

Dependency ratios

elderly dependency ratio

10.1

potential support ratio

9.9 (2021 est.)

total dependency ratio

48.1

youth dependency ratio

38.1

Drinking water source

improved: rural

rural: 94.7% of population

improved: total

total: 95.5% of population

improved: urban

urban: 96.9% of population

unimproved: rural

rural: 5.3% of population

unimproved: total

total: 4.5% of population (2020 est.)

unimproved: urban

urban: 3.1% of population

Education expenditures

4.5% of GDP (2020 est.)

Ethnic groups

Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, and other 3% (2000)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.2% (2021 est.)

Hospital bed density

0.5 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Infant mortality rate

female

30.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2022 est.)

male

29.95 deaths/1,000 live births

total

30.31 deaths/1,000 live births

Languages

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%; note - English enjoys the status of subsidiary official language but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; there are 22 other officially recognized languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language (2011 est.)

major-language sample(s)

विश्व फ़ैक्टबुक, आधारभूत जानकारी का एक अपरिहार्य स्त्रोत  (Hindi)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Life expectancy at birth

female

69.16 years (2022 est.)

male

65.46 years

total population

67.22 years

Literacy

definition

age 15 and over can read and write

female

65.8% (2018)

male

82.4%

total population

74.4%

Major infectious diseases

animal contact diseases

rabies

degree of risk

very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever

note

note: clusters of cases of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) are being reported across 27 States and Union Territories in India; as of 9 December 2022, India has reported a total of 44,674,439 cases of COVID-19 or 3,237.27 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with a total of 530,653 cumulative deaths or a rate 38.45 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 8 December 2022, 72.48% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine

vectorborne diseases

dengue fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria

water contact diseases

leptospirosis

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)

Maternal mortality ratio

145 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Median age

female

29.5 years (2020 est.)

male

28 years

total

28.7 years

Mother's mean age at first birth

21.2 years (2019/21)

note

note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49

Nationality

adjective

Indian

noun

Indian(s)

Net migration rate

0.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

3.9% (2016)

Physicians density

0.74 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Population

1,389,637,446 (2022 est.)

Population distribution

with the notable exception of the deserts in the northwest, including the Thar Desert, and the mountain fringe in the north, a very high population density exists throughout most of the country; 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

Population growth rate

0.67% (2022 est.)

Religions

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

Sanitation facility access

improved: rural

rural: 75.2% of population

improved: total

total: 83.4% of population

improved: urban

urban: 98.6% of population

unimproved: rural

rural: 24.8% of population

unimproved: total

total: 16.6% of population (2020 est.)

unimproved: urban

urban: 1.4% of population

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

female

12 years (2020)

male

12 years

total

12 years

Sex ratio

0-14 years

1.11 male(s)/female

15-24 years

1.12 male(s)/female

25-54 years

1.07 male(s)/female

55-64 years

0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over

0.71 male(s)/female

at birth

1.1 male(s)/female

total population

1.06 male(s)/female (2022 est.)

Tobacco use

female

13% (2020 est.)

male

41.3% (2020 est.)

total

27.2% (2020 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.1 children born/woman (2022 est.)

Urbanization

rate of urbanization

2.33% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

urban population

36.4% of total population (2023)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

female

21% (2020 est.)

male

19.5%

total

19.8%

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

note: although its status is that of a union territory, the official name of Delhi is National Capital Territory of Delhi

Capital

etymology

the city's name is associated with various myths and legends; the original name for the city may have been Dhilli or Dhillika; alternatively, the name could be a corruption of the Hindustani words "dehleez" or "dehali" - both terms meaning "threshold" or "gateway" - and indicative of the city as a gateway to the Gangetic Plain; after the British decided to move the capital of their Indian Empire from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911, they created a new governmental district south of the latter designated as New Delhi; the new capital was not formally inaugurated until 1931

geographic coordinates

28 36 N, 77 12 E

name

New Delhi

time difference

UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Citizenship

citizenship by birth

no

citizenship by descent only

at least one parent must be a citizen of India

dual citizenship recognized

no

residency requirement for naturalization

5 years

Constitution

amendments

proposed by either the Council of States or the House of the People; passage requires majority participation of the total membership in each house and at least two-thirds majority of voting members of each house, followed by assent of the president of India; proposed amendments to the constitutional amendment procedures also must be ratified by at least one half of the India state legislatures before presidential assent; amended many times, last in 2020

history

previous 1935 (preindependence); latest draft completed 4 November 1949, adopted 26 November 1949, effective 26 January 1950

Country name

conventional long form

Republic of India

conventional short form

India

etymology

the English name derives from the Indus River; the Indian name "Bharat" may derive from the "Bharatas" tribe mentioned in the Vedas of the second millennium B.C.; the name is also associated with Emperor Bharata, the legendary conqueror of all of India

local long form

Republic of India (English)/ Bharatiya Ganarajya (Hindi)

local short form

India (English)/ Bharat (Hindi)

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Patricia A. LACINA (since 9 September 2021)

consulate(s) general

Chennai (Madras), Hyderabad, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay)

email address and website

acsnd@state.govhttps://in.usembassy.gov/

embassy

Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi - 110021

FAX

[91] (11) 2419-0017

mailing address

9000 New Delhi Place, Washington DC  20521-9000

telephone

[91] (11) 2419-8000

Diplomatic representation in the US

chancery

2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; Consular Wing located at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

chief of mission

Ambassador Taranjit Singh SANDHU (since 6 February 2020)

consulate(s) general

Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco

email address and website

minca.washington@mea.gov.in (community affairs)https://www.indianembassyusa.gov.in/

FAX

[1] (202) 265-4351

telephone

[1] (202) 939-7000

Executive branch

cabinet

Union Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister, appointed by the president

chief of state

President Droupadi MURMU (since 25 July 2022); Vice President Jagdeep DHANKHAR (since 11 August 2022)

election results

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 kuishna GANDI 32.1%

elections/appointments

president indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament for a 5-year term (no term limits); election last held on 18 July 2022 (next to be held in July 2027); vice president indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament for a 5-year term (no term limits); election last held on 5 August 2022 (next to be held in August 2027); following legislative elections, the prime minister is elected by Lok Sabha members of the majority party

head of government

Prime Minister Narendra MODI (since 26 May 2014)

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; saffron represents courage, sacrifice, and the spirit of renunciation; white signifies purity and truth; green stands for faith and fertility; the blue chakra symbolizes the wheel of life in movement and death in stagnation

note

note: similar to the flag of Niger, which has a small orange disk centered in the white band

Government type

federal parliamentary republic

Independence

15 August 1947 (from the UK)

International law organization participation

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt

International organization participation

ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIMSTEC, BIS, BRICS, C, CD, CERN (observer), CICA, CP, EAS, FAO, FATF, G-15, G-20, G-24, G-5, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, PIF (partner), Quad, SAARC, SACEP, SCO (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNITAR, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNSOM, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Judicial branch

highest court(s)

Supreme Court (consists of 28 judges, including the chief justice)

judge selection and term of office

justices appointed by the president to serve until age 65

note

note: in mid-2011, India’s Cabinet approved the "National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reform" to eliminate judicial corruption and reduce the backlog of cases

subordinate courts

High Courts; District Courts; Labour Court

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

Legislative branch

description

bicameral Parliament or Sansad consists of:Council of States or Rajya Sabha (245 seats; 233 members indirectly elected by state and territorial assemblies by proportional representation vote and 12 members appointed by the president; members serve 6-year terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 2 years at various dates)House of the People or Lok Sabha (545 seats; 543 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 2 appointed by the president; members serve 5-year terms)

election results

Council of States - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - BJP 97, INC 34, AITC 13, DMK 10, other 2, independent 2; composition - men 209, women 29, percent of women 13.8%House of the People - percent of vote by party - BJP 55.8%, INC 9.6%, AITC 4.4%, YSRCP 4.4%, DMK 4.2%, SS 3.3%, JDU 2.9%, BJD 2.2%, BSP 1.8%, TRS 1.7%, LJP 1.1%, NCP 0.9%, SP 0.9%, other 6.4%, independent 0.7%; seats by party - BJP 303, INC 52, DMK 24, AITC 22, YSRCP 22, SS 18, JDU 16, BJD 12, BSP 10, TRS 9, LJP 6, NCP 5, SP 5, other 35, independent 4, vacant 2; composition - men 465, women 78, percent of women 14.3%; note - total Parliament percent of women 11.3%

elections

Council of States - last held by state and territorial assemblies at various dates in 2019 (in progress March through July 2022 to fill 70 expiry seats)House of the People - last held April-May 2019 in 7 phases (next to be held in 2024)

National anthem

lyrics/music

Rabindranath TAGORE

name

"Jana-Gana-Mana" (Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All People)

note

note: adopted 1950; Rabindranath TAGORE, a Nobel laureate, also wrote Bangladesh's national anthem

National heritage

selected World Heritage Site locales

Taj Mahal (c); Red Fort Complex (c); Ellora Caves (c); Hill Forts of Rajasthan (c); Sundarbans National Park (n); Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka (c); Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park (c); Dholavira: A Harappan City (c); Jaipur (c); Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya (c); Manas Wildlife Sanctuary (n); Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks (n); Khangchendzonga National Park (m)

total World Heritage Sites

40 (32 cultural, 7 natural, 1 mixed)

National holiday

Republic Day, 26 January (1950)

National symbol(s)

the Lion Capital of Ashoka, which depicts four Asiatic lions standing back to back mounted on a circular abacus, is the official emblem; Bengal tiger; lotus flower; national colors: saffron, white, green

Political parties and leaders

Aam Aadmi Party or AAP [Arvind KEJRIWAL]All India Trinamool Congress or AITC [Mamata BANERJEE]Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI]Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Jagat Prakash NADDA]Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen PATNAIK]Communist Party of India-Marxist or CPI(M) [Sitaram YECHURY]Dravida Munnetra Khazhagam [Muthuvel Karunanidhi STALIN]Indian National Congress or INC [Mallikarjun KHARGE]Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD [Lalu Prasad YADAV]Samajwadi Party or SP [Akhilesh YADAV]Shiromani Akali Dal or SAD [Sukhbir Singh BADAL]Shiv Sena or SS [Uddhav THACKERAY]Telegana Rashtra Samithi or TRS [K. Chandrashekar RAO]Telugu Desam Party or TDP [N. Chandrababu NAIDU]YSR Congress or YSRCP or YCP [Y.S. Jaganmohan REDDY]

note

note: India has dozens of national and regional political parties

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Agricultural products

sugar cane, rice, wheat, buffalo milk, milk, potatoes, vegetables, bananas, maize, mangoes/guavas

Budget

expenditures

329 billion (2017 est.)

revenues

238.2 billion (2017 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-3.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Credit ratings

Fitch rating

BBB- (2006)

Moody's rating

Baa3 (2020)

note

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

Standard & Poors rating

BBB- (2007)

Current account balance

Current account balance 2018

-$65.939 billion (2018 est.)

Current account balance 2019

-$29.748 billion (2019 est.)

Debt - external

Debt - external 2018

$518.34 billion (2018 est.)

Debt - external 2019

$555.388 billion (2019 est.)

Economic overview

India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Slightly less than half of the workforce is in agriculture, but services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for nearly two-thirds of India's output but employing less than one-third of its labor force. India has capitalized on its large educated English-speaking population to become a major exporter of information technology services, business outsourcing services, and software workers. Nevertheless, per capita income remains below the world average. India is developing into an open-market economy, yet traces of its past autarkic policies remain. Economic liberalization measures, including industrial deregulation, privatization of state-owned enterprises, and reduced controls on foreign trade and investment, began in the early 1990s and served to accelerate the country's growth, which averaged nearly 7% per year from 1997 to 2017.   India's economic growth slowed in 2011 because of a decline in investment caused by high interest rates, rising inflation, and investor pessimism about the government's commitment to further economic reforms and about slow world growth. Investors’ perceptions of India improved in early 2014, due to a reduction of the current account deficit and expectations of post-election economic reform, resulting in a surge of inbound capital flows and stabilization of the rupee. Growth rebounded in 2014 through 2016. Despite a high growth rate compared to the rest of the world, India’s government-owned banks faced mounting bad debt, resulting in low credit growth. Rising macroeconomic imbalances in India and improving economic conditions in Western countries led investors to shift capital away from India, prompting a sharp depreciation of the rupee through 2016.   The economy slowed again in 2017, due to shocks of "demonetizaton" in 2016 and introduction of GST in 2017. Since the election, the government has passed an important goods and services tax bill and raised foreign direct investment caps in some sectors, but most economic reforms have focused on administrative and governance changes, largely because the ruling party remains a minority in India’s upper house of Parliament, which must approve most bills.   India has a young population and corresponding low dependency ratio, healthy savings and investment rates, and is increasing integration into the global economy. However, long-term challenges remain significant, including: India's discrimination against women and girls, an inefficient power generation and distribution system, ineffective enforcement of intellectual property rights, decades-long civil litigation dockets, inadequate transport and agricultural infrastructure, limited non-agricultural employment opportunities, high spending and poorly targeted subsidies, inadequate availability of quality basic and higher education, and accommodating rural-to-urban migration.

Exchange rates

Currency

Indian rupees (INR) per US dollar -

Exchange rates 2013

61.03 (2013 est.)

Exchange rates 2014

64.152 (2014 est.)

Exchange rates 2018

70.7675 (2018 est.)

Exchange rates 2019

71.05 (2019 est.)

Exchange rates 2020

73.565 (2020 est.)

Exports

Exports 2018

$537.04 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Exports 2019

$546.03 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Exports 2020

$484.95 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Exports - commodities

refined petroleum, diamonds, packaged medicines, jewelry, cars (2019)

Exports - partners

United States 17%, United Arab Emirates 9%, China 5% (2019)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

GDP - composition, by end use

exports of goods and services

19.1% (2017 est.)

government consumption

11.5% (2017 est.)

household consumption

59.1% (2017 est.)

imports of goods and services

-22% (2017 est.)

investment in fixed capital

28.5% (2017 est.)

investment in inventories

3.9% (2017 est.)

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture

15.4% (2016 est.)

industry

23% (2016 est.)

services

61.5% (2016 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$2.836 trillion (2019 est.)

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income 1997

37.8 (1997)

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income 2011

35.7 (2011 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

highest 10%

29.8% (2011)

lowest 10%

3.6%

Imports

Imports 2018

$642.96 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Imports 2019

$619.48 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Imports 2020

$493.18 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Imports - commodities

crude petroleum, gold, coal, diamonds, natural gas (2019)

Imports - partners

China 15%, United States 7%, United Arab Emirates 6%, Saudi Arabia 5% (2019)

Industrial production growth rate

5.5% (2017 est.)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2017

3.3% (2017 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2018

3.9% (2018 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2019

3.7% (2019 est.)

Labor force

521.9 million (2017 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture

47%

industry

22%

services

31% (FY 2014 est.)

Population below poverty line

21.9% (2011 est.)

Public debt

note

note: data cover central government debt, and exclude debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data exclude debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions

Public debt 2016

69.5% of GDP (2016 est.)

Public debt 2017

71.2% of GDP (2017 est.)

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

note

note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2018

$8.817 trillion (2018 est.)

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2019

$9.174 trillion (2019 est.)

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2020

$8.443 trillion (2020 est.)

Real GDP growth rate

Real GDP growth rate 2017

6.55% (2017 est.)

Real GDP growth rate 2018

6.78% (2018 est.)

Real GDP growth rate 2019

4.86% (2019 est.)

Real GDP per capita

note

note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real GDP per capita 2018

$6,500 (2018 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2019

$6,700 (2019 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2020

$6,100 (2020 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 31 December 2016

$359.7 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 31 December 2017

$409.8 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

9.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Unemployment rate

Unemployment rate 2016

8.5% (2016 est.)

Unemployment rate 2017

8.5% (2017 est.)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

female

21% (2020 est.)

male

19.5%

total

19.8%

Carbon dioxide emissions

from coal and metallurgical coke

1,574,331,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

from consumed natural gas

124.505 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

from petroleum and other liquids

615.903 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

total emissions

2,314,738,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Coal

consumption

883.979 million metric tons (2020 est.)

exports

1.029 million metric tons (2020 est.)

imports

219.212 million metric tons (2020 est.)

production

743.214 million metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves

105.931 billion metric tons (2019 est.)

Electricity

consumption

1,229,387,712,000 kWh (2019 est.)

exports

9.491 billion kWh (2019 est.)

imports

5.794 billion kWh (2019 est.)

installed generating capacity

432.768 million kW (2020 est.)

transmission/distribution losses

270.701 billion kWh (2019 est.)

Electricity access

electrification - rural areas

99% (2019)

electrification - total population

99% (2019)

electrification - urban areas

99% (2019)

Electricity generation sources

biomass and waste

2.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

fossil fuels

75.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

geothermal

0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

hydroelectricity

10.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

nuclear

2.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

solar

4.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

tide and wave

0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

wind

4.6% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Energy consumption per capita

Total energy consumption per capita 2019

23.231 million Btu/person (2019 est.)

Natural gas

consumption

61,646,806,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)

exports

91.916 million cubic meters (2019 est.)

imports

33,911,973,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)

production

27,734,833,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)

proven reserves

1,380,614,000,000 cubic meters (2021 est.)

Petroleum

crude oil and lease condensate exports

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports

4.53 million bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves

4,604,900,000 barrels (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption

4,920,100 bbl/day (2019 est.)

total petroleum production

771,400 bbl/day (2021 est.)

Refined petroleum products - exports

1.305 million bbl/day (2015 est.)

Refined petroleum products - imports

653,300 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Refined petroleum products - production

4.897 million bbl/day (2015 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

2 (2020 est.)

total

22.95 million (2020 est.)

Broadcast media

Doordarshan, India's public TV network, has a monopoly on terrestrial broadcasting and operates about 20 national, regional, and local services; a large and increasing number of privately owned TV stations are distributed by cable and satellite service providers; in 2020, 130 million households paid for cable and satellite television across India and as of 2018, cable and satellite TV offered over 850 TV channels; government controls AM radio with All India Radio operating domestic and external networks; news broadcasts via radio are limited to the All India Radio Network; since 2000, privately owned FM stations have been permitted and their numbers have increased rapidly (2020)

Internet country code

.in

Internet users

percent of population

43% (2020 est.)

total

593.4 million (2020 est.)

Telecommunication systems

domestic

fixed-line subscriptions stands at roughly 1 per 100 and mobile-cellular at nearly 84 per 100 (2020)

general assessment

India’s telecommunications sector has struggled for growth over the last five years; the sector’s lackluster performance has been in spite of concerted efforts by the government to bolster the underlying infrastructure in a bid to achieve universal coverage; instead, the country’s relatively liberal regulatory environment has encouraged fierce competition and price wars among the operators; State-owned as well as private operators have been forced to seek redress from the government in order to avoid bankruptcy; one particular area of contention has been the billions owed by the operators to the government in the form of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues – usage and licensing fees charged by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) – that have been the subject of long-standing court battles over what should be counted as revenue; the government won that battle in the Supreme Court in 2019, but the financial impairment of that decision has pushed a number of telcos to the brink; add the impact of the Covid-19 crisis in 2020 and 2021 to the mix, and the government had to come to the industry’s rescue by introducing a major reform package in September 2021; along with changes to the definition of AGR with regard to non-telecom revenue, the package includes a four-year moratorium on AGR dues and spectrum instalments; the government has also deferred the spectrum auctions for 5G until later in 2022; mobile spectrum in India is already in short supply in terms of providing the necessary capacity to reach universal coverage, but the cash-strapped MNOs may not yet be in a sufficiently strong financial position for which to make the 5G spectrum auction viable (2022)

international

country code - 91; a number of major international submarine cable systems, including SEA-ME-WE-3 & 4, AAE-1, BBG, EIG, FALCON, FEA, GBICS, MENA, IMEWE, SEACOM/ Tata TGN-Eurasia, SAFE, WARF, Bharat Lanka Cable System, IOX, Chennai-Andaman & Nicobar Island Cable, SAEx2, Tata TGN-Tata Indicom and i2icn that provide connectivity to Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, South East Asia, numerous Indian Ocean islands including Australia ; satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat; Indian Ocean region (2022)

note

note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress toward 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services

Telephones - fixed lines

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

1 (2020 est.)

total subscriptions

20,052,162 (2020 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

84 (2020 est.)

total subscriptions

1.15 billion (2020 est.)

Airports

total

346 (2021)

Airports - with paved runways

1,524 to 2,437 m

76

2,438 to 3,047 m

59

914 to 1,523 m

82

over 3,047 m

22

total

253

under 914 m

14 (2021)

Airports - with unpaved runways

1,524 to 2,437 m

6

2,438 to 3,047 m

3

914 to 1,523 m

38

over 3,047 m

1

total

93

under 914 m

45 (2021)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

VT

Heliports

45 (2021)

Merchant marine

by type

bulk carrier 63, container ship 22, general cargo 587, oil tanker 136, other 993 (2021)

total

1,801

National air transport system

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers

2,703,960,000 (2018) mt-km

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers

164,035,637 (2018)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers

485

number of registered air carriers

14 (2020)

Pipelines

17,389 km natural gas, 10, 419 km crude oil, 3,544 liquid petroleum gas, 14,729 km refined products (2020) 9 km condensate/gas, 20 km oil/gas/water (2013) (2020)

Ports and terminals

container port(s) (TEUs)

Jawaharal Nehru Port (5,100,891), Mundra (4,732,699) (2019)

LNG terminal(s) (import)

Dabhol, Dahej, Hazira, Kochi

major seaport(s)

Chennai, Jawaharal Nehru Port, Kandla, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay), Sikka, Vishakhapatnam

Railways

broad gauge

63,950 km (2014) (39, 329 km electrified)

narrow gauge

1,604 km (2014) 1.000-m gauge

total

65,554 km (2014)

Roadways

note

note: includes 96,214 km of national highways and expressways, 147,800 km of state highways, and 4,455,010 km of other roads

total

6,371,847 km (2021) note: includes 140,995 km of national highways and expressways, 171.039 km of state highways , and 6,059,813 km of other roads

Waterways

14,500 km (2012) (5,200 km on major rivers and 485 km on canals suitable for mechanized vessels)

Military - note

as of 2022, the Indian Armed Forces were chiefly focused on China and Pakistan; the short 1962 Sino-India War left in place one of the world’s longest disputed international borders, resulting in occasional standoffs between Indian and Chinese security forces, including lethal clashes in 1975 and 2020; meanwhile, India and Pakistan have fought several conflicts since 1947, including the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 and the Indo-Pakistan and Bangladesh War of Independence of 1971, as well as two clashes over the disputed region of Kashmir (the First Kashmir War of 1947 and the 1999 Kargil Conflict); a fragile cease-fire in Kashmir was reached in 2003, revised in 2018, and reaffirmed in 2021, although the Line of Control remained contested as of 2022, and India has accused Pakistan of backing armed separatists and terrorist organizations in Jammu and Kashmir where Indian forces have conducted counterinsurgency operations since the 1980s; in addition, India and Pakistan have battled over the Siachen Glacier of Kashmir, which was seized by India in 1984 with Pakistan attempting to retake the area at least three times between 1985 and 1995; despite a cease-fire, as of 2022 both sides continued to maintain a permanent military presence there with outposts at altitudes above 20,000 feet (over 6,000 meters) where most casualties were due to extreme weather and the hazards of operating in the high mountain terrain of the world’s highest conflict, including avalanches, exposure, and altitude sickness (2022)

Military and security forces

Indian Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard; Frontier Corps; Defense Security Corps; Ministry of Home Affairs: Central Armed Police Forces (includes Assam Rifles, Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, National Security Guards, Sashastra Seema Bal) (2022)

note

note 1: the Defense Security Corps provides security for Ministry of Defense sitesnote 2: the Border Security Force (BSF) is responsible for the Indo-Pakistan and Indo-Bangladesh borders; the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB or Armed Border Force) guards the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan bordersnote 3: the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) includes a Rapid Reaction Force (RAF) for riot control and the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA) for counter-insurgency operations note 4: the Assam Rifles are under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs, while operational control falls under the Ministry of Defense (specifically the Indian Army)

Military and security service personnel strengths

information varies; approximately 1.45 million active personnel (estimated 1.25 million Army; 65,000 Navy; 140,000 Air Force; 12,000 Coast Guard) (2022)

Military deployments

1,900 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO); 110 Golan Heights (UNDOF); 900 Lebanon (UNIFIL); 2,350 South Sudan (UNMISS); 310 Sudan (UNISFA) (May 2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the military's inventory consists mostly of Russian- and Soviet-origin equipment along with a smaller mix of Western and domestically-produced arms; since 2010, Russia has been the leading supplier of arms to India; other key suppliers included France, Israel, and the US; India's defense industry is capable of producing a range of air, land, missile, and naval weapons systems for both domestic use and export; it also produces weapons systems under license (2022)

Military expenditures

Military Expenditures 2017

2.4% of GDP (2017) (approximately $83.8 billion)

Military Expenditures 2018

2.4% of GDP (2018) (approximately $88.2 billion)

Military Expenditures 2019

2.4% of GDP (2019) (approximately $93.9 billion)

Military Expenditures 2020

2.6% of GDP (2020 est.)

Military Expenditures 2021

2.2% of GDP (2021 est.)

Military service age and obligation

ages vary by service, but generally 16.5-27 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; no conscription (2022)

note

note 1: in 2022, the Indian Government announced that it would begin recruiting 46,000 men aged 17.5-21 annually to serve on 4-year contracts under a process called the Agnipath scheme; at the end of their tenure, 25% would be retained for longer terms of service, while the remainder would be forced to leave the military, although some of those leaving would be eligible to serve in the Coast Guard, the Merchant Navy, civilian positions in the Ministry of Defense, and in the paramilitary forces of the Ministry of Home Affairs, such as the Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Riflesnote 2: as of 2022, women made up about .59% of the Army, 1.1% of the Air Force, and 6% of the Navynote 3: the Indian military accepts citizens of Nepal and Bhutan; descendants of refugees from Tibet who arrived before 1962 and have resided permanently in India; peoples of Indian origin from nations such as Burma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India; eligible candidates from “friendly foreign nations” may apply to the Armed Forces Medical Services note 4: the British began to recruit Nepalese citizens (Gurkhas) into the East India Company Army during the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814-1816), and the Gurkhas subsequently were brought into the British Indian Army; following the partition of India in 1947, an agreement between Nepal, India, and Great Britain allowed for the transfer of the 10 regiments from the British Indian Army to the separate British and Indian armies; six regiments of Gurkhas (aka Gorkhas in India) regiments went to the new Indian Army; a seventh regiment was later added 

Disputes - international

India-China: since China and India launched a security and foreign policy dialogue in 2005, consolidated discussions related to the dispute over most of their rugged, militarized boundary, regional nuclear proliferation, Indian claims that China transferred missiles to Pakistan, and other matters continue; Kashmir remains the site of the world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas) India-Pakistan: India and Pakistan resumed bilateral dialogue in February 2011 after a two-year hiatus, have maintained the 2003 cease-fire in Kashmir, and continue to have disputes over water sharing of the Indus River and its tributaries; UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan has maintained a small group of peacekeepers since 1949; India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; to defuse tensions and prepare for discussions on a maritime boundary, India and Pakistan seek technical resolution of the disputed boundary in Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch in the Arabian Sea; Pakistani maps continue to show its Junagadh claim in Indian Gujarat State India-Bangladesh: Prime Minister SINGH's September 2011 visit to Bangladesh resulted in the signing of a Protocol to the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh, which had called for the settlement of longstanding boundary disputes over un-demarcated areas and the exchange of territorial enclaves, but which had never been implemented; Bangladesh referred its maritime boundary claims with Burma and India to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea India-Nepal: the Joint Border Committee with Nepal continues to examine contested boundary sections, including the 400 sq km dispute over the source of the Kalapani River; India maintains a strict border regime to keep out Maoist insurgents and control illegal cross-border activities from Nepal

Illicit drugs

source and transit point for illicit narcotics and precursor chemicals bound for Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia, and North America; in 2020 India exported over $19 billion of illegal pharmaceutical drugs; illegal opium poppy growing in the Northeast; traffickers retool commercial chemical factories to produce large volumes of ephedrine, methamphetamine, and other drugs illicitly  

Refugees and internally displaced persons

IDPs

506,000 (armed conflict and intercommunal violence) (2021)

refugees (country of origin)

92,885 (Sri Lanka), 73,407 (Tibet/China), 20,325 (Burma), 8,537 (Afghanistan) (mid-year 2021)

stateless persons

19,677 (mid-year 2021)

Terrorist group(s)

Harakat ul-Mujahidin; Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami; Hizbul Mujahideen; Indian Mujahedeen; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham – India; Jaish-e-Mohammed; Lashkar-e Tayyiba; al-Qa’ida; al-Qa’ida in the Indian Subcontinent; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force

note

note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in Appendix-T

Air pollutants

carbon dioxide emissions

2,407.67 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions

559.11 megatons (2020 est.)

particulate matter emissions

65.2 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

Climate

varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north

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; preservation and quality of forests; biodiversity loss

Environment - international agreements

party to

Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified

none of the selected agreements

Land use

agricultural land

60.5% (2018 est.)

agricultural land: arable land

arable land: 52.8% (2018 est.)

agricultural land: permanent crops

permanent crops: 4.2% (2018 est.)

agricultural land: permanent pasture

permanent pasture: 3.5% (2018 est.)

forest

23.1% (2018 est.)

other

16.4% (2018 est.)

Major aquifers

Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin

Major infectious diseases

animal contact diseases

rabies

degree of risk

very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever

note

note: clusters of cases of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) are being reported across 27 States and Union Territories in India; as of 9 December 2022, India has reported a total of 44,674,439 cases of COVID-19 or 3,237.27 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with a total of 530,653 cumulative deaths or a rate 38.45 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 8 December 2022, 72.48% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine

vectorborne diseases

dengue fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria

water contact diseases

leptospirosis

Major lakes (area sq km)

salt water lake(s)

Chilika Lake - 1,170 sq km

Major rivers (by length in km)

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 kmnote – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Indian Ocean drainage: Brahmaputra (651,335 sq km), Ganges (1,016,124 sq km), Indus (1,081,718 sq km), Irrawaddy (413,710 sq km)

Revenue from coal

coal revenues

1.15% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

forest revenues

0.14% of GDP (2018 est.)

Total renewable water resources

1.911 trillion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total water withdrawal

agricultural

688 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial

17 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

municipal

56 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Urbanization

rate of urbanization

2.33% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

urban population

36.4% of total population (2023)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually

168,403,240 tons (2001 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually

8,420,162 tons (2013 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled

5% (2013 est.)