| 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 onto 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. The British Indian Army played a vital role in both World Wars. Nonviolent resistance to British rule, led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU, eventually brought about independence in 1947. Communal violence led to the subcontinent's bloody partition, which resulted in the creation of two separate states, India and Pakistan. The two countries have fought three wars since independence, the last of which in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. India's nuclear weapons tests in 1998 caused Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year. In November 2008, terrorists allegedly originating from Pakistan conducted a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital. Despite pressing problems such as significant overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and widespread corruption, rapid economic development is fueling India's rise on the world stage. In January 2011, India assumed a nonpermanent seat in the UN Security Council for the 2011-12 term. |
| Geography | |
| Dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal | |
| Location: | Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan |
| Geographic coordinates: | 20 00 N, 77 00 E |
| Area: | total: 3,287,263 sq km land: 2,973,193 sq km water: 314,070 sq km Size comparison: slightly more than one-third the size of the US |
| Land Boundaries: | total: 14,103 km border countries: Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 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 extremes: | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m |
| Natural resources: | coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, rare earth elements, 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: | 622,860 sq km (2008) |
| Natural hazards: | droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes volcanism: Barren Island (elev. 354 m) in the Andaman Sea has been active in recent years |
| Current Environment Issues: | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification; air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap water is not potable throughout the country; huge and growing population is overstraining natural resources |
| International Environment 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 |
| People | |
| Population: | 1,189,172,906 (July 2011 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 29.7% (male 187,450,635/female 165,415,758) 15-64 years: 64.9% (male 398,757,331/female 372,719,379) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 30,831,190/female 33,998,613) (2011 est.) |
| Median age: | total: 26.2 years male: 25.6 years female: 26.9 years (2011 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 1.344% (2011 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 20.97 births/1,000 population (2011 est.) |
| Death rate: | 7.48 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | -0.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2011 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 47.57 deaths/1,000 live births male: 46.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 49.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 66.8 years male: 65.77 years female: 67.95 years (2011 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 2.62 children born/woman (2011 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.3% (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 2.4 million (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 170,000 (2009 est.) |
| 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 the status of subsidiary official language 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) |
| Government | |
| 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: | common law system based on the English model; separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus; judicial review of legislative acts |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: President Pratibha Devisingh PATIL (since 25 July 2007); Vice President Mohammad 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 (For more information visit the World Leaders website ) 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 2009 (next to be held no later than May 2014) 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 members elected by popular vote, 2 appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms) elections: People's Assembly - last held in five phases on 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; note - seats by party as November 2009 - INC 207, BJP 116, SP 22, 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 [MAYAWATI]; Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Nitin GADKARI]; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI [B. BARDHAN]; Communist Party of India-Marxist or CPI-M [Prakash KARAT]; Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or DMK [Kalaignar M.KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National Congress or INC [Sonia GANDHI]; Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) [Sharad YADAV]; Left Front (an alliance of Indian leftist parties); Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]; Rashtriya Lok Dal or RLD [Ajit SINGH]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV]; Shiromani Akali Dal or SAD [Parkash Singh BADAL]; Shiv Sena or SS [Bal THACKERAY]; Telugu Desam Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU]; 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 [Mohan BHAGWAT] (religious organization); Vishwa Hindu Parishad [Ashok SINGHAL] (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, CD, CERN (observer), CICA, CP, EAS, FAO, FATF, 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, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC, SACEP, SCO (observer), UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Nirupama RAO 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), Hyderabad; Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay) |
| Economy | |
| India is developing into an open-market economy, yet traces of its past autarkic policies remain. Economic liberalization, including industrial deregulation, privatization of state-owned enterprises, and reduced controls on foreign trade and investment, began in the early 1990s and has served to accelerate the country's growth, which has averaged more than 7% per year since 1997. India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Slightly more than half of the work force is in agriculture, but services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for more than half of India's output, with only 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 and software workers. In 2010, the Indian economy rebounded robustly from the global financial crisis - in large part because of strong domestic demand - and growth exceeded 8% year-on-year in real terms. Merchandise exports, which account for about 15% of GDP, returned to pre-financial crisis levels. An industrial expansion and high food prices, resulting from the combined effects of the weak 2009 monsoon and inefficiencies in the government's food distribution system, fueled inflation which peaked at about 11% in the first half of 2010, but has gradually decreased to single digits following a series of central bank interest rate hikes. In 2010 New Delhi reduced subsidies for fuel and fertilizers, sold a small percentage of its shares in some state-owned enterprises and auctioned off rights to radio bandwidth for 3G telecommunications in part to lower the government's deficit. The Indian Government seeks to hold its budget deficit to 5.5% of GDP in FY 2010-11, down from 6.8% in the previous fiscal year. India's long term challenges include widespread poverty, inadequate physical and social infrastructure, limited non-agricultural employment opportunities, insufficient access to quality basic and higher education, and accommodating rural-to-urban migration. | |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | GDP (purchasing power parity): $4.06 trillion (2010 est.) $3.679 trillion (2009 est.) $3.447 trillion (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | GDP (official exchange rate): $1.538 trillion (2010 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 10.4% (2010 est.) 6.8% (2009 est.) 6.2% (2008 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | GDP - per capita (PPP): $3,500 (2010 est.) $3,200 (2009 est.) $3,000 (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 18.5% industry: 26.3% services: 55.2% (2010 est.) |
| Labor force: | 478.3 million (2010 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 52% industry: 14% services: 34% (2009 est.) |
| Unemployment rate: | 10.8% (2010 est.) 10.7% (2009 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) 37.8 (1997) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12% (2010 est.) 10.9% (2009 est.) |
| Investment (gross fixed): | Investment (gross fixed): 30.2% of GDP (2010 est.) |
| Budget: | revenues: $185.4 billion expenditures: $269.8 billion (2010 est.) |
| Public debt: | 51.9% of GDP (2010 est.) 56.1% of GDP (2009 est.) |
| Agriculture - products: | rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, lentils, onions, potatoes; dairy products, sheep, goats, poultry; fish |
| Industries: | textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software, pharmaceuticals |
| Industrial production growth rate: | 10.6% (2010 est.) |
| Electricity - production: | 835.3 billion kWh (2009 est.) |
| Electricity - consumption: | 600.6 billion kWh (2008 est.) |
| Electricity - exports: | 810 million kWh (2009 est.) |
| Electricity - imports: | 5.27 billion kWh (2009 est.) |
| Oil - production: | 954,000 bbl/day (2010 est.) |
| Oil - consumption: | 3.182 million bbl/day (2010 est.) |
| Oil - exports: | 825,600 bbl/day (2009 est.) |
| Oil - imports: | 3.06 million bbl/day (2009 est.) |
| Oil - proved reserves: | 5.682 billion bbl (1 January 2011 est.) |
| Natural gas - production: | 52.8 billion cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption: | 64.95 billion cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - imports: | 12.15 billion cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - proved reserves: | 1.074 trillion cu m (1 January 2011 est.) |
| Current account balance: | -$51.78 billion (2010 est.) -$25.92 billion (2009 est.) |
| Exports: | $225.4 billion (2010 est.) $168.2 billion (2009 est.) |
| Exports - commodities: | petroleum products, precious stones, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, vehicles, apparel |
| Exports - partners: | US 12.6%, UAE 12.2%, China 8.1%, Hong Kong 4.1% (2010) |
| Imports: | $359 billion (2010 est.) $274.6 billion (2009 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: | crude oil, precious stones, machinery, fertilizer, iron and steel, chemicals |
| Imports - partners: | China 12.4%, UAE 6.5%, Saudi Arabia 5.8%, US 5.7%, Australia 4.5% (2010) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $287.1 billion (31 December 2010 est.) $274.7 billion (31 December 2009 est.) |
| Debt - external: | $238 billion (31 December 2010 est.) $225.6 billion (31 December 2009 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: | $188.1 billion (31 December 2010 est.) $164 billion (31 December 2009 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: | $90.36 billion (31 December 2010 est.) $77.21 billion (31 December 2009 est.) |
| Market value of publicly traded shares: | $1.616 trillion (31 December 2010) $1.179 trillion (31 December 2009) $645.5 billion (31 December 2008) |
| Exchange rates: | Indian rupees (INR) per US dollar - 46.163 (2010) 48.405 (2009) 43.319 (2008) 41.487 (2007) 45.3 (2006) |
| Communications | |
| Telephones in use: | 35.77 million (2010) country comparison to the world: 8 |
| Cellular Phones in use: | 670 million (2010) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: supported by recent deregulation and liberalization of telecommunications laws and policies, India has emerged as one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world; total telephone subscribership base reached 700 million, an overall teledensity of 60%, and subscribership is currently growing more than 15 million per month; urban teledensity has reached 100% and rural teledensity is about 20% and steadily growing 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 (2010) |
| Radio broadcast stations: | |
| Television broadcast stations: | |
| Internet country code: | .in |
| Internet hosts: | 4.536 million (2010) |
| Internet users: | 61.338 million (2009) |
| Transportation | |
| Airports: | 352 (2010) country comparison to the world: 23 |
| Airports (paved runways): | total: 249 over 3,047 m: 21 2,438 to 3,047 m: 57 1,524 to 2,437 m: 75 914 to 1,523 m: 81 under 914 m: 15 (2010) |
| Airports (unpaved runways): | total: 103 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 43 under 914 m: 48 (2010) |
| Heliports: | 40 (2010) |
| Pipelines: | condensate/gas 2 km; gas 9,596 km; liquid petroleum gas 2,152 km; oil 7,448 km; refined products 10,486 km (2010) |
| Railways: | total: 63,974 km broad gauge: 54,257 km 1.676-m gauge (18,927 km electrified) narrow gauge: 7,180 km 1.000-m gauge; 2,537 km 0.762-m gauge and 0.610-m gauge (2010) |
| Roadways: | total: 3,320,410 km (includes 200 km of expressways) (2009) |
| Waterways: | 14,500 km (5,200 km on major rivers and 485 km on canals suitable for mechanized vessels) (2008) |
| Merchant marine: | total: 324 by type: bulk carrier 94, cargo 78, chemical tanker 23, container 15, liquefied gas 11, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 12, petroleum tanker 87 foreign-owned: 8 (China 1, Hong Kong 1, Jersey 1, Malaysia 1, UAE 4) registered in other countries: 56 (Cyprus 2, Dominica 2, Liberia 1, Malta 4, Marshall Islands 8, Nigeria 1, Panama 17, Singapore 19, unknown 2) (2010) |
| Ports and terminals: | Chennai, Jawaharal Nehru Port, Kandla, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay), Sikka, Vishakhapatnam |
| Military | |
| Military branches: | Army, Navy (includes naval air arm), Air Force, Coast Guard (2011) |
| Military service age and obligation: | 17 years 6 months of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; women may join as officers, but for noncombat roles only (2010) |
| Manpower available for military service: | males age 16-49: 319,129,420 females age 16-49: 296,071,637 (2010 est.) |
| Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 249,531,562 females age 16-49: 240,039,958 (2010 est.) |
Post a Comment