Legend:
Definition of Term
 Arranged
by Countries Field Listing
| Background: |
The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world,
goes back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest
invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier inhabitants
created the classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting
in the 8th century and Turkish in 12th were followed by European
traders beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century,
Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian
lands. Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism under Mohandas
GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU led to independence in 1947. The subcontinent
was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim
state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971
resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh.
Fundamental concerns in India include the ongoing dispute with
Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation,
extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife, all this despite
impressive gains in economic investment and output. |
| Location: |
Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal,
between Burma and Pakistan |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
20 00 N, 77 00 E |
| Map
references: |
Asia |
| Area: |
total: 3,287,590 sq km
land: 2,973,190 sq km
water: 314,400 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
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: |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental
margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
| Climate: |
varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north |
| Terrain: |
upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain
along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north |
| 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, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds,
petroleum, limestone, arable land |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 54.35%
permanent crops: 2.66%
other: 42.99% (1998 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
590,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
| 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,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, 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
|
| Population: |
1,045,845,226 (July 2002 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years: 32.7% (male 175,858,386; female 165,724,901)
15-64 years: 62.6% (male 338,957,463; female 316,063,497)
65 years and over: 4.7% (male 24,975,465; female 24,265,514)
(2002 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
1.51% (2002 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
23.79 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
8.62 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
-0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female
total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
61.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population: 63.23 years
female: 63.93 years (2002 est.)
male: 62.55 years |
| Total
fertility rate: |
2.98 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.7% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
3.7 million (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
310,000 (1999 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Indian(s)
adjective: Indian |
| Ethnic
groups: |
Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000) |
| Religions: |
Hindu 81.3%, Muslim 12%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other groups
including Buddhist, Jain, Parsi 2.5% (2000) |
| Languages: |
English enjoys associate status but is the most important language
for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is
the national language and primary tongue of 30% 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 |
| Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 52%
male: 65.5%
female: 37.7% (1995 est.)
|
| Country
name: |
conventional long form: Republic of India
conventional short form: India |
| Government
type: |
federal republic |
| Capital: |
New Delhi |
| 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, Pondicherry*, Punjab,
Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh,
West Bengal |
| Independence: |
15 August 1947 (from UK) |
| National
holiday: |
Republic Day, 26 January (1950) |
| Constitution: |
26 January 1950 |
| Legal
system: |
based on English common law; limited judicial review of legislative
acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age; universal |
| Executive
branch: |
chief of state: President Abdul KALAM (since 26 July
2002); Vice President (vacant)
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; election last held NA July
2002 (next to be held NA July 2007); vice president elected by
both houses of Parliament for a five-year term; election last
held 12 August 2002 (next to be held NA August 2007); prime minister
elected by parliamentary members of the majority party following
legislative elections; election last held NA October 1999 (next
to be held NA October 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Atal Bihari VAJPAYEE
(since 19 March 1998)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
on the recommendation of the prime minister
election results: Abdul KALAM elected president; percent
of electoral college vote - NA%; Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT elected
vice president; percent of Parliament vote - 59.8; Atal Bihari
VAJPAYEE elected prime minister; percent of vote - NA% |
| 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 which 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 5 September through
3 October 1999 (next to be held NA 2004)
election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by
party - BJP alliance 40.8%, Congress (I) alliance 33.8%, other
25.4%; seats by party - BJP alliance 304, Congress (I) alliance
134, other 107 |
| Judicial
branch: |
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president and remain
in office until they reach the age of 65) |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or AIADMK [C. Jayalalitha
JAYARAM]; All India Forward Bloc or AIFB, [D. BISWAS (general
secretary)]; Asom Gana Parishad [Brindaban GOSWAMI]; Bahujan Samaj
Party or BSP [MAYAWATI]; Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Jana KRISNAMURTHY];
Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India
or CPI [Ardhendu Bhushan BARDHAN]; Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist
or CPI/ML [Dipankar BHATTACHARYA]; Congress (I) Party [Sonia GANDHI];
Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or DMK (a regional party in Tamil Nadu)
[M. KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National League [Suliaman SAITH]; Janata
Dal (Secular) [H. D. Deve GOWDA]; Janata Dal (United) or JDU [Sharad
YADAV]; Kerala Congress (Mani faction) [K. M. MANI]; Marumalarchi
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or MDMK [VAIKO]; Muslim League [G. M.
BANATWALA]; Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR];
Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD [Laloo Prasad YADAV]; Revolutionary
Socialist Party or RSP [Abani ROY]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam
Singh YADAV]; Shiromani Akali Dal [G. S. TOHRA]; Shiv Sena [Bal
THACKERAY]; Tamil Maanila Congress [G. K. VASAN]; Telugu Desam
Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU]; Trinamool Congress [Mamata BANERJEE]
|
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including
Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh; various separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or
regional autonomy, including the All Parties Hurriyat Conference
|
| International
organization participation: |
AfDB, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner),
BIS, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G- 6, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO,
ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK,
UNMOVIC, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of mission: Ambassador Lalit MANSINGH
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, and San
Francisco
FAX: [1] (202) 483-3972
telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000
chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20008; note - Embassy located at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20008 |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert D. BLACKWILL
embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [91] (11) 419-8000
FAX: [91] (11) 419-0017
consulate(s) general: Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta),
Mumbai (Bombay) |
| Flag
description: |
three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and green
with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band;
similar to the flag of Niger, which has a small orange disk centered
in the white band
|
| Economy
- overview: |
India's economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern
agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and
a multitude of support services. Overpopulation severely handicaps
the economy and about a quarter of the population is too poor
to be able to afford an adequate diet. Government controls have
been reduced on imports and foreign investment, and privatization
of domestic output has proceeded slowly. The economy has posted
an excellent average growth rate of 6% since 1990, reducing poverty
by about 10 percentage points. India has large numbers of well-educated
people skilled in the English language; India is a major exporter
of software services and software workers. The poor monsoon of
mid-2002 has reduced agricultural output substantially. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $2.66 trillion (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
4.3% (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $2,540 (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: 25%
industry: 25%
services: 50% (2002 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
25% (2002 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 34% (1997) (1997) |
| Distribution
of family income - Gini index: |
38 (1997) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
5.4% (2002 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
406 million (1999) (1999) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture 60%, services 23%, industry 17% (1999) (1999) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
8.8% (2002) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $48.3 billion
expenditures: $78.2 billion, including capital expenditures
of $14 $13.5 billion (FY01/02 est.) |
| Industries: |
textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment,
cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
4.7% (2002 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
547.12 billion kWh (FY 2000-01, utilities only) (2000) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel: 83%
hydro: 14%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 3% |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
509.89 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
321 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
1.385 billion kWh (2000) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes;
cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish |
| Exports: |
$44.5 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals,
leather manufactures |
| Exports
- partners: |
US 20.9%, UK 5.2%, Germany 4.3%, Japan 4.0%, Benelux 3.3% (2000)
|
| Imports: |
$53.8 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals |
| Imports
- partners: |
UK 6.3%, US 6.0%, Belgium 5.7%, Japan 3.5%, Germany 3.5% (2000)
|
| Debt
- external: |
$100.6 billion (end-March 2001) (2001 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$2.9 billion (FY98/99) |
| Currency: |
Indian rupee (INR) |
| Currency
code: |
INR |
| Exchange
rates: |
Indian rupees per US dollar - 48.336 (January 2002), 47.186 (2001),
44.942 (2000), 43.055 (1999), 41.259 (1998), 36.313 (1997) |
| Fiscal
year: |
1 April - 31 March
|
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
27.7 million (October 2000) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
2.93 million (November 2000) |
| Telephone
system: |
general assessment: mediocre service; local and long
distance service provided throughout all regions of the country,
with services primarily concentrated in the urban areas; major
objective is to continue to expand and modernize long-distance
network to keep pace with rapidly growing number of local subscriber
lines; steady improvement is taking place with the recent admission
of private and private-public investors, but, with telephone density
at about two for each 100 persons and a waiting list of over 2
million, demand for main line telephone service will not be satisfied
for a very long time
domestic: local service is provided by microwave radio
relay and coaxial cable, with open wire and obsolete electromechanical
and manual switchboard systems still in use in rural areas; starting
in the 1980s, a substantial amount of digital switch gear has
been introduced for local and long-distance service; long-distance
traffic is carried mostly by coaxial cable and low-capacity microwave
radio relay; since 1985 significant trunk capacity has been added
in the form of fiber-optic cable and a domestic satellite system
with 254 earth stations; mobile cellular service is provided in
four metropolitan cities
international: satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Indian
Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region); nine gateway exchanges
operating from Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta),
Chennai (Madras), Jalandhar, Kanpur, Gaidhinagar, Hyderabad, and
Ernakulam; 4 submarine cables - LOCOM linking Chennai (Madras)
to Penang; Indo-UAE-Gulf cable linking Mumbai (Bombay) to Al Fujayrah,
UAE; India-SEA-ME-WE-3, SEA-ME-WE-2 with landing sites at Cochin
and Mumbai (Bombay); Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG)
with landing site at Mumbai (Bombay) (2000) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 153, FM 91, shortwave 68 (1998) |
| Radios: |
116 million (1997) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
562 (of which 82 stations have 1 kW or greater power and 480 stations
have less than 1 kW of power) (1997) |
| Televisions: |
63 million (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.in |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
43 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
7 million (2002)
|
| Railways: |
total: 63,693 km (13,771 km electrified)
broad gauge: 45,103 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 15,178 km 1.000-m gauge; 3,105 km 0.762-m
gauge; 307 km 0.610-m gauge (2001) |
| Highways: |
total: 3,319,644 km
paved: 1,517,077 km
unpaved: 1,802,567 km (1996) |
| Waterways: |
16,180 km
note: 3,631 km navigable by large vessels |
| Pipelines: |
crude oil 3,005 km; petroleum products 2,687 km; natural gas 1,700
km (1995) |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Chennai (Madras), Cochin, Jawaharal Nehru, Kandla, Kolkata (Calcutta),
Mumbai (Bombay), Vishakhapatnam |
| Merchant
marine: |
total: 319 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,325,284
GRT/10,581,459 DWT
ships by type: bulk 115, cargo 80, chemical tanker 16,
combination bulk 1, combination ore/oil 3, container 13, liquefied
gas 9, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 74, short-sea passenger
2, specialized tanker 1
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here
as a flag of convenience: China 1, United Arab Emirates 10, United
Kingdom 1 (2002 est.) |
| Airports: |
335 (2001) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total: 232
over 3,047 m: 14
2,438 to 3,047 m: 47
914 to 1,523 m: 73
under 914 m: 20 (2002)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 78 |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total: 102
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 9
under 914 m: 48 (2002)
914 to 1,523 m: 42 |
| Heliports: |
19 (2002)
|
| Military
branches: |
Army, Navy (including naval air arm), Air Force, Strategic Nuclear
Command (SNC), Coast Guard, various security or paramilitary forces
(including Border Security Force, Assam Rifles, Rashtriya Rifles,
National Security Guards, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Special
Frontier Force, Ladakh Scouts, Central Reserve Police Force, Central
Industrial Security Force, Railway Protection Force, Defense Security
Corps, and Indian Reserve Battalions) |
| Military
manpower - military age: |
17 years of age (2002 est.) |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age 15-49: 285,729,565 (2002 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age 15-49: 167,599,380 (2002 est.) |
| Military
manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males: 10,879,384 (2002 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$12,079.7 million (FY01) |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
2.5% (FY01)
|
|
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