India

Location

• Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan
• dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal

Population

Notable Population Centers

City	Population	Note
Mumbai	12,691,836
Delhi	11,034,555
Bengaluru	8,495,492
Hyderabad	6,993,262
Ahmedabad	6,357,693
Chennai	4,681,087
Kolkata	4,631,392
Surat	4,591,246
Pune	3,124,458
Jaipur	3,046,163

Size

• 1,269,338 square miles
• 3,287,590 square kilometers
• slightly more than one-third the size of the US

History

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

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

Languages

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

Religions

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

Government

federal parliamentary republic

• Constitution: history: previous 1935 (pre-independence); latest draft completed 4 November 1949, adopted 26 November 1949, effective 26 January 1950amendment process: 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
• Political Parties and Leaders: n/a
• Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
• 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
• Executive Branch: chief of state: President Droupadi MURMU (since 25 July 2022)head of government: Prime Minister Narendra MODI (since 26 May 2014)cabinet: Union Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister, appointed by the presidentelection/appointment process: president indirectly elected for a 5-year term (no term limits) by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament; vice president indirectly elected for a 5-year term (no term limits) by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament; following legislative elections, the prime minister is elected by Lok Sabha members of the majority partymost recent election date: president: 18 July 2022vice president: 5 August 2022election 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-krishna GANDHI 32.1%expected date of next election: president: July 2027vice president: August 2027
• 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 65subordinate courts: High Courts; District Courts; Labour Court
• Legislative Branch: legislature name: Parliament (Sansad)legislative structure: bicameralnote: in September 2023, both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha passed a bill that reserves one third of the House seats for women; implementation could begin for the House election in 2029

Demographic Profile

n/a

Economy

• largest South Asian economy; strong, sustained GDP growth led by technology and service sectors, foreign investment, and improved regulatory framework; high poverty rate and income inequality; initiatives on infrastructure development, digitization, manufacturing, and financial access
• Budget: revenues: $311.824 billion (2022 est.)expenditures: $486.598 billion (2022 est.)note: central government revenues and expenses (excluding grants/extrabudgetary units/social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated
• Credit Rating: n/a
• 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
• Industries: textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software, pharmaceuticals
• Agricultural Products: sugarcane, rice, milk, wheat, bison milk, potatoes, vegetables, maize, bananas, onions (2023)note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
• Land Use: agricultural land: 60% (2022 est.)arable land: 51.9% (2022 est.)permanent crops: 4.6% (2022 est.)permanent pasture: 3.5% (2022 est.)forest: 24.4% (2022 est.)other: 15.5% (2022 est.)
• Labor Force by Occupation: n/a
• Imports
• Imported Commodities: crude petroleum, gold, coal, natural gas, integrated circuits (2023)note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
• Import Partners: China 19%, Russia 10%, USA 6%, UAE 6%, Saudi Arabia 5% (2023)note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
• Exports
• Exported Commodities: refined petroleum, packaged medicine, diamonds, broadcasting equipment, garments (2023)note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
• Export Partners: USA 19%, UAE 7%, China 4%, Germany 3%, UK 3% (2023)note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports