Official name
Republic of India

Capital
New Delhi

Area
3,165,596 sq km

1,222,243 sq mi



People
Population
1,065,070,600 (2004 estimate)

Population growth
Population growth rate
1.44 percent (2004 estimate)


Projected population in 2025
1,361,625,090 (2004 estimate)


Projected population in 2050
1,601,004,572 (2004 estimate)



Population density
358 persons per sq km (2004 estimate)

928 persons per sq mi (2004 estimate)



Urban/rural distribution
Share urban
28 percent (2002 estimate)


Share rural
72 percent (2002 estimate)



Largest cities, with population
Kolkata (Calcutta)
13,216,546 (2001)


Delhi
12,791,458 (2001)


Mumbai (Bombay)
11,914,398 (2001)


Chennai (Madras)
6,424,624 (2001)


Hyderābād
5,533,640 (2001)



Ethnic groups
Indo-Aryan
72 percent


Dravidian
25 percent


Other
3 percent



Languages
There are 24 languages spoken in India by at least 1 million people each. Numerous other languages and dialects are also spoken. Hindi is the official national language and is the primary language for 40 percent of the population. Other official languages include Assamese, Bangla, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu and is spoken widely throughout northern India. English has associate status as the official working language and is important for national, political, and commercial matters.

Hindi
40 percent


Bengali
8 percent


Telugu
8 percent


Marathi
7 percent


Tamil
6 percent


Urdu
5 percent


Gujarati
5 percent


Kannada
4 percent


Malayalam
4 percent


Oriya
3 percent


Punjabi
3 percent


Assamese
2 percent


Other
5 percent



Religious affiliations
Hindu
75 percent


Muslim
12 percent


Christian
6 percent


Sikh
2 percent


Buddhist
1 percent


Nonreligious
1 percent


Other
3 percent



Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total
64 years (2004 estimate)


Female
64.8 years (2004 estimate)


Male
63.2 years (2004 estimate)



Infant mortality rate
58 deaths per 1,000 live births (2004 estimate)

Population per physician
2,462 people (1993)

Population per hospital bed
1,271 people (1991)

Literacy rate
Total
56 percent (2004 estimate)


Female
42.2 percent (2004 estimate)


Male
68.9 percent (2004 estimate)



Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP)
2.9 percent (1999-2000)

Number of years of compulsory schooling
8 years (1998)

Number of students per teacher, primary school
43 students per teacher (1999-2000)

Government
Form of government
Federal republic

Head of state
President

Head of government
Prime minister

Legislature
Bicameral legislature

Lok Sabha (House of the People): 545 members



Rajya Sabha (Council of States): 245 members



Voting qualifications
Universal at age 18

Constitution
26 January 1950

Highest court
Supreme Court

Armed forces
Army, Navy, Air Force
Total number of military personnel
1,325,000 (2002)


Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP)
2.7 percent (2002)



First-level political divisions
28 states and 7 union territories

Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$)
$510.2 billion (2002)

GDP per capita (U.S.$)
$490 (2002)

GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing
22.7 percent (2002)


Industry
26.6 percent (2002)


Services
50.7 percent (2002)



Employment
Number of workers
470,210,620 (2002)


Workforce share of economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing
67 percent (1995)


Industry
13 percent (1995)


Services
20 percent (1995)



Unemployment rate
Not available



National budget (U.S.$)
Total revenue
$62,906 million (2001)


Total expenditure
$83,775 million (2001)



Monetary unit
1 Indian rupee (Re), consisting of 100 paise


Agriculture
Sugarcane, rice, wheat, tea, cotton, jute, vegetables, melons, sorghum, millet, cashews, coffee, spices, livestock


Mining
Iron ore, coal, bauxite, manganese, mica, dolomite, copper, petroleum, natural gas, chromium, lead, limestone, phosphate rock, zinc, gold, silver


Manufacturing
Textiles, iron and steel, processed agricultural products, machinery, transportation equipment, nonferrous metals, fertilizer, refined petroleum, chemicals, computer software


Major exports
Gems and jewelry, engineering goods, garments, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, cotton yarn and fabrics, leather and leather goods, marine products, iron ore, tea, vegetables and fruit, petroleum products, handmade carpets


Major imports
Petroleum and petroleum products, nonelectric machinery, precious and semiprecious stones, inorganic chemicals, iron and steel, fertilizers, electrical machinery, resins and plastics


Major trade partners for exports
United States, United Kingdom, Hong Kong SAR, Germany, and Japan


Major trade partners for imports
United States, Singapore, Belgium, United Kingdom, and Germany


Energy, Communications, and Transportation
Electricity production
Electricity from thermal sources
81.72 percent (2001 estimate)


Electricity from hydroelectric sources
14.52 percent (2001 estimate)


Electricity from nuclear sources
3.42 percent (2001 estimate)


Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources
0.35 percent (2001 estimate)



Number of radios per 1,000 people
120 (1997)

Number of telephones per 1,000 people
40 (2002)

Number of televisions per 1,000 people
77 (2000 estimate)

Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people
0.75 (2002)

Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people
60 (1998)

Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people
0.1 (1998)

Paved road as a share of total roads
46 percent (1999)

Sources
Basic Facts and People sections
Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org).


Health and Education section
Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).


Government section
Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance.


Economy section
Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.


Energy, Communication, and Transportation section
Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org).


Note
Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.