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The World Factbook 2002
| India |

Introduction | India

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.

Geography | India

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% permanent crops: 3% other: 43% (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

People | India

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; Hindu 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.)

Government | India

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 16 August 1997 (next to be held NA August 2002); 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: Kocheril Raman NARAYANAN elected president; percent of electoral college vote - NA%; Krishnan KANT elected vice president; percent of Parliament vote - NA%; 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 (nominated March 2001) 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 | India

Economy - overview:

India's economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of support services. About a quarter of the population is too poor to be able to afford an adequate diet. India's international payments position remained strong in 2001 with adequate foreign exchange reserves, and moderately depreciating nominal exchange rates. Growth in manufacturing output has slowed, and electricity shortages continue in many regions. India has large numbers of well-educated people skilled in English language; India is a major exporter of software services and software workers.

GDP: | purchasing power parity - $2.5 trillion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 5% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 25% industry: 26% services: 49% (2001)
Population below poverty line: | 25% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 3.5% highest 10%: 33.5% (1997)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 37.8 (1997)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 3.5% (2000 est.)
Labor force: | 406 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture 60%, services 23%, industry 17% (1999)
Unemployment rate: | 4.4% (1999)
Budget: | revenues: $48.3 billion expenditures: $78.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $13.5 billion (FY01/02 est.)
Industries: | textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software
Industrial production growth rate: | 4.3% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: | 547.12 billion kWh (FY 2000-01, utilities only) (2000)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 83.4% hydro: 13.85% other: 0.18% (2000) nuclear: 2.57%
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 22.8%, Hong Kong 5.8%, Japan 5.3%, UK 5.3%, Germany 4.6% (2000)
Imports: | $53.8 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Imports - commodities: | crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals
Imports - partners: | Benelux 8.5%, US 8%, UK 6.2%, Japan 5.7%, Saudi Arabia 4.6% (2000)
Debt - external: | $100.3 billion (end-March 2001)
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

Communications | India

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: | 5 million (2001)

Transportation | India

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: 234 over 3,047 m: 14 2,438 to 3,047 m: 48 914 to 1,523 m: 75 under 914 m: 17 (2001) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 80
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 101 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 under 914 m: 52 (2001) 914 to 1,523 m: 41
Heliports: | 18 (2001)

Military | India

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: | $12,079,700,000 (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 2.5% (FY01)

Transnational Issues | India

Disputes - international:

discussions with Bangladesh remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, demarcate and fence off the entire boundary, exchange 162 minuscule enclaves, and allocate divided villages while skirmishes, illegal trafficking, and violence along the border continue; Bangladesh has protested India's attempts to fence off high traffic sections of the porous boundary; dispute with Bangladesh over New Moore/South Talpatty Island in the Bay of Bengal; much of the rugged, militarized boundary with China is in dispute but talks to resolve the least contested middle sector resumed in 2001; with Pakistan, armed stand-off over the status and sovereignty of Kashmir continues; dispute with Pakistan over terminus of Rann of Kutch prevents extension of a maritime boundary; water-sharing problems with Pakistan persist over the Indus River (Wular Barrage); Joint Border Committee formed with Nepal in 2001 is intended to resolve 53 disputed sections of boundary covering an area of 720 sq km

Illicit drugs: | world's largest producer of licit opium for the pharmaceutical trade, but an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets; transit country for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries; illicit producer of hashish and methaqualone

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002