Introduction
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. 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. Years of nonviolent resistance to British rule eventually resulted in Indian independence in 1947.
Geography
Area
total : 3,287,263 sq km
land: 2,973,193 sq km
water: 314,070 sq km
Climate
varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
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
People and Society
Population
total: 1,409,128,296
Ethnic groups
Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, and other 3% (2000)
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.)
Religions
Hindu 79.8%, Muslim 14.2%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.7%, other and unspecified 2% (2011 est.)
Population growth rate
0.72% (2024 est.)
Government
Government type
federal parliamentary republic
Capital
name: New Delhi
Executive branch
chief of state: President Droupadi MURMU (since 25 July 2022)
head of government: Prime Minister Narendra MODI (since 26 May 2014)
Legislative branch
summary: bicameral Parliament consists of the Council of States (245 seats) and the House of the People (545 seats)
Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Sripriya RANGANATHAN (since 1 February 2024)
Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Eric M. GARCETTI (since 11 May 2023)
Economy
Economic overview
largest South Asian economy; still informal domestic economies; COVID-19 reversed both economic growth and poverty reduction; credit access weaknesses contributing to lower private consumption and inflation; new social and infrastructure equity efforts
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$13.104 trillion (2023 est.)
$12.18 trillion (2022 est.)
$11.384 trillion (2021 est.)
Real GDP per capita
$9,200 (2023 est.)
$8,600 (2022 est.)
$8,100 (2021 est.)
Exports
$773.224 billion (2023 est.)
$767.643 billion (2022 est.)
$643.08 billion (2021 est.)
Exports - partners
US 18%, UAE 7%, Netherlands 4%, China 3%, Bangladesh 3% (2022)
Exports - commodities
refined petroleum, diamonds, packaged medicine, garments, jewelry (2022)
Imports
$859.485 billion (2023 est.)
$902.304 billion (2022 est.)
$717.119 billion (2021 est.)
Imports - partners
China 15%, UAE 7%, US 7%, Saudi Arabia 6%, Russia 6% (2022)
Imports - commodities
crude petroleum, coal, gold, natural gas, diamonds (2022)
Page last updated: Thursday, September 05, 2024
