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SOUTH ASIA :: INDIA

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  Introduction :: INDIA

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• 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. 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 Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) 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 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. 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, which was granted in 1947. Large-scale communal violence took place before and after the subcontinent partition into two separate states - India and Pakistan. The neighboring nations 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 November 2008, terrorists originating from Pakistan conducted a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital. Despite pressing problems such as significant overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and widespread corruption, economic growth following the launch of economic reforms in 1991 and a massive youthful population are driving India's emergence as a regional and global power.
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  Geography :: INDIA

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• 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: 3,287,263 sq km
  land: 2,973,193 sq km
  water: 314,070 sq km
  country comparison to the world: 8
  Area - comparative:
  slightly more than one-third the size of the US
  Land boundaries:
  total: 13,888 km
  border countries (6): Bangladesh 4,142 km, Bhutan 659 km, Burma 1,468 km, China 2,659 km, Nepal 1,770 km, Pakistan 3,190 km
  Coastline:
  7,000 km
  Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 12 nm
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  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:
  mean elevation: 160 m
  elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,586 m
  Natural resources:
  coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, rare earth elements, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land
  Land use:
  agricultural land: 60.5%
  arable land 52.8%; permanent crops 4.2%; permanent pasture 3.5%
  forest: 23.1%
  other: 16.4% (2011 est.)
  Irrigated land:
  667,000 sq km (2012)
  Population - distribution:
  with the notable exception of the deserts in the northwest, including the Thar Desert, and the mountain fringe in the north, a very high population density exists throughout most of the country; the core of the population is in the north along the banks of the Ganges, with other river valleys and southern coastal areas also having large population concentrations
  Natural hazards:
  droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes
  volcanism: Barren Island (354 m) in the Andaman Sea has been active in recent years
  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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, 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; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal
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  People and Society :: INDIA

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• Population:
  1,281,935,911 (July 2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 2
  Nationality:
  noun: Indian(s)
  adjective: Indian
  Ethnic groups:
  Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)
  Languages:
  Hindi 41%, Bengali 8.1%, Telugu 7.2%, Marathi 7%, Tamil 5.9%, Urdu 5%, Gujarati 4.5%, Kannada 3.7%, Malayalam 3.2%, Oriya 3.2%, Punjabi 2.8%, Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.2%, other 5.9%
  note: English enjoys the status of subsidiary official language but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the most widely spoken language and primary tongue of 41% 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 (2001 census)
  Religions:
  Hindu 79.8%, Muslim 14.2%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.7%, other and unspecified 2% (2011 est.)
  Age structure:
  0-14 years: 27.34% (male 186,087,665/female 164,398,204)
  15-24 years: 17.9% (male 121,879,786/female 107,583,437)
  25-54 years: 41.08% (male 271,744,709/female 254,834,569)
  55-64 years: 7.45% (male 47,846,122/female 47,632,532)
  65 years and over: 6.24% (male 37,837,801/female 42,091,086) (2017 est.)
  Dependency ratios:
  total dependency ratio: 52.2
  youth dependency ratio: 43.6
  elderly dependency ratio: 8.6
  potential support ratio: 11.7 (2015 est.)
  Median age:
  total: 27.9 years
  male: 27.2 years
  female: 28.6 years (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 140
  Population growth rate:
  1.17% (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 92
  Birth rate:
  19 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 87
  Death rate:
  7.3 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 118
  Net migration rate:
  0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 83
  Population distribution:
  with the notable exception of the deserts in the northwest, including the Thar Desert, and the mountain fringe in the north, a very high population density exists throughout most of the country; the core of the population is in the north along the banks of the Ganges, with other river valleys and southern coastal areas also having large population concentrations
  Urbanization:
  urban population: 33.5% of total population (2017)
  rate of urbanization: 2.28% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
  Major urban areas - population:
  NEW DELHI (capital) 25.703 million; Mumbai 21.043 million; Kolkata 11.766 million; Bangalore 10.087 million; Chennai 9.62 million; Hyderabad 8.944 million (2015)
  Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female
  0-14 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
  15-24 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
  25-54 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  55-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
  total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2016 est.)
  Maternal mortality rate:
  174 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 56
  Infant mortality rate:
  total: 39.1 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 38 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 40.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 47
  Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 68.8 years
  male: 67.6 years
  female: 70.1 years (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 164
  Total fertility rate:
  2.43 children born/woman (2017 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 81
  Contraceptive prevalence rate:
  53.5% (2015/16)
  Health expenditures:
  4.7% of GDP (2014)
  country comparison to the world: 149
  Physicians density:
  0.73 physicians/1,000 population (2014)
  Hospital bed density:
  0.7 beds/1,000 population (2011)
  Drinking water source:
  improved:
  urban: 97.1% of population
  rural: 92.6% of population
  total: 94.1% of population
  unimproved:
  urban: 2.9% of population
  rural: 7.4% of population
  total: 5.9% of population (2015 est.)
  Sanitation facility access:
  improved:
  urban: 62.6% of population
  rural: 28.5% of population
  total: 39.6% of population
  unimproved:
  urban: 37.4% of population
  rural: 71.5% of population
  total: 60.4% of population (2015 est.)
  HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  0.3% (2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 80
  HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  2.1 million (2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 3
  HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  62,000 (2016 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 3
  Major infectious diseases:
  degree of risk: very high
  food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
  vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria
  water contact disease: leptospirosis
  animal contact disease: rabies (2016)
  Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
  3.9% (2016)
  country comparison to the world: 189
  Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
  35.7% (2015)
  country comparison to the world: 2
  Education expenditures:
  3.8% of GDP (2013)
  country comparison to the world: 134
  Literacy:
  definition: age 15 and over can read and write
  total population: 71.2%
  male: 81.3%
  female: 60.6% (2015 est.)
  School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
  total: 12 years
  male: 12 years
  female: 12 years (2014)
  Unemployment, youth ages 15-24:
  total: 10.7%
  male: 10.4%
  female: 11.6% (2012 est.)
  country comparison to the world: 97
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  Government :: INDIA

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• Country name:
  conventional long form: Republic of India
  conventional short form: India
  local long form: Republic of India/Bharatiya Ganarajya
  local short form: India/Bharat
  etymology: the English name derives from the Indus River; the Indian name "Bharat" may derive from the "Bharatas" tribe mentioned in the Vedas of the second millennium B.C.; the name is also associated with Emperor Bharata, the legendary conqueror of all of India
  Government type:
  federal parliamentary republic
  Capital:
  name: New Delhi
  geographic coordinates: 28 36 N, 77 12 E
  time difference: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
  Administrative divisions:
  29 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, Odisha, Puducherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal
  note: although its status is that of a union territory, the official name of Delhi is National Capital Territory of Delhi
  Independence:
  15 August 1947 (from the UK)
  National holiday:
  Republic Day, 26 January (1950)
  Constitution:
  history: previous 1935 (preindependence); latest draft completed 4 November 1949, adopted 26 November 1949, effective 26 January 1950
  amendments: 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; amended many times, last in 2016 (2017)
  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
  roduction