India

• Brahmaputra (shared with China [s] and Bangladesh [m]) - 3,969 km;
• Indus (shared with China [s] and Pakistan [m]) - 3,610 km;
• Ganges river source (shared with Bangladesh [m]) - 2,704 km;
• Godavari - 1,465 km;
• Sutlej (shared with China [s] and Pakistan [m]) - 1,372 km;
• Yamuna - 1,370 km;
• Narmada - 1,289 km;
• Chenab river source (shared with Pakistan [m]) - 1,086 km ;
• Ghaghara river mouth (shared with China [s] and Nepal) - 1,080 km

note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

• a very high population density exists throughout most of the country, with the notable exception of the deserts in the northwest and the mountain fringe in the north;
• 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

• 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

• dominates South Asian subcontinent;
• near important Indian Ocean trade routes;
• Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal

noun:

Indian(s)

adjective:

Indian

total:

30.1 years (2025 est.)

male:

29.1 years

female:

30.5 years

• a very high population density exists throughout most of the country, with the notable exception of the deserts in the northwest and the mountain fringe in the north;
• 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

at birth:

1.1 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.11 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.85 male(s)/female

total population:

1.06 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

30.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)

male:

30 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

30.8 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

68.2 years (2024 est.)

male:

66.5 years

female:

70.1 years

total:

3.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

0.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

2.85 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

21.8% (2025 est.)

male:

34.1% (2025 est.)

female:

8.9% (2025 est.)

women married by age 15:

4.8% (2021)

women married by age 18:

23.3% (2021)

men married by age 18:

2.6% (2021)

• deforestation;
• soil erosion;
• overgrazing;
• desertification;
• air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle emissions;
• water pollution from raw sewage and agricultural pesticides;
• tap water not potable;
• growing population overstraining natural resources;
• biodiversity loss

urban population:

36.4% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

2.33% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

energy:

8,217.3 kt (2022-2024 est.)

agriculture:

17,971 kt (2019-2021 est.)

waste:

4,773.7 kt (2019-2021 est.)

other:

644.6 kt (2019-2021 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

189.75 million tons (2024 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

17.8% (2022 est.)

municipal:

56 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

industrial:

17 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

agricultural:

688 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of India

conventional short form:

India

local long form:

Republic of India (English)/ Bharatiya Ganarajya (Hindi)

local short form:

India (English)/ Bharat (Hindi)

etymology:

• the English name derives from the Indus River;
• the Indian name, Bharat, may derive from the Bharatas tribe mentioned in the Sanskrit Vedas (Hindu religious texts);
• the name is also associated with Emperor Bharata, the legendary conqueror of India

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)

etymology:

the name is of unknown origin; one theory says it may come from the Hindi word dehli (threshold), because of the city's location between the Indus and the Ganges Rivers

• common law system based on the English model;
• separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus;
• judicial review of legislative acts

history:

previous 1935 (pre-independence); latest draft completed 4 November 1949, adopted 26 November 1949, effective 26 January 1950

amendment 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

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of India

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

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 president

election/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

most recent election date:

18 July 2022

election 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%

expected date of next election:

July 2027

legislature name:

Parliament (Sansad)

legislative structure:

bicameral

note: 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

chamber name:

House of the People (Lok Sabha)

number of seats:

545 (543 directly elected; 2 appointed)

electoral system:

plurality/majority

scope of elections:

full renewal

term in office:

5 years

most recent election date:

4/19/2024 to 6/1/2024

parties elected and seats per party:

• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) (240);
• Indian National Congress (INC) (99);
• Samajwadi Party (SP) (37);
• All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) (29);
• Other (138)

percentage of women in chamber:

13.8%

expected date of next election:

April 2029

chamber name:

Council of States (Rajya Sabha)

number of seats:

245 (233 indirectly elected; 12 appointed)

scope of elections:

partial renewal

term in office:

6 years

most recent election date:

1/12/2024 to 6/30/2024

percentage of women in chamber:

16.7%

expected date of next election:

January 2026

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 65

subordinate courts:

• High Courts;
• District Courts;
• Labour Court

• Aam Aadmi Party or AAP
• All India Trinamool Congress or AITC
• Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP
• Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP
• Biju Janata Dal or BJD
• Communist Party of India-Marxist or CPI(M)
• Dravida Munnetra Khazhagam
• Indian National Congress or INC
• Nationalist Congress Party or NCP
• Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD
• Samajwadi Party or SP
• Shiromani Akali Dal or SAD
• Shiv Sena or SS
• Telegana Rashtra Samithi or TRS
• Telugu Desam Party or TDP
• YSR Congress or YSRCP or YCP

chief of mission:

Ambassador Vinay Mohan KWATRA (since 18 September 2024)

chancery:

2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 939-7000

FAX:

[1] (202) 265-4351

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.indianembassyusa.gov.in/

consulate(s) general:

Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco, Seattle

chief of mission:

Ambassador-designate Sergio GOR (since 11 October 2025)

embassy:

Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi - 110021

mailing address:

9000 New Delhi Place, Washington DC 20521-9000

telephone:

[91] (11) 2419-8000

FAX:

[91] (11) 2419-0017

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://in.usembassy.gov/

consulate(s) general:

Chennai (Madras), Hyderabad, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay)

description:

three equal horizontal bands of saffron (top), white, and green, with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band

meaning:

• saffron stands for courage, sacrifice, and the spirit of renunciation;
• white for purity and truth;
• green for faith and fertility;
• the chakra symbolizes the wheel of life in movement and death in stagnation

note: similar to the flag of Niger, which has a small orange disk centered in the white band

• the Lion Capital of Ashoka, which depicts four Asiatic lions standing back-to-back and mounted on a circular abacus (official);
• Bengal tiger and lotus flower (traditional)

title:

"Jana-Gana-Mana" (Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All People)

lyrics/music:

Rabindranath TAGORE

history:

adopted 1950; Rabindranath TAGORE, a Nobel laureate, also wrote Bangladesh's national anthem

total World Heritage Sites:

44 (36 cultural, 7 natural, 1 mixed)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Taj Mahal (c);
• Agra Fort (c);
• Elphanta Caves (c);
• Hill Forts of Rajasthan (c);
• Sundarbans National Park (n);
• Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka (c);
• Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park (c);
• Jaipur (c);
• Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya (c);
• Manas Wildlife Sanctuary (n);
• Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks (n);
• Khangchendzonga National Park (m);
• Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram (c);
• Sun Temple, Konârak (c);
• Kaziranga National Park (n);
• Churches and Convents of Goa (c);
• Great Living Chola Temples (c);
• Group of Monuments at Pattadakal (c);
• Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi (c);
• Humayun's Tomb, Delhi (c);
• Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi (c);
• Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area (n);
• Rani-ki-Vav (the Queen’s Stepwell) at Patan, Gujarat (c);
• Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara at Nalanda, Bihar (c);
• Historic City of Ahmadabad (c);
• Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai (c);
• Jaipur City, Rajasthan (c);
• Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple, Telangana (c);
• Moidams – the Mound-Burial System of the Ahom Dynasty (c);
• Maratha Military Landscapes of India (c)

• 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

agriculture:

16.4% (2024 est.)

industry:

24.5% (2024 est.)

services:

49.9% (2024 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

total:

16% (2024 est.)

male:

15.5% (2024 est.)

female:

17.6% (2024 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

29.9% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

2% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

lowest 10%:

4.5% (2022 est.)

highest 10%:

22.1% (2022 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

Number of operational nuclear reactors:

20 (2025)

Number of nuclear reactors under construction:

7 (2025)

Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors:

6.92GW (2025 est.)

Percent of total electricity production:

3.1% (2023 est.)

production:

1.02 billion metric tons (2023 est.)

consumption:

1.262 billion metric tons (2023 est.)

exports:

1.632 million metric tons (2023 est.)

imports:

243.488 million metric tons (2023 est.)

proven reserves:

127.727 billion metric tons (2023 est.)

total petroleum production:

822,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

5.271 million bbl/day (2023 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

4.605 billion barrels (2021 est.)

production:

35.168 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

consumption:

62.196 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

exports:

91.921 million cubic meters (2019 est.)

imports:

29.337 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

proven reserves:

1.381 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)

• Doordarshan, India's public TV network, has a monopoly on terrestrial broadcasting and operates about 20 national, regional, and local services;
• a large number of privately owned TV stations are distributed by cable and satellite service providers;
• cable and satellite TV offer over 850 TV channels;
• government controls AM radio, with All India Radio operating domestic and external networks;
• news broadcasts via radio are limited to the All India Radio Network;
• since 2000, privately owned FM stations have been permitted and have increased rapidly (2020)

total:

65,554 km (2014)

narrow gauge:

1,604 km (2014) 1.000-m gauge

broad gauge:

63,950 km (2014) (39, 329 km electrified)

total ports:

56 (2024)

large:

4

medium:

4

small:

13

very small:

30

size unknown:

5

ports with oil terminals:

18

key ports:

Calcutta, Chennai (Madras), Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Shiva), Kattupalli Port, Kochi (Cochin), Mumbai (Bombay), New Mangalore, Vishakhapatnam

• the military's inventory consists of Russian- and Soviet-origin equipment along with a smaller mix of Western and domestically produced arms;
• Russia continues to be the leading provider of arms to India, although in recent years India has increased acquisitions from other suppliers, including France, Israel, the UK, and the US;
• India's defense industry is capable of producing a range of air, land, missile, and naval weapons systems for both domestic use and export;
• it also produces weapons systems under license (2025)

• 1,100 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO);
• 200 Golan Heights (UNDOF);
• 900 Lebanon (UNIFIL);
• 2,400 South Sudan (UNMISS);
• 600 Sudan (UNISFA) (2025)

note: India has over 6,000 total military and police personnel deployed on UN missions

• Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO; originally established in 1962 as the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR); renamed ISRO in 1969);
• Defense Space Agency (DSA; established 2019) (2025)

note: the ISRO is subordinate to the Department of Space (DOS; established 1972)

• has one of the world’s largest space programs;
• designs, builds, launches, operates, and tracks the full spectrum of satellites, including communications, navigation, remote sensing (RS), and scientific/technology;
• designs, builds, and launches rockets, space/satellite launch vehicles (SLVs), and lunar/interplanetary probes;
• launches satellites for foreign partners;
• researching and developing additional technologies and capabilities;
• developing astronaut program and human flight capabilities (with assistance from Russia and the US);
• has space-related agreements with the ESA and more than 50 countries, including China, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, and the US;
• participates in international projects such as the Square Kilometer Array radio telescope;
• the Department of Space administers two government-controlled space industry corporations;
• has a growing private space sector (2025)

• 1963 - first sounding (research) rocket launched
• 1975 - first domestically made scientific satellite (Aryabhata) launched by Soviet Union
• 1979 - first experimental remote sensing (RS) satellite (Bhaskara-I) launched by Soviet Union
• 1980 - first successful launch of satellite (Rohini) on Indian satellite launch vehicle (SLV)
• 1984 - first Indian in space on a Soviet rocket
• 1988 - first operational RS satellite (IRS-1A) launched by Soviet Union
• 1994 - first successful launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), India’s premier SLV
• 2008 - first lunar orbiter/probe (Chandrayaan-1) launched, reached lunar orbit, and sent a probe to the surface of the Moon
• 2014 - first interplanetary probe (Mangalyaan) reached orbit around Mars
• 2018 - Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (INRSS) became operational
• 2019 - launched lunar orbiter/probe (Chandrayaan-2) with lander and rover (lander lost when it crash-landed on Moon’s surface)
• 2023 - successfully landed uncrewed lander/rover mission (Chandrayaan-3) on Moon's surface
• 2024 - launched satellite (XPoSat) to study black holes and placed solar observatory spacecraft (Aditya-L1) in orbital position to study the Sun
• 2025 - first docking of two orbiting satellites and sent its first astronaut to the International Space Station