India

federal republicIndependence 15 August 1947 (from UK)

India as the 1992 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 76 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalNew Delhi

Area3,287,590 km2

Populationas each edition published it

886.36 million July 1992 · 849.75m in 1990

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 1.86% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 24.1 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 58.12 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

3.7 children per woman 1992 · 3.8 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

81 deaths per 1,000 live births 1992 · 89 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $270 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 4% in 1993

Geography

13 fields

Total area

3,287,590km2

Comparative area: slightly more than one-third the size of the US

Coastline

7,000km

Contiguous zone: 24 nmContinental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nmExclusive economic zone: 200 nmTerritorial sea: 12 nm

Land boundaries

14,103km

Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km

Disputes

boundaries with Bangladesh, China, and Pakistan; water sharing problems with downstream riparians, Bangladesh over the Ganges and Pakistan over the Indus

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

Natural resources

coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, crude oil, limestone

Land use

arable land 55%;
permanent crops 1%;
meadows and pastures 4%;
forest and woodland 23%;
other 17%;
includes irrigated 13%

Environment

droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common;
deforestation;
soil erosion;
overgrazing;
air and water pollution;
desertification

Note

dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes

People

14 fields

Population

886,362,180

(July 1992), growth rate 1.9% (1992)

Per 1,000 population(1992)

Birth

30Death

11Net migration

Ethnic divisions

Indo-Aryan 72%Dravidian 25%Mongoloid and other 3%

Religions

Hindu 82.6%Muslim 11.4%Christian 2.4%Sikh 2.0%Buddhist 0.7%Jains 0.5%other 0.4%

Literacy

48%

(male 62%, female 34%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Languages

Hindi, English, and 14 other official languages - Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit;
24 languages spoken by a million or more persons each;
numerous other languages and dialects, for the most part mutually unintelligible;
Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people;
English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication;
Hindustani, a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu, is spoken widely throughout northern India

Government

Federal republic

20 fields

25 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal

Independence

15 August 1947 (from UK)

Constitution

26 January 1950

Legal system

based on English common law;
limited judicial review of legislative acts;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday

Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic, 26 January (1950)

Executive branch

president, vice president, prime minister, Council of Ministers

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament (Sansad) consists of an upper house or Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and a lower house or People's Assembly (Lok Sabha)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Leaders

Chief of State:: President Ramaswamy Iyer VENKATARAMAN (since 25 July 1987); Vice President Dr. Shankar Dayal SHARMA (since 3 September 1987)
Head of Government:: Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha RAO (since 21 June 1991)

Political parties and leaders

Congress (I) Party, P. V. Narasimha RAO, president;
Bharatiya Janata Party, L. K. ADVANI;
Janata Dal Party, V. P. SINGH;
Communist Party of India/Marxist (CPI/M), Harkishan Singh SURJEET;
Communist Party of India (CPI), C. Rajeswara RAO;
Telugu Desam (a regional party in Andhra Pradesh), N. T. Rama RAO;
All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK; a regional party in Tamil Nadu), JAYALALITHA;
Samajwadi Janata Party, CHANDRA SHEKHAR;
Shiv Sena, Bal THACKERAY;
Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Tridip CHOWDHURY;
Bahujana Samaj Party (BSP), Kanshi RAM;
Congress (S) Party, leader NA;
Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist (CPI/ML), Satyanarayan SINGH;
Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (a regional party in Tamil Nadu), M. KARUNANIDHI;
Akali Dal factions representing Sikh religious community in the Punjab;
National Conference (NC; a regional party in Jammu and Kashmir), Farooq ABDULLAH;
Asom Gana Parishad (a regional party in Assam), Prafulla MAHANTA

Suffrage

universal at age 18

Elections

People's Assembly:: last held 21 May, 12 and 15 June 1991 (next to be held by November 1996);
results - percent of vote by party NA;
seats - (545 total), 520 elected - Congress (I) Party 231, Bharatiya Janata Party 119, Janata Dal Party 59, CPI/M 35, CPI 14, Telugu Desam 13, AIADMK 11, Samajwadi Janata Party 5, Shiv Sena 4, RSP 4, BSP 1, Congress (S) Party 1, other 23;
note - second and third rounds of voting were delayed because of the assassination of Congress President Rajiv GANDHI on 21 May 1991

Communists

466,000 members claimed by CPI, 361,000 members claimed by CPI/M; Communist extremist groups, about 15,000 members

Other political or pressure groups

various separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or regional autonomy;
numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including
- Adam Sena,
- Ananda Marg,
- Vishwa Hindu Parishad,
- and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

Member of

AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-6, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Abid HUSSEIN;
Chancery at 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008;
telephone (202) 939-7000;
there are Indian Consulates General in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco

US:: Ambassador William CLARK, Jr.;
Embassy at Shanti Path, Chanakyapuri 110021, New Delhi;
telephone [91] (11) 600651;
FAX [91] (11) 687-2028, 687-2391;
there are US Consulates General in Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras

Flag

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's economy is a mixture of traditional village farming and handicrafts, | modern agriculture, old and new branches of industry, and a multitude of | support services.

17 fields

Inflation, consumer prices

12.0%

(1991)

Unemployment rate

20%

(1991 est.)

External debt

$72.0billion

(1991 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$38.5 billionExpenditures

$53.4 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $11.1 billion (FY92)

Overview

India's economy is a mixture of traditional village farming and handicrafts, modern agriculture, old and new branches of industry, and a multitude of support services. It presents both the entrepreneurial skills and drives of the capitalist system and widespread government intervention of the socialist mold.

Growth of 4-5% annually in the 1980s has softened the impact of population growth on unemployment, social tranquility, and the environment. Agricultural output has continued to expand, reflecting the greater use of modern farming techniques and improved seed that have helped to make India self-sufficient in food grains and a net agricultural exporter.

However, tens of millions of villagers, particularly in the south, have not benefited from the green revolution and live in abject poverty, and great numbers of urban residents lack the basic essentials of life. Industry has benefited from a partial liberalization of controls. The growth rate of the service sector has also been strong.

India, however, has been challenged more recently by much lower foreign exchange reserves, higher inflation, and a large debt service burden.

GDP

exchange rate conversion - $328 billion, per capita $380; real growth rate 2.5% (FY92 est.)

Exports

$20.2 billion (f.o.b., FY91)

commodities:: gems and jewelry, engineering goods, clothing, textiles, chemicals, tea, coffee, fish products
partners:: EC 25%, US 16%, USSR and Eastern Europe 19%, Japan 10% (1989)

Imports

$25.2 billion (c.i.f., FY91)

commodities:: petroleum products, capital goods, uncut gems, gems, jewelry, chemicals, iron and steel, edible oils
partners:: EC 33%, Middle East 19%, US 12%, Japan 8%, USSR and Eastern Europe 8% (1989)

Industrial production

growth rate 8.4% (1990); accounts for about 25% of GDP

Electricity

80,000,000 kW capacity; 290,000 million kWh produced, 330 kWh per capita (1991)

Industries

textiles, food processing, steel, machinery, transportation equipment, cement, jute manufactures, mining, petroleum, power, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics

Agriculture

accounts for about 30% of GDP and employs 67% of labor force;
self-sufficient in food grains;
principal crops - rice, wheat, oilseeds, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes;
livestock - cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats and poultry;
fish catch of about 3 million metric tons ranks India among the world's top 10 fishing nations

Illicit drugs

licit producer of opium poppy for the pharmaceutical trade, but some opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets;
major transit country for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries;
illicit producer of hashish

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $4.4 billion;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-89), $31.7 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $315 million;
USSR (1970-89), $11.6 billion;
Eastern Europe (1970-89), $105 million

Currency

Indian rupee (plural - rupees); 1 Indian rupee (Re) = 100 paise

Exchange rates

Indian rupees (Rs) per US$1 - 25.917 (January 1992), 22.742 (1991), 17.504 (1990), 16.226 (1989), 13.917 (1988), 12.962 (1987)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 299 ships by type

short-sea passenger 1passenger-cargo 7cargo 91roll-on/roll-off 1container 8oil tanker 54chemical tanker 10combination ore/oil 8bulk 111combination bulk 2liquefied gas 6299 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,991,278 GRT/9,935,463 DWT

Airports, 341 total, 288 usable

permanent-surface runways

203runways | over 3,659 m

2runways 2,440-3,659 m

59runways 1,220-2,439 m

Networkskm

Highways

1,970,000Railroads

61,850Inland waterways

16,180

Highways: (1989); 960,000 km surfaced and 1,010,000 km gravel, crushed stone, or earth · Railroads: (1986); 33,553 km 1.676-meter broad gauge, 24,051 km 1.000-meter gauge, 4,246 km narrow gauge (0.762 meter and 0.610 meter); 12,617 km is double track; 6,500 km is electrified · Inland waterways: ; 3,631 km navigable by large vessels

Railroads

61,850 km total (1986);
33,553 km 1.676-meter broad gauge, 24,051 km 1.000-meter gauge, 4,246 km narrow gauge (0.762 meter and 0.610 meter);
12,617 km is double track;
6,500 km is electrified