India by Numbers
India by the numbers
The people
Population: 1,080,264,388 (July 2005 estimate)
Sex ratio: 1.05 male/female at birth
Median age: 24.66 years, 24.64 years for males,
24.67 years for females (2005 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.4 percent (2005 estimate)
Religions: Hindu 80.5 percent, Muslim 13.4 percent, Christian 2.3
percent, Sikh 1.9 percent, other 1.8 percent, unspecified 0.1 percent
(2001 census)
Ethnic groups: Indo-Aryan 72 percent; Dravidian 25 percent; Mongoloid
and other 3 percent (2000 estimate)
Infant mortality rate: Estimates vary from 56 to 65 deaths per 1,000 live births
Total fertility rate: 2.78 children children born per female (2005 est.)
Life expectancy: Estimates place overall figure at about 64 years;
male 63.57; female 65.16 (2005 estimate)
People living with HIV/AIDS: 5.1 million (2001 estimate)
Major infectious diseases:
Floodwater diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hep A and E, typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, and Japanese encephalitis
are high risks in some locations animal contact disease: rabies (2004)
Languages: English is used for national, political and commercial
communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of
30% of the people; there are 14 other official languages
Literacy: Defined as age 15+ and can read and write - total
population: 59.5 percent; male: 70.2 percent, female: 48.3 percent
(2003 est.)
The land
Border countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, China, Nepal and Pakistan
Coastline: 7,000 kilometers (4,349.8 miles)
Climate: Tropical monsoon in south, temperate in north
Lowest point: Indian Ocean, sea level
Highest point: Kanchenjunga, 8,598 meters (26,246 feet)
Natural resources: Coal (Fourth-largest reserve in world), iron ore,
manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas,
diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable lands
Land use: Arable lands 54.4 percent; permanent crops 2.74 percent;
other 42.86 percent
Natural hazards: Droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and
destructive flooding from monsoon rains; severe thunderstorms;
earthquakes
The economy
GDP real growth rate: 6.2 percent (2004 estimate)
GDP per capita: Purchasing power parity - $3,100 (2004 est.)
Public debt: 59.7 percent of GDP (federal debt only; state debt not
included) (2004 est.)
Labor force: 482 million (2004 estimate)
Labor force by occupation: Agriculture 60 percent; industry 17
percent; services 23 percent (1999 estimate)
Unemployment rate: 9.2 percent (2004 estimate)
Population below poverty line: Estimates range between 25 percent and 29 percent
Oil production: 780,000 bbl/day (2004 estimate)
Oil consumption: 2.13 million bbl/day (2001 estimate)
Export partners: U.S. 18.4 percent; China 7.8 percent; UAE 6.7
percent; UK 4.8 percent; Hong Kong 4.3 percent; Germany 4 percent
(2004 estimate)
Import partners: U.S. 7 percent; Belgium 6.1 percent; China 5.9
percent; Singapore 4.8 percent; Australia 4.6 percent; UK 4.6 percent;
Germany 4.5 percent (2004 percent)
The networks
Phone lines in use: 48.9 million (2003)
Mobile/cellular phones: 26,154,400 (2003)
Radio broadcast stations: 153 AM; 91 FM; 68 shortwave (1998)
TV broadcast stations: 562 (of which 82 stations have 1 kW or greater
power and 480 stations have less than 1 kW of power) (1997)
Internet country code: .in
Internet hosts: 86,871 (2003)
Internet users: 18.5 million (2003)
The government
Country name: Conventional long form: Republic of India, short form: India
Government type: Federal republic
Capital: New Delhi
Administrative divisions: 28 states and 7 union territories
Independence: 15 August 1947 (from UK)
National holiday: Republic Day, 26 January (1950)
Constitution: 26 January 1950; amended many times
Legal system: Based on English common law; limited judicial review of
legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
reservations; separate personal law codes apply to Muslims,
Christians, and Hindus
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Military manpower: Fit for military service: males age 16-49:
219,471,999 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures: $17 billion (2004)
