CIA World Fact Book, 2004/India


 * }

!| Background:
 * The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, dates back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish in the 12th were followed by European traders, beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Indian armed forces in the British army played a vital role in both World Wars. Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism under Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU led to independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. Fundamental concerns in India include the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife, all this despite impressive gains in economic investment and output.
 * }


 * }

!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: land: 2,973,190 sq km water: 314,400 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: border countries: Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 2.74% other: 42.86% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Environment - international agreements: signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements !| Geography - note:
 * Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan
 * 20 00 N, 77 00 E
 * Asia
 * total: 3,287,590 sq km
 * slightly more than one-third the size of the US
 * total: 14,103 km
 * 7,000 km
 * territorial sea: 12 nm
 * varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
 * upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north
 * lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
 * coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land
 * arable land: 54.4%
 * 590,000 sq km (1998 est.)
 * droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes
 * 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
 * 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
 * dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes
 * }


 * }

!| Population: !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 63.5% (male 349,785,804; female 326,289,402) 65 years and over: 4.8% (male 25,885,725; female 25,235,905) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 24.4 years female: 24.4 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2004 est.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 57.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 58.52 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 63.25 years female: 64.77 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Nationality: adjective: Indian !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: 59.5% male: 70.2% female: 48.3% (2003 est.)
 * 1,065,070,607 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: 31.7% (male 173,869,856; female 164,003,915)
 * total: 24.4 years
 * 1.44% (2004 est.)
 * 22.8 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 8.38 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * -0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
 * total: 57.92 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 63.99 years
 * 2.85 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * 0.8% (2001 est.)
 * 3.97 million (2001 est.)
 * 310,000 (2001 est.)
 * noun: Indian(s)
 * Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)
 * Hindu 81.3%, Muslim 12%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other groups including Buddhist, Jain, Parsi 2.5% (2000)
 * English enjoys associate status but is the most important language 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: 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
 * definition: age 15 and over can read and write
 * }


 * }

!| Country name: conventional short form: India !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of the states for a five-year term; election last held NA July 2002 (next to be held 18 July 2007); vice president elected by both houses of Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 12 August 2002 (next to be held NA August 2007); prime minister chosen by parliamentary members of the majority party following legislative elections; election last held April - May 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) head of government: Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH (since NA May 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister election results: Abdul KALAM elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 89.6%; Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT elected vice president; percent of Parliament vote - 59.8% !| Legislative branch: elections: People's Assembly - last held 20 April through 10 May 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - INC 145, BJP 138, CPI(M) 43, SP 36, RJD 21, BSP 19, DMK 16, SS 12, BJD 11, CPI 10, NCP 9, JDU 8, SAD 8, PMK 6, TDP 5, TRS 5, JMM 5, LJSP 4, MDMK 4, independents 5, other 30 !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco FAX: [1] (202) 265-4351 telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000 chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; note - Consular Wing located at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 !| Diplomatic representation from the US: embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [91] (11) 2419-8000 FAX: [91] (11) 2419-0017 consulate(s) general: Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay) !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: Republic of India
 * federal republic
 * New Delhi
 * 28 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, Orissa, Pondicherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal
 * 15 August 1947 (from UK)
 * Republic Day, 26 January (1950)
 * 26 January 1950
 * based on English common law; limited judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
 * 18 years of age; universal
 * chief of state: President Abdul KALAM (since 26 July 2002); Vice President Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT (since 19 August 2002)
 * bicameral Parliament or Sansad consists of the Council of States or Rajya Sabha (a body consisting of not more than 250 members, up to 12 of which are appointed by the president, the remainder are chosen by the elected members of the state and territorial assemblies; members serve six-year terms) and the People's Assembly or Lok Sabha (545 seats; 543 elected by popular vote, 2 appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms)
 * Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the age of 65)
 * All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or AIADMK [C. Jayalalitha JAYARAM]; All India Forward Bloc or AIFB, [D. BISWAS, general secretary]; Asom Gana Parishad [Brindaban GOSWAMI]; Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI]; Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Venkaiah NAIDU]; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI [Ardhendu Bhushan BARDHAN]; Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist or CPI/ML [Dipankar BHATTACHARYA]; Congress (I) Party [Sonia GANDHI]; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or DMK (a regional party in Tamil Nadu) [M. KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National Congress or INC [leader NA]; Indian National League [Suliaman SAITH]; Janata Dal (Secular) [H. D. Deve GOWDA]; Janata Dal (United) or JDU [Sharad YADAV]; Jharkhand Mukti Morcha or JMM [leader NA]; Kerala Congress (Mani faction) [K. M. MANI]; Lok Jan Shakti Party or LSP [leader NA]; Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or MDMK [VAIKO]; Muslim League [G. M. BANATWALA]; Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]; Pattali Makkal Katchi or PMK [leader NA]; Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD [Laloo Prasad YADAV]; Revolutionary Socialist Party or RSP [Abani ROY]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV]; Shiromani Akali Dal or SAD [G. S. TOHRA]; Shiv Sena or SS [Bal THACKERAY]; Tamil Maanila Congress [G. K. VASAN]; Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS [leader NA]; Telugu Desam Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU]; Trinamool Congress [Mamata BANERJEE]
 * numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh; various separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or regional autonomy, including the All Parties Hurriyat Conference
 * AfDB, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, C, CERN (observer), CP, FAO, G- 6, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
 * chief of mission: Ambassador Ranendra SEN
 * chief of mission: Ambassador David C. MULFORD
 * three equal horizontal bands of saffron (subdued 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 - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: 28.4% services: 48% (2002 est.) !| Investment (gross fixed): !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: 33.5% (1997) !| Distribution of family income - Gini index: !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: !| Labor force - by occupation: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: $114.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $13.5 billion (2003) !| Public debt: !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Electricity - production: !| Electricity - consumption: !| Electricity - exports: !| Electricity - imports: !| Oil - production: !| Oil - consumption: !| Oil - exports: !| Oil - imports: !| Oil - proved reserves: !| Natural gas - production: !| Natural gas - consumption: !| Natural gas - exports: !| Natural gas - imports: !| Natural gas - proved reserves: !| Current account balance: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * India's economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of support services. Government controls have been reduced on foreign trade and investment, and privatization of domestic output has proceeded slowly. The economy has posted an excellent average growth rate of 6% since 1990, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points. India is capitalizing on its large numbers of well-educated people skilled in the English language to become a major exporter of software services and software workers. Despite strong growth, the World Bank and others worry about the continuing public-sector budget deficit, running at approximately 60% of GDP.
 * purchasing power parity - $3.033 trillion (2003 est.)
 * 8.3% (2003 est.)
 * purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2003 est.)
 * agriculture: 23.6%
 * 23.1% of GDP (2003)
 * 25% (2002 est.)
 * lowest 10%: 3.5%
 * 37.8 (1997)
 * 3.8% (2003 est.)
 * 472 million (2003)
 * agriculture 60%, industry 17%, services 23% (1999)
 * 9.5% (2003)
 * revenues: $86.69 billion
 * 59.7% of GDP (2003)
 * rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish
 * textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software
 * 6.5% (2003 est.)
 * 533.3 billion kWh (2001)
 * 497.2 billion kWh (2001)
 * 321 million kWh (2001)
 * 1.54 billion kWh (2001)
 * 732,400 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 2.13 million bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA (2001)
 * 4.33 billion bbl (1 January 2002)
 * 22.75 billion cu m (2001 est.)
 * 22.75 billion cu m (2001 est.)
 * 0 cu m (2001 est.)
 * 0 cu m (2001 est.)
 * 542.4 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
 * $3.41 billion (2003)
 * $57.24 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
 * textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather manufactures
 * US 20.6%, China 6.4%, UK 5.3%, Hong Kong 4.8%, Germany 4.4% (2003)
 * $74.15 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
 * crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals
 * US 6.4%, Belgium 5.6%, UK 4.8%, China 4.3%, Singapore 4% (2003)
 * $102.3 billion (2003)
 * $101.7 billion (2003 est.)
 * $2.9 billion (FY98/99)
 * Indian rupee (INR)
 * INR
 * Indian rupees per US dollar - 46.5806 (2003), 48.6103 (2002), 47.1864 (2001), 44.9416 (2000), 43.0554 (1999)
 * 1 April - 31 March
 * }


 * }

!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: domestic: expansion of domestic service, although still weak in rural areas, resulted from increased competition and dramatic reductions in price led in large part by wireless service; mobile cellular service (both CDMA and GSM) introduced in 1994 and organized nationwide into four metropolitan cities and 19 telecom circles each with about three private service providers and one state-owned service provider; in recent years significant trunk capacity added in the form of fiber-optic cable and one of the world's largest domestic satellite systems, the Indian National Satellite system (INSAT), with 5 satellites supporting 33,000 very small aperture terminals (VSAT) international: country code - 91; satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region); nine gateway exchanges operating from Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), Chennai (Madras), Jalandhar, Kanpur, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, and Ernakulam; 5 submarine cables, including Sea-Me-We-3 with landing sites at Cochin and Mumbai (Bombay), Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) with landing site at Mumbai (Bombay), South Africa - Far East (SAFE) with landing site at Cochin, i2icn linking to Singapore with landing sites at Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai (Madras), and Tata Indicom linking Singapore and Chennai (Madras), provide a significant increase in the bandwidth available for both voice and data traffic (2004) !| Radio broadcast stations: !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet hosts: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users:
 * 48.917 million (2003)
 * 26,154,400 (2003)
 * general assessment: recent deregulation and liberalization of telecommunications laws and policies have prompted rapid change; local and long distance service provided throughout all regions of the country, with services primarily concentrated in the urban areas; steady improvement is taking place with the recent admission of private and private-public investors, but telephone density remains low at about seven for each 100 persons nationwide but only one per 100 persons in rural areas and a national waiting list of over 1.7 million; fastest growth is in cellular service with modest growth in fixed lines
 * AM 153, FM 91, shortwave 68 (1998)
 * 116 million (1997)
 * 562 (of which 82 stations have 1 kW or greater power and 480 stations have less than 1 kW of power) (1997)
 * 63 million (1997)
 * .in
 * 86,871 (2003)
 * 43 (2000)
 * 18.481 million (2003)
 * }


 * }

!| Railways: broad gauge: 45,099 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 14,776 km 1.000-m gauge; 3,265 km 0.762-m gauge and 0.610-m gauge (2003) !| Highways: paved: 1,517,077 km unpaved: 1,802,567 km (1999 est.) !| Waterways: note: 5,200 km on major rivers and 485 km on canals suitable for mechanized vessels (2004) !| Pipelines: !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: by type: bulk 90, cargo 77, chemical tanker 14, combination bulk 1, combination ore/oil 2, container 10, liquefied gas 10, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 93, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea/passenger 2, specialized tanker 1 registered in other countries: 63 (2004 est.) foreign-owned: China 2, Portugal 1 !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: over 3,047 m: 14 2,438 to 3,047 m: 47 914 to 1,523 m: 74 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 78 !| Airports - with unpaved runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 under 914 m: 45 (2004 est.) 914 to 1,523 m: 42 !| Heliports:
 * total: 63,140 km (15,994 km electrified)
 * total: 3,319,644 km
 * 14,500 km
 * gas 6,171 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,195 km; oil 5,613 km; refined products 5,567 km (2004)
 * Chennai (Madras), Cochin, Jawaharal Nehru, Kandla, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay), Vishakhapatnam
 * total: 306 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,555,507 GRT/11,069,791 DWT
 * 333 (2003 est.)
 * total: 234
 * total: 99
 * 20 (2003 est.)
 * }


 * }

!| Military branches: !| Military manpower - military age and obligation: !| Military manpower - availability: !| Military manpower - fit for military service: !| Military manpower - reaching military age annually: !| Military expenditures - dollar figure: !| Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
 * Army, Navy (including naval air arm), Air Force, Coast Guard, various security or paramilitary forces (including Border Security Force, Assam Rifles, National Security Guards, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Special Frontier Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Railway Protection Force, and Defense Security Corps)
 * 16 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)
 * males age 15-49: 293,677,117 (2004 est.)
 * males age 15-49: 172,153,371 (2004 est.)
 * males: 11,174,415 (2004 est.)
 * $14,018.8 million (2003)
 * 2.4% (2003)
 * }