India Travel Podcast with Arjun Mehta

Location

Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan

Terrain

Upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north

Climate

Varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north

Elevation

Highest point

Kanchenjunga 8,586 m

Lowest point

Indian Ocean 0 m

Mean elevation

160 m

Area

Total

3,287,263 sq km

Land

2,973,193 sq km

Water

314,070 sq km

Size comparison

Slightly more than one-third the size of the US

Coastline

7,000 km

Land borders

Total

13,888 km

Border countries

Bangladesh 4,142 km; Bhutan 659 km; Burma 1,468 km; China 2,659 km; Nepal 1,770 km; Pakistan 3,190 km

Natural resources

Coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), antimony, iron ore, lead, manganese, mica, bauxite, rare earth elements, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land

Land use

Agricultural land

60.1% (2023 est.)

Arable land

51.8% (2023 est.)

Permanent crops

4.9% (2023 est.)

Permanent pasture

3.4% (2023 est.)

Forest

24.4% (2023 est.)

Other

15.5% (2023 est.)

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

Note

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

Population

Total

1,419,316,933 (2025 est.)

Male

730,902,574

Female

688,414,359

Nationality

Noun

Indian(s)

Adjective

Indian

Ethnic groups

Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, and other 3% (2000)

Languages

Languages

Hindi 43.6%, Bengali 8%, Marathi 6.9%, Telugu 6.7%, Tamil 5.7%, Gujarati 4.6%, Urdu 4.2%, Kannada 3.6%, Odia 3.1%, Malayalam 2.9%, Punjabi 2.7%, Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.1%, other 5.6%; English is the subsidiary official language but is the most important one for national, political, and commercial communication (2011 est.)

Major-language sample(s)

विश्व फ़ैक्टबुक, आधारभूत जानकारी का एक अनिवार्य स्रोत (Hindi)

Religions

Hindu 79.8%, Muslim 14.2%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.7%, other and unspecified 2% (2011 est.)

Median age

Total

30.1 years (2025 est.)

Male

29.1 years

Female

30.5 years

Life expectancy

Total population

68.2 years (2024 est.)

Male

66.5 years

Female

70.1 years

Urbanisation

Urban population

36.4% of total population (2023)

Rate of urbanization

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

Where people live

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

Largest cities

32.941 million NEW DELHI (capital), 21.297 million Mumbai, 15.333 million Kolkata, 13.608 million Bangalore, 11.776 million Chennai, 10.801 million Hyderabad (2023)

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 Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) ushered in The Golden Age, which 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 large sections of 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, and India was seen as the "Jewel in the Crown" of the British Empire. 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 in 1947. Large-scale communal violence took place before and after the subcontinent partition into two separate states -- India and Pakistan. The neighboring countries 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 2008, terrorists originating from Pakistan conducted a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital. India's economic growth after economic reforms in 1991, a massive youth population, and a strategic geographic location have contributed to the country's emergence as a regional and global power. However, India still faces pressing problems such as extensive poverty, widespread corruption, and environmental degradation, and its restrictive business climate challenges economic growth expectations.

Government

Federal parliamentary republic

Capital

New Delhi

Time zone

UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Local name

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

Independence

15 August 1947 (from the UK)

National day

Republic Day, 26 January (1950)

Overview

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

GDP per capita

Real GDP per capita 2024

$9,800 (2024 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2023

$9,300 (2023 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2022

$8,600 (2022 est.)

Inflation

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2024

5% (2024 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023

5.6% (2023 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022

6.7% (2022 est.)

Unemployment

Unemployment rate 2024

4.3% (2024 est.)

Unemployment rate 2023

4.2% (2023 est.)

Unemployment rate 2022

4.9% (2022 est.)

Exchange rate

Currency

Indian rupees (INR) per US dollar -

Exchange rates 2024

83.669 (2024 est.)

Exchange rates 2023

82.599 (2023 est.)

Exchange rates 2022

78.604 (2022 est.)

Exchange rates 2021

73.918 (2021 est.)

Exchange rates 2020

74.1 (2020 est.)

Main industries

Textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software, pharmaceuticals

Agriculture

Sugarcane, rice, milk, wheat, bison milk, potatoes, vegetables, maize, bananas, onions (2023)

Airports

315 (2025)

Railways

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)

Ports

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

Internet domain

.in

Internet users

Percent of population 56% (2022 est.)

Mobile subscriptions

Total subscriptions

1.15 billion (2024 est.)

Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

79 (2024 est.)

Environmental issues

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

Fresh water

1.911 trillion cubic meters (2022 est.)