GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION:

India is a paradise tucked away in the foot of the great Himalayas in the northern end and lies cocooned by huge oceans on the other three sides. While the Arabian Sea borders the south west side, the south east is lulled by the Bay of Bengal and the southern tip, Kanya Kumari (Cape Cameron) is washed by the Indian Ocean. Hence protected by such natural barriers like mountains and water, it is separated from the rest of Asia. For geographers, it lies to the north of the equator between 8.4 and 37.6 degrees north latitude and 68.7 and 97.25 degrees east longitude. India measures 3214 kms from north to south and 2933 kms from east to west. It has a land frontier of 15,200 kms and a coastline of 7516.5 kms. India shares its political borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan on the west, Bangladesh and Burma in the east, Nepal, China, Tibet and Bhutan in the north.

Demographic Profile:

Toatl Area: 3,287,263 sq. km
Capital : New Delhi
Population (1995) : 935.7m second largest populated country in this world after China.
Nationality:
noun: Indian(s)
adjective: Indian
Sex Ratio: 927 females per 1000 males. (Rural: 939. Urban: 894.)
Population growth rate : 1.9% (‘90-95).
Decennial Population Growth Rate for 1981-91: 23.85%
Urban Population (1994): 26%.
Population Density : 273 persons per sq km

Literacy Rate: 52.11% (Male: 64.13% Female: 39.29%)
Birth Rate (1994, Sample Registration System): 28.7 per 1000 population.
Death Rate (1994, Sample Registration System): 9.3 per 1000 population.

Economy statistics:

Percentage of population below Poverty Line (1987-88): 29.9%.
GNP per capita US$ 350 . GNP growth rate :5.3%.
National Income (at current prices): Rs 473,246 crores (‘91-’92)
GDP at factor cost (at current prices) : Rs 707,145 crores (‘93-’94)
Gross Domestic Capital Formation (as % of GDP) : 20.4 (‘93-’94)
Gross Domestic Savings (as % of GDP) : 20.2 (‘93-’94)
Per capita NNP (at current prices): Rs 6929 (‘93-’94)
External Debt (March 1995) : US$ 95,321 m
Net Market Borrowing (‘95-’96 budget estimate) : Rs 27,087 crores
India’s Total Exports (‘94-’95) : US$ 26,223 m
India’s Total Imports (‘94-’95) : US$ 28,251 m
Currency: 1 Indian rupee (Re) = 100 paise
Exchange rates: Indian rupees (Rs) per US$1 - 35.74 (May 1997)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Religions in India:

MAIN RELIGIOUS GROUPS
(1991 Census)		 PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL POPULATION
HINDUS (672,599,428) 82.41
MUSLIMS (95,222,853) 11.67
CHRISTIANS (18,895,917) 2.32
SIKHS (16,243,252) 1.99
BUDDHISTS (6,323,492) 0.77
JAINS (3,332,061) 0.41
OTHER RELIGIONS AND PERSUASIONS (3,131,125) 0.38
RELIGION NOT STATED (405,486) 0.05


Languages:

Kashmiri
 Hindi Urdu Assamese
Punjabi Bengali
Gujarati
Marathi Oriya
Konkani
Kannada Malayalam Tamil Telugu

States:

26 states and 6 union territories:
Andhra Pradesh | Arunachal Pradesh | Assam | Bihar | Delhi | Goa | Gujarat | Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Jammu and Kashmir | Karnataka | Kerala | Madhya Pradesh | Maharashtra | Manipur | Meghalaya | Mizoram | Nagaland | Orissa | Punjab | Rajasthan | Sikkim | Tamil Nadu | Tripura | Uttar Pradesh | West Bengal

Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Chandigarh | Dadra and Nagar Haveli | Daman and Diu | Lakshadweep | Pondicherry

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