India - Geography
Here, let us take a look at the Geography of India. Dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal. Mother's mean age at first birth is 21.2 years (2019/21) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 103 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Geographical data of India
| Location | Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan |
|---|---|
| Geographic coordinates | 20 00 N, 77 00 E |
| Map references | Asia |
| Tarrain | 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), antimony, iron ore, lead, manganese, mica, bauxite, rare earth elements, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land |
| 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 |
| Irrigated Land | 715,539 sq km (2020) |
| Major rivers (by length in km) | Brahmaputra (shared with China [s] and Bangladesh [m]) - 3,969 km; Indus (shared with China [s] and Pakistan [m]) - 3,610 km; Ganges river source (shared with Bangladesh [m]) - 2,704 km; Godavari - 1,465 km; Sutlej (shared with China [s] and Pakistan [m]) - 1,372 km; Yamuna - 1,370 km; Narmada - 1,289 km; Chenab river source (shared with Pakistan [m]) - 1,086 km; Ghaghara river mouth (shared with China [s] and Nepal) - 1,080 km note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth |
| Major aquifers | Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin |
| Land Boundaries | 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 |
| Coastline | 7,000 km |
| Climate | varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north |
| Area | |
| Total Area | |
| Land Area | 2,973,193 sq km |
| Water Area | 314,070 sq km |
| comparative Area | slightly more than one-third the size of the US |
| Maritime Claims | |
| Territorial sea | 12 nm |
| Contiguous zone | 24 nm |
| Exclusive economic zone | 200 nm |
| Continental shelf | 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| Elevations | |
| Highest point | Kanchenjunga 8,586 m |
| Lowest point | Indian Ocean 0 m |
| Mean elevation | 160 m |
| Land Use | |
| Agricultural land | 60.5% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 52.8% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 4.2% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 3.5% (2018 est.) |
| Forest | 23.1% (2018 est.) |
| Other | 16.4% (2018 est.) |
Population Distribution
With the notable exception of the deserts in the northwest, including the Thar Desert, and the mountain fringe in the north, a very high population density exists throughout most of the country; 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
People and Society
In India, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, and other 3% (2000)
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Pop growth rate | 0.72% (2024 est.) |
| Birth rate | 16.2 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Death rate | 9.1 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Health expenditure | 3% of GDP (2020) |
| Physicians Density | |
| Hospital bed Density | 0.5 beds/1,000 population (2017) |
| Total fertility rate | 2.03 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
| Gross reproduction rate | 0.97 (2024 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 66.7% (2019/20) |
| Est married women (ages 15-49) | 72.6% (2023 est.) |
| Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write |
| Education expenditures | 4.5% of GDP (2020 est.) |
| Net Migration rate | 0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Nationality | Indian | Indian(s) |
| Languages | |
| Religions | Hindu 79.8%, Muslim 14.2%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.7%, other and unspecified 2% (2011 est.) |
| Age Structure | |
| 0-14 years | 24.5% (male 181,115,052/female 163,647,028) |
| 15-64 years | 68.7% (male 500,568,593/female 467,593,781) |
| 65 years and over | 6.8% (2024 est.) (male 44,101,180/female 52,102,662) |
| Dependency Ratios | |
| Total dependency ratio | 48.1 |
| Youth dependency ratio | 38.1 |
| Elderly dependency ratio | 10.1 |
| Potential support ratio | 9.9 (2021 est.) |
| Median Age | |
| Total | 29.8 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 29.1 years |
| Female | 30.5 years |
| Urbanization | |
| Urban population | 36.4% of total population (2023) |
| Rate of urbanization | 2.33% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major urban areas (Pop) | 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). |
| Sex Ratio | |
| At birth | 1.1 male(s)/female |
| 0-14 years | 1.11 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 1.07 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.85 male(s)/female |
| Total population | 1.06 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Infant Motality | |
| Total | 30.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
| Male | 30 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Female | 30.8 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life Expectancy at birth | |
| Total population | 68.2 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 66.5 years |
| Female | 70.1 years |
| Drinking Water Sources | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 96.9% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 94.7% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 95.5% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 3.1% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 5.3% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 4.5% of population (2020 est.) |
| Sanitation facility acess | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 98.6% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 75.2% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 83.4% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 1.4% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 24.8% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 16.6% of population (2020 est.) |
| Alcohol consumption per capita | |
| Total | 3.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Beer | 0.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Wine | 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Spirits | 2.85 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Other alcohols | 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Tobacco use | |
| Total | 27.2% (2020 est.) |
| Male | 41.3% (2020 est.) |
| Female | 13% (2020 est.) |
| Child marriage | |
| Women married by age 15 | 4.8% |
| Women married by age 18 | 23.3% |
| Men married by age 18 | 2.6% (2021 est.) |
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about India
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