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.
People
Population: |
1,065,070,607 (July 2004 est.) |
Age structure: |
0-14 years: 31.7% (male 173,869,856; female 164,003,915) 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: |
total: 24.4 years male: 24.4 years female: 24.4 years (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate: |
1.44% (2004 est.) |
Birth rate: |
22.8 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Death rate: |
8.38 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Net migration rate: |
-0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Sex ratio: |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female 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: |
total: 57.92 deaths/1,000 live births male: 58.52 deaths/1,000 live births female: 57.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Life expectancy at birth: |
total population: 63.99 years male: 63.25 years female: 64.77 years (2004 est.) |
Total fertility rate: |
2.85 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
0.8% (2001 est.) |
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
3.97 million (2001 est.) |
HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
310,000 (2001 est.) |
Nationality: |
noun: Indian(s) adjective: Indian |
Ethnic groups: |
Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000) |
Religions: |
Hindu 81.3%, Muslim 12%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other groups including Buddhist, Jain, Parsi 2.5% (2000) |
Languages: |
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 |
Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 59.5% male: 70.2% female: 48.3% (2003 est.) |
Facts courtesy of the CIA World Fact Book
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