Dominican Republic (2007) | India (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 31 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Bahoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, El Seibo, Elias Pina, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Salcedo, Samana, San Cristobal, San Jose de Ocoa, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Sanchez Ramirez, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Santo Domingo, Valverde | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 32.1% (male 1,532,813/female 1,477,033)
15-64 years: 62.2% (male 2,971,620/female 2,851,207) 65 years and over: 5.7% (male 247,738/female 285,407) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
33.12% (male 175,630,537; female 165,540,672) 15-64 years: 62.2% (male 331,790,850; female 308,902,864) 65 years and over: 4.68% (male 24,439,022; female 23,687,200) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs | rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish |
Airports | 34 (2007) | 337 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 15
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
235 over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 48 1,524 to 2,437 m: 81 914 to 1,523 m: 77 under 914 m: 16 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 11 (2007) |
total:
102 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 40 under 914 m: 55 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 48,730 sq km
land: 48,380 sq km water: 350 sq km |
total:
3,287,590 sq km land: 2,973,190 sq km water: 314,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire | slightly more than one-third the size of the US |
Background | Explored and claimed by Christopher COLUMBUS on his first voyage in 1492, the island of Hispaniola became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821, but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative rule followed, capped by the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas TRUJILLO from 1930-61. Juan BOSCH was elected president in 1962, but was deposed in a military coup in 1963. In 1965, the United States led an intervention in the midst of a civil war sparked by an uprising to restore BOSCH. In 1966, Joaquin BALAGUER defeated BOSCH in an election to become president. BALAGUER maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency. Former President (1996-2000) Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna won election to a second term in 2004 following a constitutional amendment allowing presidents to serve more than one term. | The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, goes back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier inhabitants created classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish in 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. 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 strife, all this despite impressive gains in economic investment and output. |
Birth rate | 22.91 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 24.28 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $5.658 billion
expenditures: $6.119 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues:
$44.3 billion expenditures: $73.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.) |
Capital | name: Santo Domingo
geographic coordinates: 18 28 N, 69 54 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
New Delhi |
Climate | tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall | varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north |
Coastline | 1,288 km | 7,000 km |
Constitution | 28 November 1966; amended 25 July 2002 | 26 January 1950 |
Country name | conventional long form: Dominican Republic
conventional short form: The Dominican local long form: Republica Dominicana local short form: La Dominicana |
conventional long form:
Republic of India conventional short form: India |
Currency | - | Indian rupee (INR) |
Death rate | 5.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.74 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $7.909 billion (2006 est.) | $99.6 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Roland W. BULLEN
embassy: corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo mailing address: Unit 5500, APO AA 34041-5500 telephone: [1] (809) 221-2171 FAX: [1] (809) 686-7437 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Richard F. CELESTE embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [91] (11) 688-9033, 611-3033 FAX: [91] (11) 419-0025 consulate(s) general: Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Flavio Dario ESPINAL Jacobo
chancery: 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6280 FAX: [1] (202) 265-8057 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Boston, Chicago, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Naresh CHANDRA chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; note - Embassy located at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000 FAX: [1] (202) 483-3972 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | Haitian migrants cross the porous border into the Dominican Republic to find work; illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to find better work | boundary with China in dispute; status of Kashmir with Pakistan; water-sharing problems with Pakistan over the Indus River (Wular Barrage); a portion of the boundary with Bangladesh is indefinite; exchange of 151 enclaves along border with Bangladesh subject to ratification by Indian parliament; dispute with Bangladesh over New Moore/South Talpatty Island |
Economic aid - recipient | $76.99 million (2005) | $2.9 billion (FY98/99) |
Economy - overview | The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean representative democracy that enjoyed strong GDP growth until 2003. Although the country has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. Growth turned negative in 2003 with reduced tourism, a major bank fraud, and limited growth in the US economy (the source of about 80% of export revenues), but recovered in 2004-06. With the help of strict fiscal targets agreed in the 2004 renegotiation of an IMF standby loan, President FERNANDEZ has stabilized the country's financial situation. Although the economy continues to grow at a respectable rate, high unemployment and inflation remain important challenges. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GNP, while the richest 10% enjoys nearly 40% of national income. The Dominican Republic's development prospects improved with the ratification of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) in September 2005. | India's economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of support services. More than a third of the population is too poor to be able to afford an adequate diet. India's international payments position remained strong in 2000 with adequate foreign exchange reserves, moderately depreciating nominal exchange rates, and booming exports of software services. Growth in manufacturing output slowed, and electricity shortages continue in many regions. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.791 billion kWh (2005) | 424.032 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 200 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 1.49 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 12.22 billion kWh (2005) | 454.561 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
79.41% hydro: 17.77% nuclear: 2.52% other: 0.3% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m
highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m |
lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m |
Environment - current issues | water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11% | Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000) |
Exchange rates | Dominican pesos per US dollar - 33.406 (2006), 30.409 (2005), 42.12 (2004), 30.831 (2003), 18.61 (2002) | Indian rupees per US dollar - 46.540 (January 2001), 44.942 (2000), 43.055 (1999), 41.259 (1998), 36.313 (1997), 35.433 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004) cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second consecutive term); election last held 16 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2008) election results: Leonel FERNANDEZ elected president; percent of vote - Leonel FERNANDEZ 57.1%, Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez 33.7%, Eduardo ESTRELLA 8.7% |
chief of state:
President Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN (since 25 July 1997); Vice President Krishnan KANT (since 21 August 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Atal Behari VAJPAYEE (since 19 March 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister 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 14 July 1997 (next to be held NA July 2002); vice president elected by both houses of Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 16 August 1997 (next to be held NA August 2002); prime minister elected by parliamentary members of the majority party following legislative elections; election last held NA October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004) election results: Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN elected president; percent of electoral college vote - NA%; Krishnan KANT elected vice president; percent of Parliament vote - NA%; Atal Behari VAJPAYEE elected prime minister; percent of vote - NA% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $43.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods | textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather manufactures |
Exports - partners | US 72.6%, UK 3.2%, Belgium 2.4% (2006) | US 22%, UK 6%, Germany 5%, Japan 5%, Hong Kong 5%, UAE 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | a centered white cross that extends to the edges divides the flag into four rectangles - the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, and the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms featuring a shield supported by an olive branch (left) and a palm branch (right) is at the center of the cross; above the shield a blue ribbon displays the motto, DIOS, PATRIA, LIBERTAD (God, Fatherland, Liberty), and below the shield, REPUBLICA DOMINICANA appears on a red ribbon | three equal horizontal bands of 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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $2.2 trillion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 11.6%
industry: 28.6% services: 59.8% (2006 est.) |
agriculture:
25% industry: 24% services: 51% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 10.7% (2006 est.) | 6% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 19 00 N, 70 40 W | 20 00 N, 77 00 E |
Geography - note | shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti | dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes |
Heliports | - | 16 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
3,319,644 km paved: 1,517,077 km unpaved: 1,802,567 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.4%
highest 10%: 41.1% (2004) |
lowest 10%:
3.5% highest 10%: 33.5% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; has become a transshipment point for ecstasy from the Netherlands and Belgium destined for US and Canada; substantial money laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor the Dominican Republic for illicit financial transactions; significant amphetamine consumption | world's largest producer of licit opium for the pharmaceutical trade, but an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets; transit country for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries; illicit producer of hashish and methaqualone |
Imports | 116,700 bbl/day (2004) | $60.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals | crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US 46.9%, Venezuela 8.4%, Colombia 6.3%, Mexico 5.7% (2006) | US 9%, Benelux 8%, UK 6%, Saudi Arabia 6%, Japan 6%, Germany 5% (1999) |
Independence | 27 February 1844 (from Haiti) | 15 August 1947 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2001 est.) | 7.5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco | textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software |
Infant mortality rate | total: 27.94 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
63.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.6% (2006 est.) | 5.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, Caricom (observer), FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (suspended), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | AfDB, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G- 6, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 43 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 2,750 sq km (2003) | 535,100 sq km (1995/96 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by the National Judicial Council comprised of the president, the leaders of both chambers of congress, the president of the Supreme Court, and an additional non-governing party congressional representative) | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the age of 65) |
Labor force | 3.896 million (2006 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 17%
industry: 24.3% services: 58.7% (1998 est.) |
agriculture 67%, services 18%, industry 15% (1995 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 360 km
border countries: Haiti 360 km |
total:
14,103 km 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 |
Land use | arable land: 22.49%
permanent crops: 10.26% other: 67.25% (2005) |
arable land:
56% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 23% other: 16% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish | English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication, Hindi the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people, Bengali (official), Telugu (official), Marathi (official), Tamil (official), Urdu (official), Gujarati (official), Malayalam (official), Kannada (official), Oriya (official), Punjabi (official), Assamese (official), Kashmiri (official), Sindhi (official), Sanskrit (official), Hindustani (a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India)
note: 24 languages each spoken by a million or more persons; numerous other languages and dialects, for the most part mutually unintelligible |
Legal system | based on French civil codes; Criminal Procedures Code modified in 2004 to include important elements of an accusatory system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law; limited judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (32 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Camara de Diputados (178 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 16 May 2006 (next to be held in May 2008); House of Representatives - last held 16 May 2006 (next to be held in May 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PLD 22, PRD 6, PRSC 4; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PLD 96, PRD 60, PRSC 22 |
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)
elections: People's Assembly - last held 5 September through 3 October 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - BJP alliance 40.8%, Congress alliance 33.8%, other 25.4%; seats by party - BJP alliance 304, Congress alliance 134, other 107 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.07 years
male: 71.34 years female: 74.87 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
62.86 years male: 62.22 years female: 63.53 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87% male: 86.8% female: 87.2% (2002 census) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 52% male: 65.5% female: 37.7% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti | Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 6 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,587 GRT/1,165 DWT
by type: cargo 1 registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007) |
total:
315 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,433,831 GRT/10,691,973 DWT ships by type: bulk 117, cargo 70, chemical tanker 15, combination bulk 1, combination ore/oil 3, container 15, liquefied gas 9, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 76, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 2 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Army, Navy (including naval air arm), Air Force, various security or paramilitary forces (includes Border Security Force, Assam Rifles, Rashtriya Rifles, and National Security Guards) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $13.02 billion (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.8% (2006) | 2.5% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
280,204,502 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
164,410,461 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
10,879,384 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 February (1844) | Republic Day, 26 January (1950) |
Nationality | noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican |
noun:
Indian(s) adjective: Indian |
Natural hazards | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts | droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; earthquakes |
Natural resources | nickel, bauxite, gold, silver | coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land |
Net migration rate | -2.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 3,005 km; petroleum products 2,687 km; natural gas 1,700 km (1995) |
Political parties and leaders | Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna]; Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD [Ramon ALBURQUERQUE]; National Progressive Front [Vincent CASTILLO, Pelegrin CASTILLO]; Social Christian Reformist Party or PRSC [Enrique ANTUN] | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or AIADMK [C. Jayalalitha JAYARAM]; All India Forward Bloc or AIFB [Prem Dutta PALIWAL (chairman), Chitta BASU (general secretary)]; Asom Gana Parishad [Prafulla Kumar MAHANTA]; Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [Kanshi RAM]; Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Bangaru LAXMAN, president]; 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 [Vinod MISHRA]; Congress (I) Party [Sonia GANDHI, president]; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or DMK (a regional party in Tamil Nadu) [M. KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National League [Suliaman SAIT]; Janata Dal (Secular) [H. D. Deve GOWDA]; Janata Dal (United) or JDU [Sharad YADAV, president, I. K. GUJRAL]; Kerala Congress (Mani faction) [K. M. MANI]; Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or MDMK [VAIKO]; Muslim League [G. M. BANATWALA]; Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]; National Democratic Alliance, a 16-party alliance including BJP, DMK, Janata Dal (U), SHS, Shiromani Akali Dal, Telugu Desam, BJD, Rinamool Congress]; Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD [Laloo Prasad YADAV]; Revolutionary Socialist Party or RSP [Tridip CHOWDHURY]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV, president]; Shiromani Akali Dal [Prakash Singh BADAL]; Shiv Sena [Bal THACKERAY]; Tamil Maanila Congress [G. K. MOOPANAR]; Telugu Desam Party or TDP (a regional party in Andhra Pradesh) [Chandrababu NAIDU]; Trinamool Congress [Mamata BANERJEE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Foundation for Institution-Building and Justice (FINJUS) | 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 |
Population | 9,365,818 (July 2007 est.) | 1,029,991,145 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 42.2% (2004) | 35% (1994 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.5% (2007 est.) | 1.55% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Chennai (Madras), Cochin, Jawaharal Nehru, Kandla, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay), Vishakhapatnam |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 153, FM 91, shortwave 68 (1998) |
Radios | - | 116 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 517 km
standard gauge: 375 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 142 km 0.762-m gauge note: additional 1,226 km operated by sugar companies in 1.076 m, 0.889 m, and 0.762-m gauges (2006) |
total:
62,915 km (12,307 km electrified; 12,617 km double track) broad gauge: 40,620 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 18,501 km 1.000-m gauge; 3,794 km 0.762-m and 0.610-m gauge (1998 est.) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, other 5% | Hindu 81.3%, Muslim 12%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other groups including Buddhist, Jain, Parsi 2.5% (2000) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.042 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.868 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
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 (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age; note - members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: relatively efficient system based on island-wide microwave radio relay network
domestic: fixed telephone line density is about 10 per 100 persons; multiple providers of mobile cellular service with a subscribership of roughly 50 per 100 persons international: country code - 1-809; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic telecommunications submarine cable that provides links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and US; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment:
mediocre service; local and long distance service provided throughout all regions of the country, with services primarily concentrated in the urban areas; major objective is to continue to expand and modernize long-distance network in order to keep pace with rapidly growing number of local subscriber lines; steady improvement is taking place with the recent admission of private and private-public investors, but, with telephone density at about two for each 100 persons and a waiting list of over 2 million, demand for main line telephone service will not be satisfied for a very long time domestic: local service is provided by microwave radio relay and coaxial cable, with open wire and obsolete electromechanical and manual switchboard systems still in use in rural areas; starting in the 1980s, a substantial amount of digital switch gear has been introduced for local and long-distance service; long-distance traffic is carried mostly by coaxial cable and low-capacity microwave radio relay; since 1985 significant trunk capacity has been added in the form of fiber-optic cable and a domestic satellite system with 254 earth stations; mobile cellular service is provided in four metropolitan cities international: 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, Gaidhinagar, Hyderabad, and Ernakulam; 4 submarine cables - LOCOM linking Chennai (Madras) to Penang; Indo-UAE-Gulf cable linking Mumbai (Bombay) to Al Fujayrah, UAE; India-SEA-ME-WE-3, SEA-ME-WE-2 with landing sites at Cochin and Mumbai (Bombay); Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) with landing site at Mumbai (Bombay) (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 897,000 (2006) | 27.7 million (October 2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.606 million (2006) | 2.93 million (November 2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 25 (2003) | 562 (of which 82 stations have 1 kW or greater power and 480 stations have less than 1 kW of power) (1997) |
Terrain | rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed | upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north |
Total fertility rate | 2.81 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.04 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | 16,180 km
note: 3,631 km navigable by large vessels |