India (2001) | China (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | 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 | 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities (shi, singular and plural)
provinces: Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang; (see note on Taiwan) autonomous regions: Guangxi, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Xinjiang Uygur, Xizang (Tibet) municipalities: Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 20.4% (male 143,527,634/female 126,607,344)
15-64 years: 71.7% (male 487,079,770/female 460,596,384) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 49,683,856/female 54,356,900) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish | rice, wheat, potatoes, corn, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, apples, cotton, oilseed; pork; fish |
Airports | 337 (2000 est.) | 467 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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.) |
total: 403
over 3,047 m: 58 2,438 to 3,047 m: 128 1,524 to 2,437 m: 130 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 67 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | 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.) |
total: 64
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 26 (2007) |
Area | total:
3,287,590 sq km land: 2,973,190 sq km water: 314,400 sq km |
total: 9,596,960 sq km
land: 9,326,410 sq km water: 270,550 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than one-third the size of the US | slightly smaller than the US |
Background | 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. | For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight. |
Birth rate | 24.28 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.45 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$44.3 billion expenditures: $73.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.) |
revenues: $482.2 billion
expenditures: $515.8 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | New Delhi | name: Beijing
geographic coordinates: 39 55 N, 116 23 E time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: despite its size, all of China falls within one time zone |
Climate | varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north | extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north |
Coastline | 7,000 km | 14,500 km |
Constitution | 26 January 1950 | most recent promulgation 4 December 1982 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of India conventional short form: India |
conventional long form: People's Republic of China
conventional short form: China local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo local short form: Zhongguo abbreviation: PRC |
Currency | Indian rupee (INR) | - |
Death rate | 8.74 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $99.6 billion (2000) | $315 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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) |
chief of mission: Ambassador Clark T. RANDT, Jr.
embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [86] (10) 6532-3831 FAX: [86] (10) 6532-3178 consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau, Shanghai, Shenyang |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador ZHOU Wenzhong
chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2582 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco |
Disputes - international | 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 | based on principles drafted in 2005, China and India continue discussions to resolve all aspects of their extensive boundary and territorial disputes together with a security and foreign policy dialogue to consolidate discussions related to the boundary, regional nuclear proliferation, and other matters; recent talks and confidence-building measures have begun to defuse tensions over Kashmir, site of the world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; lacking any treaty describing the boundary, Bhutan and China continue negotiations to establish a boundary alignment to resolve substantial cartographic discrepancies, the largest of which lies in Bhutan's northwest; China asserts sovereignty over the Spratly Islands together with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" eased tensions in the Spratly's but is not the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties; Vietnam and China continue to expand construction of facilities in the Spratly's and in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord on marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands; China occupies some of the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; China and Taiwan continue to reject both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared equidistance line in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon prospecting; certain islands in the Yalu and Tumen rivers are in dispute with North Korea; China seeks to stem illegal migration of North Koreans; China and Russia have demarcated the once disputed islands at the Amur and Ussuri confluence and in the Argun River in accordance with their 2004 Agreement; in 2006, China and Tajikistan pledged to commence demarcation of the revised boundary agreed to in the delimitation of 2002; demarcation of the China-Vietnam land boundary proceeds slowly and although the maritime boundary delimitation and fisheries agreements were ratified in June 2004, implementation remains stalled; in 2004, international environmentalist and political pressure from Burma and Thailand prompted China to halt construction of 13 dams on the Salween River |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.9 billion (FY98/99) | $NA (2005) |
Economy - overview | 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. | China's economy during the last quarter century has changed from a centrally planned system that was largely closed to international trade to a more market-oriented economy that has a rapidly growing private sector and is a major player in the global economy. Reforms started in the late 1970s with the phasing out of collectivized agriculture, and expanded to include the gradual liberalization of prices, fiscal decentralization, increased autonomy for state enterprises, the foundation of a diversified banking system, the development of stock markets, the rapid growth of the non-state sector, and the opening to foreign trade and investment. China has generally implemented reforms in a gradualist or piecemeal fashion, including the sale of equity in China's largest state banks to foreign investors and refinements in foreign exchange and bond markets in 2005. The restructuring of the economy and resulting efficiency gains have contributed to a more than tenfold increase in GDP since 1978. Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis, China in 2006 stood as the second-largest economy in the world after the US, although in per capita terms the country is still lower middle-income and 130 million Chinese fall below international poverty lines. Economic development has generally been more rapid in coastal provinces than in the interior, and there are large disparities in per capita income between regions. The government has struggled to: (a) sustain adequate job growth for tens of millions of workers laid off from state-owned enterprises, migrants, and new entrants to the work force; (b) reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and (c) contain environmental damage and social strife related to the economy's rapid transformation. From 100 million to 150 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time, low-paying jobs. One demographic consequence of the "one child" policy is that China is now one of the most rapidly aging countries in the world. Another long-term threat to growth is the deterioration in the environment - notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table, especially in the north. China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and economic development. China has benefited from a huge expansion in computer Internet use, with more than 100 million users at the end of 2005. Foreign investment remains a strong element in China's remarkable expansion in world trade and has been an important factor in the growth of urban jobs. In July 2005, China revalued its currency by 2.1% against the US dollar and moved to an exchange rate system that references a basket of currencies. In 2006 China had the largest current account surplus in the world - nearly $180 billion. More power generating capacity came on line in 2006 as large scale investments were completed. Thirteen years in construction at a cost of $24 billion, the immense Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze River was essentially completed in 2006 and will revolutionize electrification and flood control in the area. The 11th Five-Year Program (2006-10), approved by the National People's Congress in March 2006, calls for a 20% reduction in energy consumption per unit of GDP by 2010 and an estimated 45% increase in GDP by 2010. The plan states that conserving resources and protecting the environment are basic goals, but it lacks details on the policies and reforms necessary to achieve these goals. |
Electricity - consumption | 424.032 billion kWh (1999) | 2.197 trillion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 200 million kWh (1999) | 11.19 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 1.49 billion kWh (1999) | 5.011 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 454.561 billion kWh (1999) | 2.372 trillion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
79.41% hydro: 17.77% nuclear: 2.52% other: 0.3% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m |
lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species |
Environment - international agreements | 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 |
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000) | Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1% |
Exchange rates | Indian rupees per US dollar - 46.540 (January 2001), 44.942 (2000), 43.055 (1999), 41.259 (1998), 36.313 (1997), 35.433 (1996) | yuan per US dollar - 7.97 (2006), 8.1943 (2005), 8.2768 (2004), 8.277 (2003), 8.277 (2002) |
Executive branch | 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% |
chief of state: President HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003); Vice President ZENG Qinghong (since 15 March 2003)
head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); Vice Premier WU Yi (17 March 2003), Vice Premier ZENG Peiyan (since 17 March 2003), and Vice Premier HUI Liangyu (since 17 March 2003) cabinet: State Council appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC) elections: president and vice president elected by the National People's Congress for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 15-17 March 2003 (next to be held in mid-March 2008); premier nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress election results: HU Jintao elected president by the 10th National People's Congress with a total of 2,937 votes (4 delegates voted against him, 4 abstained, and 38 did not vote); ZENG Qinghong elected vice president by the 10th National People's Congress with a total of 2,578 votes (177 delegates voted against him, 190 abstained, and 38 did not vote); 2 seats were vacant |
Exports | $43.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | 443,300 bbl/day (2005) |
Exports - commodities | textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather manufactures | machinery and equipment, plastics, optical and medical equipment, iron and steel |
Exports - partners | US 22%, UK 6%, Germany 5%, Japan 5%, Hong Kong 5%, UAE 4% (1999) | US 21%, Hong Kong 16%, Japan 9.5%, South Korea 4.6%, Germany 4.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.2 trillion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
25% industry: 24% services: 51% (2000) |
agriculture: 11.7%
industry: 48.9% services: 39.3% note: industry includes construction (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 11.1% (official data) (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 N, 77 00 E | 35 00 N, 105 00 E |
Geography - note | dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes | world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US); Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak |
Heliports | 16 (2000 est.) | 35 (2007) |
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%:
3.5% highest 10%: 33.5% (1997) |
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 34.9% (2004) |
Illicit drugs | 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 | major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle region of Southeast Asia; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source country for chemical precursors, despite new regulations on its large chemical industry |
Imports | $60.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | 3.181 million bbl/day (2005) |
Imports - commodities | crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals | machinery and equipment, oil and mineral fuels, plastics, optical and medical equipment, organic chemicals, iron and steel |
Imports - partners | US 9%, Benelux 8%, UK 6%, Saudi Arabia 6%, Japan 6%, Germany 5% (1999) | Japan 14.6%, South Korea 11.3%, Taiwan 10.9%, US 7.5%, Germany 4.8% (2006) |
Independence | 15 August 1947 (from UK) | 221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Manchu Dynasty replaced by a Republic); 1 October 1949 (People's Republic established) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (2000 est.) | 22.9% (2006 est.) |
Industries | textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software | mining and ore processing, iron, steel, aluminum, and other metals, coal; machine building; armaments; textiles and apparel; petroleum; cement; chemicals; fertilizers; consumer products, including footwear, toys, and electronics; food processing; transportation equipment, including automobiles, rail cars and locomotives, ships, and aircraft; telecommunications equipment, commercial space launch vehicles, satellites |
Infant mortality rate | 63.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 22.12 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.01 deaths/1,000 live births female: 24.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.4% (2000 est.) | 1.7% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | AfDB, APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BCIE, BIS, CDB, EAS, FAO, G-24 (observer), G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 43 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 535,100 sq km (1995/96 est.) | 545,960 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the age of 65) | Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's Congress); Local People's Courts (comprise higher, intermediate, and local courts); Special People's Courts (primarily military, maritime, and railway transport courts) |
Labor force | NA | 795.3 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 67%, services 18%, industry 15% (1995 est.) | agriculture: 45%
industry: 24% services: 31% (2005 est.) |
Land boundaries | 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 |
total: 22,117 km
border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Mongolia 4,677 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km regional borders: Hong Kong 30 km, Macau 0.34 km |
Land use | arable land:
56% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 23% other: 16% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 14.86%
permanent crops: 1.27% other: 83.87% (2005) |
Languages | 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 |
Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry) |
Legal system | based on English common law; limited judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on civil law system; derived from Soviet and continental civil code legal principles; legislature retains power to interpret statutes; constitution ambiguous on judicial review of legislation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | 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 |
unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,985 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held December 2002-February 2003 (next to be held in late 2007-February 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
62.86 years male: 62.22 years female: 63.53 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 72.88 years
male: 71.13 years female: 74.82 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 52% male: 65.5% female: 37.7% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.9% male: 95.1% female: 86.5% (2000 census) |
Location | Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan | Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam |
Map references | Asia | Asia |
Maritime claims | 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 |
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 |
Merchant marine | 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.) |
total: 1,775 ships (1000 GRT or over) 22,219,786 GRT/33,819,636 DWT
by type: barge carrier 3, bulk carrier 415, cargo 689, carrier 3, chemical tanker 62, combination ore/oil 2, container 157, liquefied gas 35, passenger 8, passenger/cargo 84, petroleum tanker 250, refrigerated cargo 33, roll on/roll off 9, specialized tanker 8, vehicle carrier 17 foreign-owned: 12 (Ecuador 1, Greece 1, Hong Kong 6, Japan 2, South Korea 1, Norway 1) registered in other countries: 1,366 (Bahamas 9, Bangladesh 1, Belize 107, Bermuda 10, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 166, Cyprus 10, France 5, Georgia 4, Germany 2, Honduras 3, Hong Kong 309, India 1, Indonesia 2, Liberia 32, Malaysia 1, Malta 13, Marshall Islands 3, Mongolia 3, Norway 47, Panama 473, Philippines 2, Sierra Leone 8, Singapore 19, St Vincent and The Grenadines 106, Thailand 1, Turkey 1, Tuvalu 25, unknown 33) (2007) |
Military branches | 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) | People's Liberation Army (PLA): Ground Forces, Navy (includes marines and naval aviation), Air Force (includes airborne forces), and Second Artillery Corps (strategic missile force); People's Armed Police (PAP); Reserve and Militia Forces (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $13.02 billion (FY01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.5% (FY00) | 4.3% (2006) |
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 | Republic Day, 26 January (1950) | Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949) |
Nationality | noun:
Indian(s) adjective: Indian |
noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
adjective: Chinese |
Natural hazards | droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; earthquakes | frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence |
Natural resources | coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land | coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest) |
Net migration rate | -0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 3,005 km; petroleum products 2,687 km; natural gas 1,700 km (1995) | gas 22,664 km; oil 15,256 km; refined products 6,106 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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 | no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the Falungong spiritual movement and the China Democracy Party as subversive groups |
Population | 1,029,991,145 (July 2001 est.) | 1,321,851,888 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 35% (1994 est.) | 10% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.55% (2001 est.) | 0.606% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Chennai (Madras), Cochin, Jawaharal Nehru, Kandla, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay), Vishakhapatnam | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 153, FM 91, shortwave 68 (1998) | AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998) |
Radios | 116 million (1997) | - |
Railways | 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.) |
total: 75,438 km
standard gauge: 75,438 km 1.435-m gauge (20,151 km electrified) (2005) |
Religions | Hindu 81.3%, Muslim 12%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other groups including Buddhist, Jain, Parsi 2.5% (2000) | Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2%
note: officially atheist (2002 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 (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.11 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.134 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.057 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.914 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and many towns; China continues to develop its telecommunications infrastructure, and is partnering with foreign providers to expand its global reach; 3 of China's 6 major telecommunications operators are part of an international consortium which, in December 2006, signed an agreement with Verizon Business to build the first next-generation optical cable system directly linking the US mainland and China
domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; mobile-cellular subscribership is increasing rapidly; broadband Internet subscribership reached 50 million in 2006; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place international: country code - 86; a number of submarine cables provide connectivity to Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the US; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions) (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 27.7 million (October 2000) | 368 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.93 million (November 2000) | 461.1 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 562 (of which 82 stations have 1 kW or greater power and 480 stations have less than 1 kW of power) (1997) | 3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31 are provincial TV stations, and nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997) |
Terrain | upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north | mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east |
Total fertility rate | 3.04 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.75 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 4.2% official registered unemployment in urban areas in 2005; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2005) |
Waterways | 16,180 km
note: 3,631 km navigable by large vessels |
124,000 km navigable (2006) |