Trinidad and Tobago (2006) | India (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 regional corporations, 2 city corporations, 3 borough corporations, 1 ward
regional corporations: Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo, Diego Martin, Mayaro/Rio Claro, Penal/Debe, Princes Town, Sangre Grande, San Juan/Laventille, Siparia, Tunapuna/Piarco city corporations: Port-of-Spain, San Fernando borough corporations: Arima, Chaguanas, Point Fortin ward: Tobago |
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: 20.1% (male 109,936/female 104,076)
15-64 years: 71.3% (male 398,657/female 361,093) 65 years and over: 8.6% (male 41,162/female 50,918) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 31.2% (male 173,634,432/female 163,932,475)
15-64 years: 63.9% (male 356,932,082/female 333,283,590) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 26,542,025/female 25,939,784) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables; poultry | rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish |
Airports | 6 (2006) | 333 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 234
over 3,047 m: 14 2,438 to 3,047 m: 47 1,524 to 2,437 m: 78 914 to 1,523 m: 74 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
total: 99
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 42 under 914 m: 45 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 5,128 sq km
land: 5,128 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 3,287,590 sq km
land: 2,973,190 sq km water: 314,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly more than one-third the size of the US |
Background | First colonized by the Spanish, the islands came under British control in the early 19th century. The islands' sugar industry was hurt by the emancipation of the slaves in 1834. Manpower was replaced with the importation of contract laborers from India between 1845 and 1917, which boosted sugar production as well as the cocoa industry. The discovery of oil on Trinidad in 1910 added another important export. Independence was attained in 1962. The country is one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean thanks largely to petroleum and natural gas production and processing. Tourism, mostly in Tobago, is targeted for expansion and is growing. | 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 Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish in the 12th were followed by those of 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 led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU brought 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. Despite impressive gains in economic investment and output, India faces pressing problems such as the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife. |
Birth rate | 12.9 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 22.32 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.5 billion
expenditures: $4.06 billion; including capital expenditures of $117.3 million (2005 est.) |
revenues: $67.3 billion
expenditures: $104 billion, including capital expenditures of $13.5 billion (2004 est.) |
Capital | name: Port-of-Spain
geographic coordinates: 10 39 N, 61 31 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
New Delhi |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (June to December) | varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north |
Coastline | 362 km | 7,000 km |
Constitution | 1 August 1976 | 26 January 1950; amended many times |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
conventional short form: Trinidad and Tobago |
conventional long form: Republic of India
conventional short form: India |
Death rate | 10.57 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 8.28 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.767 billion (2005 est.) | $117.2 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Roy L. AUSTIN
embassy: 15 Queen's Park West, Port-of-Spain mailing address: P. O. Box 752, Port-of-Spain telephone: [1] (868) 622-6371 through 6376 FAX: [1] (868) 628-5462 |
chief of mission: Ambassador David C. MULFORD
embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [91] (11) 2419-8000 FAX: [91] (11) 2419-0017 consulate(s) general: Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Marina Annette VALERE
chancery: 1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 467-6490 FAX: [1] (202) 785-3130 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ranendra SEN
chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; note - Consular Wing located at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000 FAX: [1] (202) 265-4351 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | Barbados will assert its claim before the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into its waters; Guyana has also expressed its intention to challenge this boundary as it may extend into its waters as well | China and India launched a security and foreign policy dialogue in 2005, consolidating discussions related to the dispute over most of their rugged, militarized boundary, regional nuclear proliferation, Indian claims that China transferred missiles to Pakistan, 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); in 2004, India and Pakistan instituted a cease fire in the Kashmir and in 2005, restored bus service across the highly militarized Line of Control; Pakistan has taken its dispute on the impact and benefits of India's building the Baglihar dam on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir to the World Bank for arbitration; UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has maintained a small group of peacekeepers since 1949; India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; disputes persist with Pakistan over Indus River water sharing; to defuse tensions and prepare for discussions on a maritime boundary, in 2004, India and Pakistan resurveyed a portion of the disputed boundary in Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch; Pakistani maps continue to show Junagadh claim in Indian Gujarat State; discussions with Bangladesh remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, to exchange 162 miniscule enclaves in both countries, to allocate divided villages, and to stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh protests India's attempts to fence off high-traffic sections; dispute with Bangladesh over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; India seeks cooperation from Bhutan and Burma to keep Indian Nagaland and Assam separatists from hiding in remote areas along the borders; Joint Border Committee with Nepal continues to demarcate minor disputed boundary sections; India has instituted a stricter border regime to keep out Maoist insurgents and control illegal cross-border activities from Nepal |
Economic aid - recipient | $24 million (1999 est.) | $2.9 billion (FY98/99) |
Economy - overview | Trinidad and Tobago, the leading Caribbean producer of oil and gas, has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for international businesses. Tourism is a growing sector, although not proportionately as important as in many other Caribbean islands. The economy benefits from low inflation and a growing trade surplus. Prospects for growth in 2006 are good as prices for oil, petrochemicals, and liquefied natural gas are expected to remain high, and foreign direct investment continues to grow to support expanded capacity in the energy sector. The government is coping with a rise in violent crime. | India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Services are the major source of economic growth, though two-thirds of the workforce is in agriculture. The UPA government has committed to furthering economic reforms and developing basic infrastructure to improve the lives of the rural poor and boost economic performance. Government controls on foreign trade and investment have been reduced in some areas, but high tariffs (averaging 20% in 2004) and limits on foreign direct investment are still in place. The government has indicated it will do more to liberalize investment in civil aviation, telecom, and insurance sectors in the near term. Privatization of government-owned industries has proceeded slowly, and continues to generate political debate; continued social, political, and economic rigidities hold back needed initiatives. The economy has posted an excellent average growth rate of 6.8% since 1994, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points. India is capitalizing on its large numbers of well-educated people skilled in the English language to become a major exporter of software services and software workers. Despite strong growth, the World Bank and others worry about the combined state and federal budget deficit, running at approximately 9% of GDP. The huge and growing population is the fundamental social, economic, and environmental problem. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took nearly 11,000 lives, left almost 6,000 missing, destroyed $1.2 billion worth of property, and severely damaged the fishing fleet. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.651 billion kWh (2003) | 510.1 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 350 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 1.54 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 6.076 billion kWh (2003) | 547.2 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil pollution of beaches; deforestation; soil erosion | 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, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Indian (South Asian) 40%, African 37.5%, mixed 20.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 0.8% (2000 census) | Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000) |
Exchange rates | Trinidad and Tobago dollars per US dollar - 6.2842 (2005), 6.299 (2004), 6.2951 (2003), 6.2487 (2002), 6.2332 (2001) | Indian rupees per US dollar - 45.317 (2004), 46.583 (2003), 48.61 (2002), 47.186 (2001), 44.942 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President George Maxwell RICHARDS (since 17 March 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Patrick MANNING (since 24 December 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by an electoral college, which consists of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 14 February 2003 (next to be held in 2008); the president usually appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives election results: George Maxwell RICHARDS elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 43% |
chief of state: President A.P.J. Abdul KALAM (since 26 July 2002); Vice President Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT (since 19 August 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH (since NA May 2004) 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 July 2002 (next to be held 18 July 2007); vice president elected by both houses of Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 12 August 2002 (next to be held August 2007); prime minister chosen by parliamentary members of the majority party following legislative elections; election last held April - May 2004 (next to be held May 2009) election results: Abdul KALAM elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 89.6%; Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT elected vice president; percent of Parliament vote - 59.8% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, steel products, fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers | textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather manufactures |
Exports - partners | US 68.8%, Jamaica 5.5%, Barbados 2.9% (2005) | US 17%, UAE 8.8%, China 5.5%, Hong Kong 4.7%, UK 4.5%, Singapore 4.5% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | red with a white-edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist side to the lower fly side | three equal horizontal bands of saffron (subdued 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 - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.7%
industry: 57% services: 42.3% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 23.6%
industry: 28.4% services: 48% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $3,100 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7% (2005 est.) | 6.2% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 11 00 N, 61 00 W | 20 00 N, 77 00 E |
Geography - note | Pitch Lake, on Trinidad's southwestern coast, is the world's largest natural reservoir of asphalt | dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes |
Heliports | - | 20 (2004 est.) |
Highways | - | total: 2,525,989 km
paved: 1,448,655 km unpaved: 1,077,334 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 33.5% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; producer of cannabis | 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 point for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries; illicit producer of methaqualone; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through the hawala system |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, live animals | crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US 27.7%, Venezuela 13.3%, Brazil 11.8%, Japan 5.5%, Canada 4.2% (2005) | China 6.1%, US 6%, Switzerland 5.2%, Belgium 4.4% (2004) |
Independence | 31 August 1962 (from UK) | 15 August 1947 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 9% (2005 est.) | 7.4% (2004 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage, cotton textiles | textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software |
Infant mortality rate | total: 25.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 56.29 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 56.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 55.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.9% (2005 est.) | 4.2% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | AfDB, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, C, CERN (observer), CP, FAO, G- 6, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (2003) | 590,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature (comprised of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeals; the chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission); High Court of Justice; Caribbean Court of Appeals member; Court of Appeals; the highest court of appeal is the Privy Council in London | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the age of 65) |
Labor force | 620,000 (2005 est.) | 482.2 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 9.5%, manufacturing, mining, and quarrying 14%, construction and utilities 12.4%, services 64.1% (1997 est.) | agriculture 60%, industry 17%, services 23% (1999) |
Land boundaries | 0 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: 14.62%
permanent crops: 9.16% other: 76.22% (2005) |
arable land: 54.4%
permanent crops: 2.74% other: 42.86% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish, Chinese | 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 |
Legal system | based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law; limited judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (31 seats; 16 members appointed by the ruling party, 9 by the President, 6 by the opposition party for a maximum term of five years) and the House of Representatives (36 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 7 October 2002 (next to be held by October 2007) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote - PNM 55.5%, UNC 44.5%; seats by party - PNM 20, UNC 16 note: Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly with 12 members serving four-year terms; last election held January 2005; seats by party - PNM 11, DAC 1 |
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 whom 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 20 April through 10 May 2004 (next to be held 2009) election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - INC 145, BJP 138, CPI(M) 43, SP 36, RJD 24, BSP 19, DMK 16, SS 12, BJD 11, CPI 10, NCP 9, JDU 8, SAD 8, PMK 6, TDP 5, TRS 5, JMM 5, LJSP 4, MDMK 4, independents 5, other 30 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 66.76 years
male: 65.71 years female: 67.86 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 64.35 years
male: 63.57 years female: 65.16 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.6% male: 99.1% female: 98% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 59.5% male: 70.2% female: 48.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | 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 | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental margin |
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: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 16,760 GRT/7,941 DWT
by type: liquefied gas 1, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 1 (US 1) registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2006) |
total: 299 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,555,507 GRT/11,069,791 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 85, cargo 75, chemical tanker 13, combination ore/oil 1, container 7, liquefied gas 14, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 9, petroleum tanker 91, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 10 (Australia 1, China 1, Greece 1, UAE 6, United Kingdom 1) registered in other countries: 30 (2005) |
Military branches | Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force: Ground Force, Coast Guard (includes air wing) (2004) | Army, Navy (includes naval air arm), Air Force, Coast Guard, various security or paramilitary forces (includes Border Security Force, Assam Rifles, National Security Guards, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Special Frontier Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Railway Protection Force, and Defense Security Corps) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $66.72 million (2003 est.) | $18.86 billion (2005) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (2003 est.) | 2.93% (2005/06) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 31 August (1962) | Republic Day, 26 January (1950) |
Nationality | noun: Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)
adjective: Trinidadian, Tobagonian |
noun: Indian(s)
adjective: Indian |
Natural hazards | outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms | droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, asphalt | 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 | -11.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate 253 km; gas 1,278 km; oil 571 km (2006) | gas 6,171 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,195 km; oil 5,613 km; refined products 5,567 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | National Alliance for Reconstruction or NAR [Lennox SANKERSINGH]; People's National Movement or PNM [Patrick MANNING]; Team Unity or TU [Ramesh MAHARAJ]; United National Congress or UNC [Basdeo PANDAY]; Democratic Action Committee or DAC [Hochoy CHARLES], note - only active in Tobago | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or AIADMK [C. Jayalalitha JAYARAM]; All India Forward Bloc or AIFB, [Debabrata BISWAS]; Asom Gana Parishad [Brindaban GOSWAMI]; Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI]; Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Lal Krishna ADVANI]; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI [Ardhendu Bhushan BARDHAN]; Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M) Hakishan Singh SURJEET]; Congress (I) Party [Sonia GANDHI]; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or DMK (a regional party in Tamil Nadu) [M. KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National Congress or INC [Sonia GANDHI]; Indian National League [Suliaman SAITH]; Janata Dal (Secular) [H. D. Deve GOWDA]; Janata Dal (United) or JDU [Sharad YADAV]; Jharkhand Mukti Morcha or JMM [leader NA]; Kerala Congress (Mani faction) [K. M. MANI]; Lok Jan Shakti Party or LJSP [leader NA]; Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or MDMK [VAIKO]; Muslim League [G. M. BANATWALA]; Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]; Pattali Makkal Katchi or PMK [leader NA]; Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD [Laloo Prasad YADAV]; Revolutionary Socialist Party or RSP [Abani ROY]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV]; Shiromani Akali Dal or SAD [G. S. TOHRA]; Shiv Sena or SS [Bal THACKERAY]; Tamil Maanila Congress [G. K. VASAN]; Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS [leader NA]; Telugu Desam Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU]; Trinamool Congress [Mamata BANERJEE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Jamaat-al Muslimeen [Yasin BAKR] | 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 in the Kashmir Valley and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland in the Northeast |
Population | 1,065,842 (July 2006 est.) | 1,080,264,388 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 21% (1992 est.) | 25% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.87% (2006 est.) | 1.4% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Chennai, Haldia, Jawaharal Nehru, Kandla, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay), New Mangalore, Vishakhapatnam |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 18, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 153, FM 91, shortwave 68 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 63,230 km (16,693 km electrified)
broad gauge: 45,718 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 14,406 km 1.000-m gauge; 3,106 km 0.762-m gauge and 0.610-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 26%, Hindu 22.5%, Anglican 7.8%, Baptist 7.2%, Pentecostal 6.8%, other Christian 5.8%, Muslim 5.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 4%, other 10.8%, unspecified 1.4%, none 1.9% (2000 census) | Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2006 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: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent international service; good local service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-868; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Barbados and Guyana |
general assessment: recent deregulation and liberalization of telecommunications laws and policies have prompted rapid change; local and long distance service provided throughout all regions of the country, with services primarily concentrated in the urban areas; steady improvement is taking place with the recent admission of private and private-public investors, but telephone density remains low at about seven for each 100 persons nationwide but only one per 100 persons in rural areas and a national waiting list of over 1.7 million; fastest growth is in cellular service with modest growth in fixed lines
domestic: expansion of domestic service, although still weak in rural areas, resulted from increased competition and dramatic reductions in price led in large part by wireless service; mobile cellular service (both CDMA and GSM) introduced in 1994 and organized nationwide into four metropolitan cities and 19 telecom circles each with about three private service providers and one state-owned service provider; in recent years significant trunk capacity added in the form of fiber-optic cable and one of the world's largest domestic satellite systems, the Indian National Satellite system (INSAT), with five satellites supporting 33,000 very small aperture terminals (VSAT) international: country code - 91; 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, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, and Ernakulam; 5 submarine cables, including Sea-Me-We-3 with landing sites at Cochin and Mumbai (Bombay), Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) with landing site at Mumbai (Bombay), South Africa - Far East (SAFE) with landing site at Cochin, i2icn linking to Singapore with landing sites at Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai (Madras), and Tata Indicom linking Singapore and Chennai (Madras), provide a significant increase in the bandwidth available for both voice and data traffic (2004) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 323,500 (2005) | 48.917 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 800,000 (2005) | 26,154,400 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (2005) | 562 (of which 82 stations have 1 kW or greater power and 480 stations have less than 1 kW of power) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly plains with some hills and low mountains | upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north |
Total fertility rate | 1.74 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 2.78 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 8% (2005 est.) | 9.2% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | - | 14,500 km
note: 5,200 km on major rivers and 485 km on canals suitable for mechanized vessels (2004) |