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India

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1. Official name: Republic of India
2. Region: South Asia
3. Area rank: Seventh-largest country by area
4. Population: 1.46 billion (World Bank, 2025)
5. Population growth: 0.9% annually (World Bank, 2025)
6. GDP growth: 7.6% annually (World Bank, 2025)
7. Life expectancy: 72 years at birth (World Bank, 2024)
8. Government: Federal parliamentary republic (since 1950)
9. India, formally known as the Republic of India, lies in South Asia. It ranks seventh worldwide in land area and first in population, per Wikipedia. The World Bank gives India's population as 1.46 billion in 2025.
10. Geography
11. Along its southern edge is the Indian Ocean, which includes the Arabian Sea to the southwest and the Bay of Bengal to the southeast. Pakistan shares a western border with India, while China, Nepal, and Bhutan are situated to the north, and Bangladesh and Myanmar lie to the east. Beyond the Indian Ocean are Sri Lanka and the Maldives, both situated near India.
12. India's land is classified as megadiverse and contains four biodiversity hotspots, with wildlife supported in protected habitats. Forest area covered 24.5% of India's land area as of 2023, according to the World Bank. Annual freshwater withdrawals were 45% of internal resources as of 2022, according to the World Bank.
13. History
14. Humans had reached the Indian subcontinent out of Africa by roughly 55,000 years before the present. Permanent settlement along the western edge of the Indus basin dates back around 9,000 years and grew into the Indus Valley Civilization during the third millennium BCE.
15. An early form of Sanskrit reached India from the northwest by 1200 BCE, its hymns marking the beginnings of Hinduism. Caste-based social stratification had become firmly rooted in Hinduism by 400 BCE. During roughly that era, Buddhism and Jainism appeared in India, offering social frameworks independent of birth.
16. The Maurya and Gupta Empires flourished in India, producing extensive cultural and scientific achievement. During the first millennium CE, Dravidian-speaking middle kingdoms of South India carried their scripts and cultural practices into Southeast Asia. Prior to the close of the first millennium CE, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Zoroastrianism had all taken root along India's southern and western shores.
17. Early in the second millennium, invading forces from Central Asia repeatedly swept across northern India, ultimately founding the Delhi Sultanate. A durable composite South Indian culture took shape under the Vijayanagara Empire. The Punjab region gave rise to Sikhism, whose founder was Guru Nanak. Under the Mughals, India enjoyed roughly two hundred years of growth and stability.
18. The British Crown assumed direct authority over India in 1858. A nationalist movement developed there, the earliest of its kind within the non-European British Empire, and became identified with nonviolent struggle from 1920 onward. The British Indian Empire was divided in 1947 into two separate self-governing states: a predominantly Hindu India and a predominantly Muslim Pakistan.
19. What Does 'Civilization' Mean? Segment defining the term civilization in the context of the Indus Valley.
20. Characteristics of a Civilization Segment describing the characteristics used to classify ancient civilizations.
21. The Indus Valley Civilization Segment surveying the geography, cities and material culture of the Indus Valley.
22. An Open Letter to Historians Closing segment addressing historians' interpretations of the Indus Valley.
23. Politics and government
24. India has functioned as a federal republic with a democratic parliamentary system since 1950. It possesses nuclear weapons and ranks among the higher military spenders. Outstanding disputes dating to the mid-twentieth century remain with Pakistan and China over Kashmir.
25. The proportion of seats held by women in India's national parliament was 14% as of 2025, according to the World Bank.
26. Economy and society
27. Between 1951 and 2023, India's population rose from 361 million to more than 1.4 billion. By 2025, figures from the World Bank placed the population at 1.46 billion, growing by 0.9% each year. According to Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia characterizes India's rapidly expanding economy as an information technology center with a growing middle class.
28. Annual GDP growth was 7.6% as of 2025, and the unemployment rate was 4.2% of the labor force, according to the World Bank. Consumer price inflation was 2.4% annually as of 2025, according to the World Bank. Foreign direct investment net inflows were 1.0% of GDP as of 2025, according to the World Bank. Personal remittances received were 3.8% of GDP as of 2025, according to the World Bank. Central government debt was 46.5% of GDP as of 2018, according to the World Bank.
29. World Bank data record life expectancy at birth at 72 years in 2024. The same source puts the share of people living on less than $3.00 per day (2021 PPP) at 5.3% of the population for 2022. Wikipedia notes that India has cut poverty, even as economic inequality has grown. It also points to gender disparity, childhood undernutrition, and worsening air quality as ongoing concerns.
30. Access to electricity was 99.9% as of 2024, according to the World Bank. The share of individuals using the Internet was 70% of the population as of 2025, according to the World Bank. People using safely managed sanitation services was 63% of the population as of 2024, according to the World Bank.
31. CO2 emissions excluding LULUCF per capita were 2.2 t CO2e/capita as of 2024, according to the World Bank. Electricity production from renewable sources, excluding hydroelectric, was 9.2% of total as of 2021, according to the World Bank. Net migration was negative 495,753 as of 2025, and the intentional homicides rate was 3 per 100,000 people as of 2022, according to the World Bank.
32. Media
33. Geography Segment surveying India's physical geography and borders.
34. India Segment covering Indian history, culture and demographics.
35. Statistics Segment presenting statistical data about India.
36. Diplomacy Closing segment on India's foreign relations.
37. c. 55,000 years ago: According to Wikipedia contributors, modern humans arrive on the Indian subcontinent from Africa.
38. c. 3000 BCE: According to Wikipedia contributors, the Indus Valley Civilization emerges in the third millennium BCE.
39. 1200 BCE: According to Wikipedia contributors, an archaic form of Sanskrit diffuses into India from the northwest.
40. 400 BCE: According to Wikipedia contributors, social differentiation by caste consolidates within Hinduism; Buddhism and Jainism arise.
41. 1000: According to Wikipedia contributors, Middle kingdoms of South India transmit Dravidian language scripts and cultures to Southeast Asia.
42. 1858: British Crown rule over India begins.
43. 1947: The British Indian Empire is partitioned into India and Pakistan.
44. 1950: India becomes a federal parliamentary republic.
45. 2023: India's population exceeds 1.4 billion.
46. 2025: World Bank records India's population at 1.46 billion and annual GDP growth at 7.6%.

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