India

Official name

Republic of India (as of 2026-09-05)^[1]

Region

South Asia (as of 2026-09-05)^[1]

Area rank

Seventh-largest country by area (as of 2026-09-05)^[1]

Population

1.46 billion (World Bank, 2025) (as of 2025)^[3]

Population growth

0.9% annually (World Bank, 2025) (as of 2025)^[3]

GDP growth

7.6% annually (World Bank, 2025) (as of 2025)^[3]

Life expectancy

72 years at birth (World Bank, 2024) (as of 2024)^[3]

Government

Federal parliamentary republic (since 1950) (as of 2026-09-05)^[1]

India, formally known as the Republic of India, lies in South Asia.^[1] It ranks seventh worldwide in land area and first in population, per Wikipedia.^[1] The World Bank gives India's population as 1.46 billion in 2025.^[3]

Geography

Along its southern edge is the Indian Ocean, which includes the Arabian Sea to the southwest and the Bay of Bengal to the southeast.^[1] 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.^[1] Beyond the Indian Ocean are Sri Lanka and the Maldives, both situated near India.^[1]

India's land is classified as megadiverse and contains four biodiversity hotspots, with wildlife supported in protected habitats.^[1] Forest area covered 24.5% of India's land area as of 2023, according to the World Bank.^[3] Annual freshwater withdrawals were 45% of internal resources as of 2022, according to the World Bank.^[3]

History

Humans had reached the Indian subcontinent out of Africa by roughly 55,000 years before the present.^[1] Permanent settlement along the western edge of the Indus basin dates back around 9,000 years and grew into the Indus Valley Civilisation during the third millennium BCE.^[1]

An early form of Sanskrit reached India from the northwest by 1200 BCE, its hymns marking the beginnings of Hinduism.^[1] Caste-based social stratification had become firmly rooted in Hinduism by 400 BCE.^[1] During roughly that era, Buddhism and Jainism appeared in India, offering social frameworks independent of birth.^[1]

The Maurya and Gupta Empires flourished in India, producing extensive cultural and scientific achievement.^[1] During the first millennium CE, Dravidian-speaking middle kingdoms of South India carried their scripts and cultural practices into Southeast Asia.^[1] 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.^[1]

Early in the second millennium, invading forces from Central Asia repeatedly swept across northern India, ultimately founding the Delhi Sultanate.^[1] A durable composite South Indian culture took shape under the Vijayanagara Empire.^[1] The Punjab region gave rise to Sikhism, whose founder was Guru Nanak.^[1] Under the Mughals, India enjoyed roughly two hundred years of growth and stability.^[1]

The British Crown assumed direct authority over India in 1858.^[1] 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.^[1] The British Indian Empire was divided in 1947 into two separate self-governing states: a predominantly Hindu India and a predominantly Muslim Pakistan.^[1]

0:00 Introduction: Why Do We Study History? Opening segment of an educational video on the Indus Valley Civilisation.

0:54 What Does 'Civilization' Mean? Segment defining the term civilisation in the context of the Indus Valley.

1:52 Characteristics of a Civilization Segment describing the characteristics used to classify ancient civilisations.

3:03 The Indus Valley Civilization Segment surveying the geography, cities and material culture of the Indus Valley.

5:57 An Open Letter to Historians Closing segment addressing historians' interpretations of the Indus Valley.

Politics and government

India has functioned as a federal republic with a democratic parliamentary system since 1950.^[1] It possesses nuclear weapons and ranks among the higher military spenders.^[1] Outstanding disputes dating to the mid-twentieth century remain with Pakistan and China over Kashmir.^[1]

The proportion of seats held by women in India's national parliament was 14% as of 2025, according to the World Bank.^[3]

Economy and society

Between 1951 and 2023, India's population rose from 361 million to more than 1.4 billion.^[1] By 2025, figures from the World Bank placed the population at 1.46 billion, growing by 0.9% each year.^[3] According to Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia characterises India's rapidly expanding economy as an information technology centre with a growing middle class.^[1]

Annual GDP growth was 7.6% as of 2025, and the unemployment rate was 4.2% of the labour force, according to the World Bank.^[3] Consumer price inflation was 2.4% annually as of 2025, according to the World Bank.^[3] Foreign direct investment net inflows were 1.0% of GDP as of 2025, according to the World Bank.^[3] Personal remittances received were 3.8% of GDP as of 2025, according to the World Bank.^[3] Central government debt was 46.5% of GDP as of 2018, according to the World Bank.^[3]

World Bank data record life expectancy at birth at 72 years in 2024.^[3] 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.^[3] Wikipedia notes that India has cut poverty, even as economic inequality has grown.^[1] It also points to gender disparity, childhood undernutrition, and worsening air quality as ongoing concerns.^[1]

Access to electricity was 99.9% as of 2024, according to the World Bank.^[3] The share of individuals using the Internet was 70% of the population as of 2025, according to the World Bank.^[3] People using safely managed sanitation services was 63% of the population as of 2024, according to the World Bank.^[3]

CO2 emissions excluding LULUCF per capita were 2.2 t CO2e/capita as of 2024, according to the World Bank.^[3] Electricity production from renewable sources, excluding hydroelectric, was 9.2% of total as of 2021, according to the World Bank.^[3] 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.^[3]

Media

0:00 Intro Opening segment of an episode of Geography Now! on India.

0:37 Geography Segment surveying India's physical geography and borders.

6:04 India Segment covering Indian history, culture and demographics.

10:21 Statistics Segment presenting statistical data about India.

17:10 Diplomacy Closing segment on India's foreign relations.

1. c. 55,000 years ago According to Wikipedia contributors, modern humans arrive on the Indian subcontinent from Africa.^[1]
2. c. 3000 BCE According to Wikipedia contributors, the Indus Valley Civilisation emerges in the third millennium BCE.^[1]
3. 1200 BCE According to Wikipedia contributors, an archaic form of Sanskrit diffuses into India from the northwest.^[1]
4. 400 BCE According to Wikipedia contributors, social differentiation by caste consolidates within Hinduism; Buddhism and Jainism arise.^[1]
5. 1000 According to Wikipedia contributors, Middle kingdoms of South India transmit Dravidian language scripts and cultures to Southeast Asia.^[1]
6. 1858 British Crown rule over India begins.^[1]
7. 1947 The British Indian Empire is partitioned into India and Pakistan.^[1]
8. 1950 India becomes a federal parliamentary republic.^[1]
9. 2023 India's population exceeds 1.4 billion.^[1]
10. 2025 World Bank records India's population at 1.46 billion and annual GDP growth at 7.6%.^[3]