ndia’s people inherited a civilization that began more than 4,500 years ago, one that has proven capable of absorbing and transforming the peoples and cultures that over the centuries have come to the subcontinent. India has long supported a large population of great diversity. The people in India’s intricate network of communities speak literally thousands of languages, practice all of the world’s great religions, and participate in a complex social structure that incorporates the caste system, a rigid system of social hierarchy.
India is one of the world’s most populous countries. In 2007 it had a population of 1,129,866,154, yielding an average population density of 380 persons per sq km (984 per sq mi). An estimated 71 percent of India’s inhabitants live in rural areas. The population grew by 17.2 percent between 1995 and 2005, down from 24 percent growth between 1981 and 1991. It is estimated that the rate of growth will slow even further in the coming decades, but India’s population nevertheless is expected to continue to increase. The annual growth rate in 2007 was 1.6 percent.
A. Principal Cities
Dozens of Indian cities have metropolitan area populations of more than 1 million. The largest are Mumbai (2001 metropolitan area population, 16.4 million), India’s premier port; Kolkata (13.2 million), eastern India’s chief commercial, financial, and manufacturing center; and Delhi (12.8 million), a historical city as well as a major transportation, commercial, and industrial center. Other important cities are Chennai, one of India’s principal ports; Bangalore, a center of high-technology industry; Hyder?b?d, N?gpur, Lucknow, and Jaipur, all centers of government and service industries; and K?npur, Ahmad?b?d, Pune, and Surat, which are known for their industrial economies.
Official name: Republic of India Capital: New Delhi Area 3,165,596 sq km;
People Population : 1,129,866,200 (2007 estimate)
Largest cities, with population Kolkata (Calcutta) 13,216,546 (2001) Delhi 12,791,458 (2001) Mumbai (Bombay) 11,914,398 (2001) Chennai (Madras) 6,424,624 (2001) Hydera-ba-d 5,533,640 (2001)
Ethnic groups Indo-Aryan 72 percent Dravidian 25 percent Other 3 percent
Languages There are 24 languages spoken in India by at least 1 million people each. Numerous other languages and dialects are also spoken. Hindi is the official national language and is the primary language for 40 percent of the population. Other official languages include Assamese, Bangla, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithali, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu and is spoken widely throughout northern India. English has associate status as the official working language and is important for national, political, and commercial matters.
Hindi 40 percent Bengali 8 percent Telugu 8 percent Marathi 7 percent Tamil 6 percent Urdu 5 percent Gujarati 5 percent Kannada 4 percent Malayalam 4 percent Oriya 3 percent Punjabi 3 percent Assamese 2 percent Other 5 percent
Religions Hindu 80.5 percent Muslim 13.4 percent Christian 2.3 percent Sikh 1.9 percent Buddhist 0.8 percent Nonreligious 0.7 percent Other 0.4 percent
Literacy rate Total 56.6 percent (2005 estimate) Female 43 percent (2005 estimate) Male 69.5 percent (2005 estimate)
Government Form of government Federal republic Head of state President Head of government Prime minister Legislature Bicameral legislature Lok Sabha (House of the People): 545 members Rajya Sabha (Council of States): 245 members
Economy Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) $805.7 billion (2005) GDP per capita (U.S.$) $736.10 (2005)
GDP by economic sector Agriculture, forestry, fishing 18.3 percent (2005) Industry 27.3 percent (2005) Services 54.4 percent (2005)
Employment Number of workers 435,035,740 (2005)
Workforce share of economic sector Agriculture, forestry, fishing 67 percent (1995) Industry 13 percent (1995) Services 20 percent (1995)
Unemployment rate 4.3 percent (2000)
Monetary unit 1 Indian rupee (Re), consisting of 100 paise
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The Word Was Made Flesh is a monthly missionary review of MISSiOMARIAE.NET. It publishes articles on the missions and related topics such as the Directives of the Magisterium on the missions, Apostolic spirituality, Mariology, homilies and sermons and more...
