- India from the Paleolithic Period to the decline of the Indus civilization
- The development of Indian civilization from c. 1500 bce to c. 1200 ce
- The early Muslim period
- The Mughal Empire1526–1761
- The reign of Akbar the Great
- India and European expansionc. 1500–1858
- British imperial power1858–1947
India
What countries border India?
What are the oldest known civilizations of India?
What are the major holidays and festivals of India?
What languages are spoken in India?
How many people live in India?
How many states does India have?
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India country that occupies the greater part of South Asia. It is made up of 28 states and eight union territoriesand its national capital is New Delhibuilt in the 20th century just south of the historic hub of Old Delhi to serve as India’s administrative center. Its government is a constitutional republic that represents a highly diverse population consisting of thousands of ethnic groups and hundreds of languages. India became the world’s most populous country in 2023according to estimates by the United Nations.
It is known from archaeological evidence that a highly sophisticated urbanized culture—the Indus civilization—dominated the northwestern part of the subcontinent from about 2600 to 2000 bce. From that period onIndia functioned as a virtually self-contained political and cultural arenawhich gave rise to a distinctive tradition that was associated primarily with Hinduismthe roots of which possibly can be traced to the Indus civilization. Other religionsnotably Buddhism and Jainismoriginated in India—though their presence there is now quite small—and throughout the centuries residents of the subcontinent developed a rich intellectual life in such fields as mathematicsastronomyarchitectureliteraturemusicand the fine arts.
- Head Of Government:
- Prime Minister: Narendra Modi
- Capital:
- New Delhi
- Population:
- (2025 est.) 1,398,885,000
- Currency Exchange Rate:
- 1 USD equals 87.782 Indian rupee
- Head Of State:
- President: Droupadi Murmu
- Form Of Government:
- multiparty federal republic with two legislative houses (Council of States [2451]; House of the People [543])
- Official Languages:
- Hindi; English
- Official Religion:
- none
- Official Name:
- Bharat (Hindi); Republic of India (English)
- Total Area (Sq Km):
- 3,287,263
- Total Area (Sq Mi):
- 1,269,219
- Monetary Unit:
- Indian rupee ₨2
- Urban-Rural Population:
- Urban: (2018) 34%
- Rural: (2018) 66%
- Life Expectancy At Birth:
- Male: (2021–2025) 69.4 years
- Female: (2021–2025) 72.7 years
- Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate:
- Male: (2023) 85%
- Female: (2023) 70%
- Gni Per Capita (U.S.$):
- (2023) 2,540
- Includes 12 members appointed by the president.
- The first symbol for the rupee was officially approved in July 2010and coins and banknotes with the new symbol began being issued in late 2011.
Throughout its historyIndia was intermittently disturbed by incursions from beyond its northern mountain wall. Especially important was the coming of Islambrought from the northwest by ArabTurkishPersianand other raiders beginning early in the 8th century ce. Eventuallysome of those raiders stayed; by the 13th century much of the subcontinent was under Muslim ruleand the number of Muslims steadily increased. Only after the arrival of the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama in 1498 and the subsequent establishment of European maritime supremacy in the region did India become exposed to major external influences arriving by seaa process that culminated in the decline of the ruling Muslim elite and absorption of the subcontinent within the British Empire.
Direct administration by the Britishwhich began in 1858effected a political and economic unification of the subcontinent. As a result of the Indian Independence MovementBritish rule came to an end on August 14-151947celebrated annually as Independence Day. The subcontinent was then partitioned along religious lines into two separate countries—Indiawith a majority of Hindusand Pakistanwith a majority of Muslims; the eastern portion of Pakistan later split off to form Bangladesh. Many British institutions stayed in place (such as the parliamentary system of government); English continued to be a widely used lingua franca; and India remained within the Commonwealth. Hindi became the official language (and a number of other local languages achieved official status)while a vibrant English-language intelligentsia thrived.
India remains one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world. Apart from its many religions and sectsIndia is home to innumerable castes and tribesas well as to more than a dozen major and hundreds of minor linguistic groups from several language families unrelated to one another. Religious minoritiesincluding MuslimsChristiansSikhsBuddhistsand Jainsstill account for a significant proportion of the population. Earnest attempts have been made to instill a spirit of nationhood in so varied a populationbut tensions between neighboring groups have remained and at times have resulted in outbreaks of violence. Yet social legislation has done much to alleviate the disabilities previously suffered by formerly “untouchable” castestribal populationswomenand other traditionally disadvantaged segments of society. At independenceIndia was blessed with several leaders of world staturemost notably Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehruwho were able to galvanize the masses at home and bring prestige to India abroad. The country has played an increasing role in global affairs.
Contemporary India’s increasing physical prosperity and cultural dynamism—despite continued domestic challenges and economic inequality—are seen in its well-developed infrastructure and a highly diversified industrial basein its pool of scientific and engineering personnel (one of the largest in the world)in the pace of its agricultural expansionand in its rich and vibrant cultural exports of musicliteratureand cinema. Though the country’s population remains largely ruralIndia has three of the most populous and cosmopolitan cities in the world—Mumbai (Bombay)Kolkata (Calcutta)and Delhi. Three other Indian cities—Bengaluru (Bangalore)Chennai (Madras)and Hyderabad—are among the world’s fastest-growing high-technology centersand most of the world’s major information technology and software companies now have offices in India.
The history section of the articles Pakistan and Bangladesh discuss those countries since their creation.
Land
India’s frontierwhich is roughly one-third coastlineabuts six countries. It is bounded to the northwest by Pakistanto the north by NepalChinaand Bhutan; and to the east by Myanmar (Burma). Bangladesh to the east is surrounded by India to the northeastand west. The island country of Sri Lanka is situated some 40 miles (65 km) off the southeast coast of India across the Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar.
The land of India—together with Bangladesh and most of Pakistan—forms a well-defined subcontinentset off from the rest of Asia by the imposing northern mountain rampart of the Himalayas and by adjoining mountain ranges to the west and east. In areaIndia ranks as the seventh largest country in the world.
Much of India’s territory lies within a large peninsulasurrounded by the Arabian Sea to the west and the Bay of Bengal to the east; Cape Comorin (Kanniyakumari)the southernmost point of the Indian mainlandmarks the dividing line between those two bodies of water. India has two union territories composed entirely of islands: Lakshadweepin the Arabian Seaand the Andaman and Nicobar Islandswhich lie between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea.
Relief
It is now generally accepted that India’s geographic positioncontinental outlineand basic geologic structure resulted from a process of plate tectonics—the shifting of enormousrigid crustal plates over the Earth’s underlying layer of molten material. India’s landmasswhich forms the northwestern portion of the Indian-Australian Platebegan to drift slowly northward toward the much larger Eurasian Plate several hundred million years ago (after the former broke away from the ancient southern-hemispheric supercontinent known as Gondwanaor Gondwanaland). When the two finally collided (approximately 50 million years ago)the northern edge of the Indian-Australian Plate was thrust under the Eurasian Plate at a low angle. The collision reduced the speed of the oncoming platebut the underthrustingor subductionof the plate has continued into contemporary times.
The effects of the collision and continued subduction are numerous and extremely complicated. An important consequencehoweverwas the slicing off of crustal rock from the top of the underthrusting plate. Those slices were thrown back onto the northern edge of the Indian landmass and came to form much of the Himalayan mountain system. The new mountains—together with vast amounts of sediment eroded from them—were so heavy that the Indian-Australian Plate just south of the range was forced downwardcreating a zone of crustal subsidence. Continued rapid erosion of the Himalayas added to the sediment accumulationwhich was subsequently carried by mountain streams to fill the subsidence zone and cause it to sink more.
India’s present-day relief features have been superimposed on three basic structural units: the Himalayas in the norththe Deccan (peninsular plateau region) in the southand the Indo-Gangetic Plain (lying over the subsidence zone) between the two. Further information on the geology of India is found in the article Asia.