Page last updated on February 19, 2013
Nationality:
noun: Indian(s)
adjective:
Indian
Ethnic groups:
Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)
Languages:
Hindi 41%, Bengali 8.1%, Telugu 7.2%, Marathi 7%, Tamil 5.9%, Urdu 5%, Gujarati 4.5%, Kannada 3.7%, Malayalam 3.2%, Oriya 3.2%, Punjabi 2.8%, Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.2%, other 5.9%
note:
English enjoys the status of subsidiary official language but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the most widely spoken language and primary tongue of 41% 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 (2001 census)
Religions:
Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census)
Population:
1,205,073,612 (July 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
[see also: Population country ranks ]
Age structure:
0-14 years: 29.3% (male 187,386,162/female 165,345,284)
[see also: Age structure 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years:
18.2% (male 116,019,042/female 103,660,359)
25-54 years:
40.2% (male 249,017,538/female 235,042,251)
55-64 years:
6.8% (male 41,035,270/female 40,449,880)
65 years and over:
5.6% (male 31,892,823/female 35,225,003) (2012 est.)
Median age:
total: 26.5 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male:
25.9 years
female:
27.2 years (2012 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.312% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 89
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]
Birth rate:
20.6 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 86
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]
Death rate:
7.43 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 116
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]
Net migration rate:
-0.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 117
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]
Urbanization:
urban population: 30% of total population (2010)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization:
2.4% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
Major cities - population:
NEW DELHI (capital) 21.72 million; Mumbai 19.695 million; Kolkata 15.294 million; Chennai 7.416 million; Bangalore 7.079 million (2009)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
under 15 years:
1.13 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.9 male(s)/female
total population:
1.08 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
Maternal mortality rate:
200 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
country comparison to the world: 54
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]
Infant mortality rate:
total: 46.07 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 49
male:
44.71 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
47.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 67.14 years
country comparison to the world: 161
male:
66.08 years
female:
68.33 years (2012 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.58 children born/woman (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 81
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]
Health expenditures:
2.4% of GDP (2009)
country comparison to the world: 185
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]
Physicians density:
0.599 physicians/1,000 population (2005)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]
Hospital bed density:
0.9 beds/1,000 population (2005)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 54% of population
rural: 21% of population
total: 31% of population
unimproved:
