India - Republic of India

geography
Area 3,166,000 sq km.
A further 121,000 sq km of Kashmir is administered by Pakistan and China.
Geographically and politically India dominates south Asia and the Indian Ocean.
There are 29 Union States and 6 Union Territories.

capital
Delhi 11.3 million.
Other cities: 31 over one million; nearly 400 over 100,000.
Largest city: Mumbai (Bombay) 17.55 million.
Urbanites 40% in 2001.

population
2000    1,013,661,777
2010    1,152,163,518
2025    1,330,448,707

people
The racial, ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity together with the caste system complicates any analysis of the population.
A 1991 survey identified 4,635 distinct people groups. People groups based on culture and caste rather than language are the more important for understanding India's complexity.
The caste system established Brahmin control over the majority. Fundamental to Hinduism, it pervades all religious and social structures in India.
Caste discrimination is forbidden by the constitution, but is socially important for over 80% of the population. There are an estimated 6,400 castes.

literacy
62%

language
The summer institute of linguistics (SIL) lists 407 living languages.
The predominate language is English.