India - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of India. Dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal. Mother's mean age at first birth is 21.2 years (2019/21) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 103 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Geographical data of India
Location Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan
Geographic coordinates 20 00 N, 77 00 E
Map references Asia
Tarrain upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north
Natural Resources coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), antimony, iron ore, lead, manganese, mica, bauxite, rare earth elements, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land
Natural Hazards

droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes

volcanism: Barren Island (354 m) in the Andaman Sea has been active in recent years

Irrigated Land 715,539 sq km (2020)
Major rivers (by length in km) Brahmaputra (shared with China [s] and Bangladesh [m]) - 3,969 km; Indus (shared with China [s] and Pakistan [m]) - 3,610 km; Ganges river source (shared with Bangladesh [m]) - 2,704 km; Godavari - 1,465 km; Sutlej (shared with China [s] and Pakistan [m]) - 1,372 km; Yamuna - 1,370 km; Narmada - 1,289 km; Chenab river source (shared with Pakistan [m]) - 1,086 km; Ghaghara river mouth (shared with China [s] and Nepal) - 1,080 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Major aquifers Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin
Land Boundaries 13,888 km
Border Countries Bangladesh 4,142 km; Bhutan 659 km; Burma 1,468 km; China 2,659 km; Nepal 1,770 km; Pakistan 3,190 km
Coastline 7,000 km
Climate varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
Area
Total Area
Land Area 2,973,193 sq km
Water Area 314,070 sq km
comparative Area slightly more than one-third the size of the US
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 12 nm
Contiguous zone 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone 200 nm
Continental shelf 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Elevations
Highest point Kanchenjunga 8,586 m
Lowest point Indian Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation 160 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 60.5% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 52.8% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 4.2% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 3.5% (2018 est.)
Forest 23.1% (2018 est.)
Other 16.4% (2018 est.)
Population Distribution

With the notable exception of the deserts in the northwest, including the Thar Desert, and the mountain fringe in the north, a very high population density exists throughout most of the country; the core of the population is in the north along the banks of the Ganges, with other river valleys and southern coastal areas also having large population concentrations

People and Society

In India, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, and other 3% (2000)

Population
Pop growth rate 0.72% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 16.2 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 9.1 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure 3% of GDP (2020)
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density 0.5 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Total fertility rate 2.03 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 0.97 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate 66.7% (2019/20)
Est married women (ages 15-49) 72.6% (2023 est.)
Literacy age 15 and over can read and write
Education expenditures 4.5% of GDP (2020 est.)
Net Migration rate 0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Indian | Indian(s)
Languages
Religions Hindu 79.8%, Muslim 14.2%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.7%, other and unspecified 2% (2011 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 24.5% (male 181,115,052/female 163,647,028)
15-64 years 68.7% (male 500,568,593/female 467,593,781)
65 years and over 6.8% (2024 est.) (male 44,101,180/female 52,102,662)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 48.1
Youth dependency ratio 38.1
Elderly dependency ratio 10.1
Potential support ratio 9.9 (2021 est.)
Median Age
Total 29.8 years (2024 est.)
Male 29.1 years
Female 30.5 years
Urbanization
Urban population 36.4% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 2.33% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 32.941 million NEW DELHI (capital), 21.297 million Mumbai, 15.333 million Kolkata, 13.608 million Bangalore, 11.776 million Chennai, 10.801 million Hyderabad (2023).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.1 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.11 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.85 male(s)/female
Total population 1.06 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 30.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 30 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 30.8 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 68.2 years (2024 est.)
Male 66.5 years
Female 70.1 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 96.9% of population
Improved: rural rural: 94.7% of population
Improved: total total: 95.5% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 3.1% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 5.3% of population
Unimproved: total total: 4.5% of population (2020 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 98.6% of population
Improved: rural rural: 75.2% of population
Improved: total total: 83.4% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 1.4% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 24.8% of population
Unimproved: total total: 16.6% of population (2020 est.)
Major Infectious diseases
Degree of risk very high (2023)
Food or waterborne diseases bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases dengue fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria
Water contact diseases leptospirosis
Animal contact diseases rabies
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 3.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 0.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 2.85 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 27.2% (2020 est.)
Male 41.3% (2020 est.)
Female 13% (2020 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 15 4.8%
Women married by age 18 23.3%
Men married by age 18 2.6% (2021 est.)
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about India

Want to know more about India? Check all different factbooks for India below.

India is found in Southern Asia