India - Statistics & Facts

Politics

The Republic of India was established in January 1950, after gaining independence from the British Empire in 1947. Since then India has existed as a federal republic consisting of 28 states and 7 union territories. The country’s parliamentary democracy is considered to be the largest democracy in the world and has become increasingly federal since the late 1990s as a result of social, political, and economic changes. Elections generally take place every five years. India's prime minister is the leader of the government, while the president fulfils a more ceremonial role as the head of state. India has no national language, but Hindi has the largest number of speakers and is also the official language used by the government.

Economy

India’s economy has been subject to considerable growth since its liberalization in the early 1990s. India’s GDP growth rate was consistently above five percent, until it dropped to four percent in 2019, and then shrunk by 8 percent in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic; in the years to come it is estimated that India's GDP growth will return above six percent. In 2020, India's economy was ranked the sixth largest in the world. Additionally, unemployment in India fell to it's lowest ever level in 2019, before rising sharply in 2020; it remains to be seen how the economy will bounce back as the impact of covid lessens

Industry

The biggest industry in India is retail, which makes up almost a quarter of the nation’s GDP. Agriculture also remains a key industry with India producing products such as rice, wheat, cotton, and tea. The mining industry is also one of the major contributors to the economy of India. The country is one of the largest producers of iron ore, the fifth largest producer of bauxite, and the third largest producer of coal in the world. More recently, India has developed a reputation as a breeding ground for IT specialists, and the relatively low wage levels make India a very popular destination for outsourcing. The IT industry in India is continuing to surge with over 191 billion U.S. dollar’s worth of revenue generated in 2020, contributing a considerable amount to the country’s overall GDP.

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