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• Country Profile
• Republic of India
  • General Information
    • Fact Sheet
    • Introduction
    • Geography
    • Socio-economic Profile
    • Government
    • National Social Welfare System
    • Education Profile
    • Health Profile
    • Information Communication Technology
  • Statistical Data on Disability Profile
  • Current Situation of Persons with Disabilities
  • Plan of Action toward Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 2003 - 2012
  • Profile of Disability Related Organizations

1.1 Introduction

The Republic of India is a large country with a population of over one billion people spread over 3.28 million sq. km. It has a federal structure of 35 states and union territories divided into nearly 600 districts. India has 32 different languages and numerous dialects. In the 19th century, Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. By 1947 the people of India declared their independence.

1.2 Geography

India is located in Southern Asia, bordering Burma, Bhutan, China, Nepal and Bangladesh along the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. India has a diverse landscape with flat to rolling plains along the Ganges River, deserts in the west and the Himalaya mountain range in the north.

Source :Ministry of Forign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand

1.3 Socio-economic Profile

Demographics

The nationality of India is Indian with ethnic groups of Indo-Aryan comprising 72% of the population with Dravidian groups comprising 25%, and Mongoloid and others comprise the remaining 3%. Languages include Hindi as the national language which is the primary tongue of 30% of the population. There are 14 other official languages with English being spoken in business and political circles. Religious affiliations are broken down and shown as Figure 3:

Religious Affiliations 2001 Censes

Description

Other includes Buddist, Jain and Parsi
Source: Office of the Registrar General, Census of India 2001

Population

According to the 2001 Census of India, the total population was 1,027,015,247 compared to 838.6 million in 1991 representing an annual growth rate of approximately 1.5% per year. Estimates by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), have placed the total population in 2002 at 1,055 million.

Table 1: Total Population by Age and Sex 2001 Census

Age Groups	Total	%	Male	%	Female	%
1 − 6	157,863,145	15.4	81,911,041	51.9	75,952,104	48.1
6 − 65 +	869,152,102	84.6	449,366,037	51.7	419,786,065	48.3
Total	1,027,015,247	100	531,277,078	51.7	495,738,169	48.3

Source: Office of the Registrar General, Census of India 2001

Table 2: Total Population by Area and Sex

Sex	Total	%	Rural	%	Urban	%
Male	530,422,415	51.7	380,438,194	71.7	149,984,221	28.3
Female	494,828,644	48.3	359,817,177	72.7	135,011,467	27.3
Total	1,025,251,059	100.0	740,255,371	72.2	284,995,688	27.8

Source:Office of the Registrar General, Census of India 2001
Note:Total population figures differ due to deparate compiltoin source of office of the Registrar

Labor force

According to the 2001 census, approximately 39.3% of the total population were employed representing over 400 million people. Males showed a higher percentage of employment at 51.9% compared to females at 35.7%. Information from the 2001 census on employment figures by industrial sectors was not readily made available. Table 3 represents information from the ADB as of the end of 2000.

Table 3: Employment by Sector 2000 (in millions)

	Total	%
Agriculture	1.42	2.0%
Manufacturing	6.62	9.6%
Mining	1.01	1.5%
Other	18.92	27.3%
Employed	27.96	40.3%
Unemployed	41.34	59.7%
Total Work Force	69.30	100.0%

Source:Asian Development Bank
As a percent of the working age population - age 15 years and over Includes only organized sectors only

Poverty Levels:

According to the United Nations, country-specific poverty lines are generally used due to variations between countries and is affected by local tastes and cultural norms. However, definitions are not particularly sensitive to more qualitative needs such as health care, housing and education. According to the ADB, in 1999 India had 26.1% of its population below the national poverty line with 27.1% represented in rural areas and 23.6% in urban areas.

Economic Indicators

India's economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts and a wide range of modern industries and support services. India is a major exporter of software services and workers.

Economic growth slowed in 2002, largely due to a drought-induced drop in agriculture. The industry sector showed increases, which is expected to continue in FY2003 and should lead to a moderate revival in GDP growth. Assuming normal monsoon conditions, the economy is projected to grow by 6% in FY2003 with agriculture and services increasing on average. Exports are expected to increase at over 15% in 2003, based on increasing world demand. Inflation will likely remain moderate at approximately 5%. The fiscal deficit is expected to remain at the average level of 9.5% of GDP during FY2003

Gross Domestic Product

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth averaged approximately 6% throughout the 1990s, however, it decreased to an average of 5% for FY2000 and FY2001. During FY2002 (ending March 31, 2003) GDP growth was approximately 4.4%. The general decline in GDP growth over the years is primarily attributable to a decrease in the service sectors growth and from external effects such as a global recession, drought, the impact of the government's large fiscal deficit and slow progress of reforms in certain sectors. The Asian Development Bank forecasts a 6.3% growth in GDP in the FY2003 with agriculture and services increasing on average.

GDP stood at approximately US$2.66 trillion in 2002 of which agriculture comprised 25%, while manufacturing and trade comprised 29.7%. Figure 4 shows the components of GDP by industrial origin.

GDP by Industrial Origin FY2002

Description

Source: ADB Key Indicators 2002

Budget

According to the Reserve Bank of India, FY2002 revenues were US$48.3 billion, while expenditures were $78.2 billion (including capital expenditures of $14.5 billion) creating a budget deficit of US$29.9 billion. The central government's deficit narrowed to 5.9% of GDP in FY2002 from 6.1% the prior year. Combining the central and state government's deficits, results in a consolidated deficit of 9.3% of GDP. The overall fiscal deficit remains a major challenge for macroeconomic management. Public borrowings to finance the deficits were estimated at 72.6% of GDP in FY2001.

The ADB anticipates that tax measures in the FY2003 budget are expected to enhance the revenue-to-GDP ratio, however believes that without strong measures to contain the rapid growth in expenditures, the consolidated fiscal deficit is expected to remain at the average level of 9.5% of GDP.

Imports

Imports were approximately US$61.3 billion (fob) in FY2002 reflecting moderate growth of domestic industrial activity over FY2001. Imports of capital goods, especially in transport equipment, increased due to a recovery in construction activities along with six core infrastructure industries. Although consumer demand has increased in FY2002, it was led by domestic consumption and not overwhelmingly through imports.

Table 4: Imports FY2002 (In millions US$)

	FY2002	% of Total
Petroleum Products	17,640	28.8
Capital Goods	12,746	20.8
Other	9,836	16.1
Semi-precious stones	6,054	9.9
Gold / Silver	4,234	6.9
Chemicals	2,966	4.8
Consumption Goods	2,368	3.9
Coal, Coke, etc	1,222	2.0
Scientific goods	1,068	1.7
Ores and Metal	1,003	1.6
Textile	956	1.6
Iron and Steel	940	1.5
Nuts	254	0.4
Total	61,287	100.0

Source: Reserve Bank of India, DGCIandS

Exports

Exports were approximately US$52.2 billion (fob) in FY2002 and comprised textile goods, gems engineering goods, chemicals and leather manufacturers. Export growth recovered slightly in FY2002 after a global slowdown, exacerbated by the events surrounding September 11th in FY2001. The growth in exports during FY2002 was largely due to a partial recovery of global demand, an upturn in GDP, consumption expenditures in the US and a revival of growth in many Asian countries. The rise in consumer expenditures in the US in particular has aided the growth of exports of consumer items such as textiles, garments, gems and jewelry.

Public Expenditure on Education

According to UNICEF, public expenditures on education as a percentage of GDP was 4.02% in FY2001 compared to less than 1% in 1950. The percentage of expenditure on education and training to total expenditure of all sectors was 13.17% in FY2001. The share of expenditure on Elementary Education to total expenditures for all sectors was 6.6% during FY2001, while the share of secondary and higher secondary education to total expenditures for all sectors was 4.1%.

Literacy Rates

According to the 2001 census, literacy increased significantly to 65.4% of the population or 567 million people as compared to a literacy rate of 42.8%, or 359 million people as recorded in the 1991 census.

Table 7: Literacy Rated by Sex 2001 Census (in millions)

Sex	Total	%
Male	339,905,576	75.9
Female	226,797,704	54.2
Total	566,703,280	65.4

Source: Office of the Registrar General, Census of India 2001

1.7 Health Profile

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the life expectancy at birth was 60 years for males and 61.7 for females. It is estimated by the WHO that as of 1992 there were 48 and 45 physicians and nurses, respectively for every 100,000 people living in India.

Total expenditures on health as a percentage of GDP in 2000 was 4.9% according to the WHO, while general government expenditures on health as a percentage of total general government expenditures in 2000 was 5.3%.

The WHO estimates that 3.9 million people were living with HIV/AIDS in 2000, while there were 350,000 deaths related to HIV/AIDS in the 15 to 49 year old population in the same time period. The total estimated adult prevalence rate was 0.8% of the total population.

1.8 Information Communication Technology

India is a major exporter of computer software and computer-based products and services. As of 2000, there were 43 internet service providers in India. It was estimated by the United States Central Intelligence Agency, that there are over 7 million users of the internet while there are 27.7 million land line telephone subscribers and 2.93 million mobile phone users. The internet code for India is .in.