ration rate:
0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
81 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
57 years male, 58 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
3.7 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Indian(s); adjective - Indian
Ethnic divisions:
Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3%
Religions:
Hindu 82.6%, Muslim 11.4%, Christian 2.4%, Sikh 2.0%, Buddhist 0.7%, Jains
0.5%, other 0.4%
Languages:
Hindi, English, and 14 other official languages - Bengali, Telugu, Marathi,
Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese,
Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; 24 languages spoken by a million or more
persons each; numerous other languages and dialects, for the most part
mutually unintelligible; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue
of 30% of the people; English enjoys associate status but is the most
important language for national, political, and commercial communication;
Hindustani, a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu, is spoken widely throughout
northern India
Literacy:
48% (male 62%, female 34%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
284,400,000; 67% agriculture (FY85)
Organized labor:
less than 5% of the labor force

:India Government

Long-form name:
Republic of India
Type:
federal republic
Capital:
New Delhi
Administrative divisions:
25 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra
Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Dadra and Nagar
Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,
Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry*,
Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal
Independence:
15 August 1947 (from UK)
Constitution:
26 January 1950
Legal system:
based on English common law; limited judicial review of legislative acts;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday:
Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic, 26 January (1950)
Executive branch:
president, vice president, prime minister, Council of Ministers
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament (Sansad) consists of an upper house or Council of
States (Rajya Sabha) and a l