3,287,263 sq km ,including 57% agricultural land and 16% forest

Population

1.046bn (mid-2002)

Main towns

Population in millions, 2001 census

Mumbai (Bombay) 16.4

Kolkata (Calcutta) 13.2

Delhi 12.8

Chennai (Madras) 6.4

Hyderabad 5.5

Bangalore 5.7

Climate

Varied; humid subtropical in Ganges basin, semi-arid in north-west, tropical humid in north-east and most of peninsula, tundra in Himalayas; all areas receive rain from the south-west monsoon in June-September; the south is also served by the north-east monsoon in January-March

Weather in New Delhi (altitude 218 metres)

Hottest month, May, 26-41°C (average daily minimum and maximum); coldest month, January, 7-21°C; driest month, November, 4 mm average rainfall; wettest month, July, 180 mm average rainfall

Languages

Numerous languages, including Tamil and Hindi, are used; English is widespread in business circles and as a second language

Religion

Hindu (82% in 1991 census); Muslim (12.1%); Christian (2.3%); Sikh (1.9%); Buddhist (0.8%); Jain (0.4%)

Measures

Metric system. Numbers are often written in lakhs (100,000) and crores (10m)

Currency

Rupee (Rs)=100 paise. Average exchange rate in 2002: Rs48.61:US$1. Exchange rate on June 16th 2003: Rs46.56:US$1

Fiscal year

April 1st-March 31st

Time

5 hours 30 minutes ahead of GMT