The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to India:
Republic of India – the seventh-largest country by area, located on the Indian subcontinent in South Asia. India was home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, and is the birthplace of four major world religions: Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism. It is also home to followers of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism.. From 1857 to 1947, India was under British rule. India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence, and underwent a violent partition, which split the erstwhile British Raj into the independent countries of India and Pakistan, (with East Pakistan rebelling against Pakistan in 1971 to form Bangladesh). As of June 2025, India is the most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion. It is recognised as the world's largest democracy by population and has emerged as the fourth-largest economy globally.
General reference
Pronunciation: Common English country name: India Official English country name: The Republic of India Common endonym(s): Bharat, Hindustan Official endonym(s): Bharat Ganarajya Adjectival(s): Indian Demonym(s): Indian Etymology: Names of India International rankings of India ISO country codes: IN, IND, 356 ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:IN Internet country code top-level domain: .in
Geography of India India covers an area of 3,287,263 sq. km, extending from the snow-covered Himalayas in the north to the tropical rainforests in the south. Bounded by the Great Himalayas in the north, the country stretches southward and tapers into the Indian Ocean at the Tropic of Cancer, flanked by the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west.
Lying entirely in the Northern Hemisphere, India’s mainland spans latitudes 8°4' to 37°6' N and longitudes 68°7' to 97°25' E. It measures about 3,214 km from north to south and approximately 2,933 km from east to west. The land frontier is about 15,200 km long, and the total coastline; including the mainland, Lakshadweep, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands is 7,516.6 km.
India shares borders with Pakistan to the northwest; China, Bhutan, and Nepal to the north; Myanmar to the east; and Bangladesh to the east of West Bengal. Sri Lanka lies to the south, separated by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar. India is: a subcontinent a country a megadiverse country Area of India: – 7th largest country Location: Eastern Hemisphere Northern Hemisphere Eurasia Asia Greater India South Asia Indian subcontinent Time zone: Indian Standard Time (UTC+05:30) Bordering Countries: Afghanistan 106 km Bangladesh 4,053 km China 3,380 km including the territorial disputes along its border; McMahon Line Pakistan 2,912 km including the Line of Control Nepal 1,690 km Myanmar 1,463 km Bhutan 605 km
Physical divisions of India Based on these macro variations, India can be divided into the following physiographic divisions:
The Northern and North-eastern Mountains - The North and Northeastern Mountains consist of the Himalayas and the Northeastern hills. Some important ranges are Great Himalayan Range(includes Greater Himalayas, Himadri; the Lesser Himalayas, Himachal and the Outer Himalayas, Shiwalik), Karakoram ranges and the northeast mountain ranges. The Northern Plain - Located south of the Himalayas, the northern plains are formed by the deposition of sediments from Himalayan rivers Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra. It is further divided intro Babhar, Tarai, Alluvial plains further dividing into Khadar & Bhangar. The Peninsular Plateau - Rising from the height of 150 m above the river plains up to an elevation of 600-900 m is the irregular triangle known as the Peninsular plateau. It is one of the oldest and the most stable landmass of India. Delhi ridge in the northwest, (extension of Aravalis), the Rajmahal hills in the east, Gir range in the west and the Cardamom hills in the south constitute the outer extent of the Peninsular plateau. However, an extension of this is also seen in the northeast, in the form of Shillong and Karbi-Anglong plateau. It is made up of series of patland plateaus such as the Hazaribagh plateau, the Palamu plateau, the Ranchi plateau, the Malwa plateau, the Coimbatore plateau and the Karnataka plateau, etc. On the basis of the prominent relief features, the Peninsular plateau can be divided into three broad groups: (i) The Deccan Plateau (ii) The Central Highlands (iii) The Northeastern Plateau. The Indian Desert - To the northwest of the Aravali hills lies the Great Indian desert also known as Thar Desert. The Coastal Plains - It is broadly classified into Eastern coastal plains and Western coastal plains The Islands - There are two major island groups in India; one in the Bay of Bengal named Andaman & Nicobar Islands and the other in the Arabian Sea named Lakshadweep.
Geographic features of India
North India Northwest India Northeast India East India South India West India Central India
Extreme points of India High: Kangchenjunga – third highest peak on Earth Low: Kuttanad Population of India: 1,463,526,271 as of 21 June 2025 - Most populous country. Census of India Atlas of India
Environment of India
Climate of India Climate change in India Ecoregions of India Wildlife of India Flora of India Fauna of India Birds of India Mammals of India Protected areas of India National parks of India Environmental issues in India Geology of India List of mountains in India/Orography of India Renewable energy in India Solar power in India Wind power in India
Beaches of India Glaciers of India Islands of India Lakes of India Mountains of India Volcanoes of India Rivers of India Waterfalls of India Valleys of India List of World Heritage Sites in India
Administrative divisions of India
Administrative divisions of India
Administrative divisional structure of India
States and union territories of India
+ Map legend:States (1–28) & Union territories (A-H)1. Andhra Pradesh13. Madhya Pradesh25. Tripura2. Arunachal Pradesh14. Maharashtra26. Uttar Pradesh3. Assam15. Manipur27. Uttarakhand4. Bihar16. Meghalaya28. West Bengal5. Chhattisgarh17. MizoramA. Andaman and Nicobar Islands6. Goa18. NagalandB. Chandigarh7. Gujarat19. OdishaC. Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu8. Haryana20. PunjabD. Jammu and Kashmir9. Himachal Pradesh21. RajasthanE. Ladakh10. Jharkhand22. SikkimF. Lakshadweep11. Karnataka23. Tamil NaduG. Delhi12. Kerala24.TelanganaH. Puducherry
States and union territories of India Autonomous regions of India Emblems of Indian states States and union territories of India By name States by name Andhra Pradesh (outline) Arunachal Pradesh (outline) Assam (outline) Bihar (outline) Chhattisgarh (outline) Goa (outline) Gujarat (outline) Haryana (outline) Himachal Pradesh (outline) Jharkhand (outline) Karnataka (outline) Kerala (outline) Madhya Pradesh (outline) Maharashtra (outline) Manipur (outline) Meghalaya (outline) Mizoram (outline) Nagaland (outline) Odisha (outline) Punjab (outline) Rajasthan (outline) Sikkim (outline) Tamil Nadu (outline) Telangana (outline) Tripura (outline) Uttar Pradesh (outline) Uttarakhand (outline) West Bengal (outline) Union territories by name Andaman and Nicobar Islands Chandigarh Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Delhi Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh Lakshadweep Puducherry By rank By economic rank By various rankings By population By population density By size By state code State and territory capitals
Divisions of India
Municipalities of India Municipalities of India Cities in India National Capital of India: New Delhi Financial Capital of India: Mumbai Cultural Capital of India: Kolkata Manchester of India: Ahmedabad City of Diamond: Surat Detroit of Asia: Chennai Milk city of India: Anand Silicon Valley of India: Bangalore Ceramic Capital of India: Morbi City of Nawabs: Lucknow Pink City of India: Jaipur Big cities in North East India List of city and town nicknames in India Million-plus cities in India Most populous cities in India
Geography of states and territories
Demography of India
Demographics of India Ethnic groups of India Racial groups of India Religion of India
Demographics of states and territories
Government and politics of India
Form of government: Sovereign socialist secular federal parliamentary multi-party representative democratic republic. Sovereign – this means an independent nation. Socialist – this implies social and economic equality for all Indian citizens. This guarantees equal opportunity and equal social status. The government attempts to reduce economic inequality by reducing concentration of wealth. Secular – practices separation of religion and state. This implies freedom to choose one's religion. The state gives every citizen the right to practice and propagate a religion of his choice, and also right to reject all religions. The state treats all religions as equal and there is no official state religion. Democratic – this means the government is democratically elected, and the head of the government (prime minister) is elected by the people. Republic – this means the head of the state (president) is not a hereditary monarch but indirectly elected by the people. Capital of India: New Delhi Elections in India 1951 1957 1962 1967 1971 1977 1980 1984 1989 1991 1996 1998 1999 2004 2009 2014 | 2019 | 2024 Political parties in India Aam Aadmi Party All India Trinamool Congress Bahujan Samaj Party Bharatiya Janata Party Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (Marxist) Dravidian parties Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Indian National Congress Janata Dal (United) Janata Dal (Secular) Nationalist Congress Party Samajwadi Party Shiromani Akali Dal Shivsena Rashtriya Janata Dal Telugu Desam Party Bharat Rashtra Samithi Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party YSRCP Political scandals in India Taxation in India
Socio-economic issues in India Religious violence in India
Katchatheevu Issue Religious tolerance in India Terrorism in India Naxalism Caste system in India Caste politics in India Caste-related violence in India Reservation in India Human rights in India LGBT rights in India Freedom of religion in India
Branches of the government of India
Executive of the government of India Head of state: President of India Vice-President of India The Cabinet Head of government: Prime Minister of India Head of the civil services: Cabinet Secretary of India
Legislature of the government of India
Parliament of India Rajya Sabha (Council of States) – upper house of the parliament (Vice-President of India serves as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha) Lok Sabha (House of the People) – lower house of the parliament (Speaker)
Judiciary of the government of India
Supreme Court of India (Chief Justice of India) List of high courts in India District Courts of India
Foreign relations of India
International organisation membership The Republic of India is a member of:
Law and order in India
Cannabis in India Capital punishment in India Company Law in India Indian Contract Act, 1872 Constitution of India Basic Structure Directive Principles Fundamental Rights Fundamental Duties Criminal Law in India Indian Penal Code Code of Criminal Procedure (India) Indian tort law Property Law in India Crime in India Bride burning Organised crime in India Eve teasing Female foeticide in India Rape in India 2012 Delhi gang rape case Directive Principles in India Dowry law in India Fundamental Rights in India History of Indian law Law enforcement in India Nationality Law in India Labour Law in India List of prisons in India