Demographics of India

Demographic developments in India.

India is the second most populous country in the world, after China. It has an annual birth rate of approximately 15 million. There is a population of 1,095,351,995 (July 2006 est.) and 1,049,700,118 (July 2003 est.).

The diverse population and cultural origins of the people of India are linked to those of other peoples of the Indian subcontinent, which includes people from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, as well as further afield. The exact origins of most Indian peoples are difficult to determine because of the wide variety of populations and cultures that have invaded and been assimilated into the subcontinent. However, according to traditional anthropology, elements of three major population groups (Caucasians, Australoids, and East Asians) can be found in present-day India. At times, geography and the environment have encouraged successive waves of migrants to mix with indigenous peoples. However, environmental and historical factors have also favored the coexistence in India of many peoples with different physical and cultural characteristics; this is also reflected in the linguistic diversity of India; the country has 15 major languages and more than 1000 dialects.

More or less 7% of the total population belongs to the more than 300 certified tribes

Linguistics

In India they speak more of (more or less

) 2000 languages or dialects, included in 15 large groups. The constitution stipulates that Hindi (spoken by 30% of the population) is the official language of the country, while English is a language associated with administrative affairs. However, the official dominance of Hindi is unacceptable for states like Tamil Nadu in the south (see also Languages of India and Indo-Aryan languages).

Distribution:

• Indo-arios 67%
• Dravidians 30%
• 3%

Languages

The constitution also recognizes 18 official regional languages, of which the most widely spoken are Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Urdu and Gujarati.

• Official Languages (18): English is the most important. In addition, the Bengali (official), the Telugu (official), the Maratí (official), the támil (official), the Urdu (official), the Guyaratí (official), the Malabar (official), the Canar (official), the Oriya (official), the Panjabi (official), the Asander
• Other official languages: French and Tamil in Pondicherry, Karaikal, Yanam and Mahé.
• Unofficial: various dialects, including Portuguese in Goa, Damán and Diu.

Note: There are 24 languages spoken by millions of people, apart from many other dialects that are unintelligible to people from other parts of India.

Religions

The major religious groups in India are Hinduism (83%), Islam (11%), Christianity (2%) and Sikhs (2%). Other important religious minorities are Buddhism, Jainism and Parsis. The growth of religious nationalism and fundamentalism in India during the 1980s and 1990s has increased political and social tensions in some areas, such as the 1992 and 1993 Punjab riots. According to other sources:

• Hindu 80%,
• Muslims 14 %,
• Christians 2.4 %,
• Sijs 2 %,
• Buddhists 0.7 %,
• Jains 0.5 %,
• Other 0.4 %

Cities

List of cities in India with more than one million inhabitants at the 2001 census.

Population

Evolution of the population

• In 250 BC there were 50 million (including the territories of current Pakistan and Bangladesh).
• In the year 100 d.C. was 75 million in the entire subcontinent.
• In 1500 it was about 90 million (there is also another 10 million in Pakistan and 11 million in Bangladesh).
• In 1600 it was 120 million.
• In 1700 it was 145 million.
• In 1800 it was about 180 million (including the neighbouring countries of Pakistan and Bangladesh; growth due to the peace and political unity of the country).
• In 1948 there were 400 million Hindus and 100 million Muslims (including Pakistan and Bangladesh).
• In 2019 are exactly 1,369.549.001

Population pyramid

Percentage between men and women

• At birth: 1,13 men/women
• All ages: 1,088 men/women

Life expectancy

• Men: 64 years
• Women: 68 years

Ethnic composition

India is characterized by its ethnic diversity, some of the main ethnic groups are:

Australoids: Dravidians

The Dravidians come from the Mediterranean slope and are believed to be one of the first visitors from India. He is credited with creating the Indus Valley Civilization. Over time they moved to the south of the country and settled there permanently.

Mongoloids

The Mongoloids settled in the northeast region of the country, in the high mountains. They can be credited with paving the way for the current population of places like Sikkim, Ladakh, Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Tripura. Mongoloids are characterized by a sallow complexion, pale skin, small slanting eyes, high cheekbones, medium height, and fine hair.

Blacks

Thought to come from Africa, they were also one of the first peoples to colonize India. Although they did not break into the deepest areas of the country, they did settle in places like the Andaman and Nicobar islands and in some parts of southern India. They survived in that original habitat and still maintain their traditional way of life.

Years

The Aryans were apparently the last to arrive in India. They acquired most of the northern regions of the country after driving the Dravidians south. HE They were characterized by their robust appearance and white skin. They can be attributed to most of the population of India, in the center and north of the country.

Proto - Australoids or Austrics

The Proto Australoids are credited with laying the real foundations of the civilization of the India. They arrived in the country immediately after the blacks. They are characterized by their skin brunette, long head, thick black hair, low forehead, prominent eyes, nose flat, wide jaws, etc. They settled in the center and the part eastern part of the country

Western Brachycephals

The Western Brachycephals include ethnic groups such as Alpinoids, Dinarics, Armenoids, Parsis and Kodavas. The people are characterized by features such as a broad forehead, brown skin, sharp features, etc. occupied the western side of the country and can be called the bases for the today people in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Literacy

They read and write with more than 15 years:

• Of the total population: 61 %
• Men: 65.5 %
• Women: 37.71 %

Education

Ancient India was a society with considerable educational development. Its educational centers attracted many students from other parts of Asia, mainly Chinese, who came to study the Buddha's teachings in some of the first schools such as Nalanda, which was founded in the 6th century B.C. C. India also extended its educational influence by sending its teachers to teach elsewhere in Asia.

However, from the 13th century onwards, first under Muslim control and then under British rule, the original Indian contribution to education declined and with it the application of newer educational methods.

In the 20th century, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Mahatma Gandhi, and Rabindranath Tagore received international recognition for their educational contributions to their country.

Gokhale was one of the earliest nationalist leaders and in 1911 introduced a bill into Parliament aiming at free and compulsory primary education.

Gandhi, influenced by Gokhale, implemented basic literacy and community improvement programmes. In 1901 Tagore, one of the greatest poets of modern India, founded an experimental school at Santinikétan, 100 miles north of Calcutta, modeled on the ancient Indian Tapovana ('jungle anchorite'); it sought to combine the best of Western and Indian cultures. In 1921 the school became the Visva-Bharati University and attracted students from all over the world.

Culture

India is a secular (non-clerical) country, which has always had many religions and religious groups. However, the majority of today's Indians are Hindus and this is reflected in many aspects of the shared culture throughout the country. Hinduism, over the centuries, has absorbed and developed a large number of different philosophies; from Shankar's philosophical Adweita to the devotional Bhakti movement.

The coexistence of minority beliefs with the majority faith of Hinduism has not always been peaceful; Tensions between Hindus and Muslims, and between Hindus and Sikhs (often for reasons other than religious) have given rise to numerous bloody conflicts. Demands by the Rāma-Janma-Bhûmi (birthplace of the god Râma) movement for the construction of a Hindu temple in what they claimed to be Rāma's birthplace in Ayodhya ended in conflict in 1992, with its destruction by of the crowd at the Babri Masjid (a Muslim mosque which they say was built after the destruction of the previous temple) and have generated significant popular support. These kinds of events pose a great threat to the future of secularism in India. Recent Hindu fundamentalism (a contradiction in terms, since Hinduism has no definite foundations) is an effort to forge a single national culture along religious lines from diverse traditions. The media, and specifically the wide access to television and its powerful cultural messages, have facilitated the spread and inculcation of such ideas.

Economy

India has a mixed economy in which both the central and state governments play important roles as regulators and planners through the ownership of public companies. Large-scale government engagement in the economy began in the 1950s as a reflection of the nationalism and socialism of the first post-independence government, led by Sri Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, to accelerate economic development and growth for thus meeting the needs of the rapidly growing population of India. The first of India's Five Year Plans began in 1951. Over the next several decades the state dealt with certain key sectors and invested heavily in others, while the private sector was subject to a wide variety of state controls. Tariffs and other barriers were created to protect national industries and different agrarian reform programs were initiated.

Overall the results were positive, especially when compared to many other developing countries. Economic growth, except in times of severe drought such as in 1979 and 1987, was constant; between 1965 and 1980 it averaged 3.6% per year in real terms (that is, after accounting for population growth) and more than 5% per year during the 1980s. inflation and national debt. Agricultural production grew significantly and the specter of mass famine disappeared. The foundations of a modern industrial state were laid; India is the world's ninth largest steel producer. In 1997 India's gross domestic product was $381.566 million (according to World Bank estimates), which meant a per capita income of just $400. However, growth levels were still too low to have more than a marginal impact on the income of most Indians. Furthermore, 21% of the population still suffered from malnutrition in the period 1990-1992, and access to clean water and sanitary facilities was still limited to an insignificant minority of the population.

Government

The Republic of India is governed in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution adopted in 1949 and amended several times since then. It incorporates various features of the constitutional systems of the United Kingdom, the United States, and other Western democracies.

In accordance with the Constitution, India is a sovereign democratic Commonwealth republic. The government has a federal structure and India is a union of united and centrally administered states and territories. Currently there are 25 states and 7 united territories.