India is situated north of the equator between 8°4′ north (the mainland) to 37°6′ north latitude and 68°7′ east to 97°25′ east longitude. It is the seventh-largest country in the world, with a total area of 3,287,263 square kilometres (1,269,219 sq mi).India is It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world.
- Population of India
- India 2020 population is estimated at 1,380,004,385 people at mid-year according to UN data.
- India population is equivalent to 7%of the total world population.
- India ranks number 2in the list of countries (and dependencies) by population.
- The population density in India is 464 per Km2(1,202 people per mi2).
- The total landarea is 2,973,190 Km2 (1,147,955 sq. miles)
- 0 %of the population is urban (483,098,640 people in 2020)
- The median agein India is 4 years.
Boundary
Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar and Indonesia.
Borders
India has 15,106 kilometers of land borders and a coastline of about 7,516 kilometers. Only 5 out of 29 Indian states have no international border or coastal line. Those long borders are shared with seven countries — China, Pakistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. 10The 4,096.7 kilometers long Indo-Bangladesh border is the longest land borderline that India shares with any of its neighbors. India shares a 3,325-kilometer border with Pakistan that runs through a diverse terrain. the entire India-China border, which extends for 3,488 kilometers, is still disputed because China has not yet recognized the controversial McMahon Line. The McMahon Line was drawn in 1914 to delineate the boundary Between Tibet and British India. 19India and Myanmar share a 1,640-kilometer land border and a long maritime border in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The 1,580 kilometers Nepal-India boundary, runs along the west, south and east of Nepal. Indaia-Bhutan boundary is 669-kilometer long.
Farthest Points
Indira Point, southernmost point of India’s territory, is a village in the Nicobar district at Great Nicobar Island of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India. It is located in the Great Nicobar tehsil. The tiny town of Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh is the easternmost point of India. The Lohit River enters India from Kibithu.
Cape Comorin, rocky headland on the Indian Ocean in Tamil Nadu state forms the southernmost point of India on mainland. It is the southern tip of the Cardamom Hills, an extension of the Western Ghats range along the west coast of India. The town of Kanniyakumari on the headland contains an ancient temple dedicated to Shiva, which is a much-frequented Hindu pilgrimage site.
Ghuar Mota in the Kutch region of Gujarat is the Westernmost point of India. It is located near the Sir Creek and the Koteshwar temple, at 23.713°N 68.032°E. The village comes under the administration of the Narayan Sarovar panchayat.
East of Indira Col at Siachen Glacier, Laddakh is the northernmost point of India (disputed by China which India does not agree).However, undisputed northern most point of India is North of Kang La at the northern end of Miyar Valley in Lahaul and Spiti district (Himachal Pradesh).
Villages
There are around 649,481 villages in India, according to Census 2011, the most authoritative source of information about administrative boundaries in the country. Of these, 593,615 are inhabited.
One million plus cities in India
According to the 2011 census, there were 46 million-plus cities in India, with Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata having populations over 10 million.
States and UTs
There are total 28 states and 8 union territories (UT’s) in India as now. The largest state in terms of area is Rajasthan (342,239 Km2) followed by Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Uttar Pradesh is most populus state is India followed by Maharashtra and Bihar. Uttar Pradesh the only Indian State which has a maximum number of neighbouring states. Uttar Pradesh shares a border with Nine states.
Highest and Longest
Kanchenjunga is the highest mountain peak in India and ranked 3rd highest peak in the world with an elevation of 8,586 m (28,169 ft).Major Himalayan-origin rivers that substantially flow through India include the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, both of which drain into the Bay of Bengal.Important tributaries of the Ganges include the Yamuna and the Kosi; the latter’s extremely low gradient caused by long-term silt deposition, leads to severe floods and course changes. Major peninsular rivers, whose steeper gradients prevent their waters from flooding, include the Godavari, the Mahanadi, the Kaveri, and the Krishna, which also drain into the Bay of Bengal; and the Narmada and the Tapti, which drain into the Arabian Sea. The Ganges is the longest river of India followed ny Godavari and Krishna.
India’s coastline
India’s coastline measures 7,517 kilometres (4,700 mi) in length; of this distance, 5,423 kilometres (3,400 mi) belong to peninsular India and 2,094 kilometres (1,300 mi) to the Andaman, Nicobar, and Lakshadweep island chains. Coastal States of India: India has a coastline of 7516.6 km– 5422.6 km of mainland coastline and 2094 km of island territories. India has nine coastal states. These are– Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal. The islands of Andaman and Nicobar had the longest coastline in India, amounting to a little over 1,900 kilometers, followed by Gujarat. The state with the smallest coastline during the measured time period was the union territory of Daman and Diu.
Monsoon
A monsoon is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation,The Monsoons refer to the big seasonal winds blowing from the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea in the southwest bringing heavy rainfall to the area. The southwestern summer monsoons occur from July through September. The Thar Desert and adjoining areas of the northern and central Indian subcontinent heat up considerably during the hot summers. The southwest monsoon is generally expected to begin around the beginning of June and fade away by the end of September. The moisture-laden winds on reaching the southernmost point of the Indian Peninsula, due to its topography, become divided into two parts: the Arabian Sea Branch and the Bay of Bengal Branch. The Arabian Sea Branch of the Southwest Monsoon first hits the Western Ghats of the coastal state of Kerala, India, thus making this area the first state in India to receive rain from the Southwest Monsoon. This branch of the monsoon moves northwards along the Western Ghats (Konkan and Goa) with precipitation on coastal areas, west of the Western Ghats. The eastern areas of the Western Ghats do not receive much rain from this monsoon as the wind does not cross the Western Ghats. The Bay of Bengal Branch of Southwest Monsoon flows over the Bay of Bengal heading towards north-east India and Bengal, picking up more moisture from the Bay of Bengal. The winds arrive at the Eastern Himalayas with large amounts of rain. Mawsynram, situated on the southern slopes of the Khasi Hills in Meghalaya, India, is one of the wettest places on Earth.
Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Cancer is an imaginary line, at an angle of 23.50 degrees North from the Equator, that passes through the middle of India. If you run this imaginary line around Earth (Yes, Flat-Earthlings, the Earth is spherical), it passes through 17 countries, India being one of them. The Tropic of Cancer passes through eight states in India: Gujarat (Jasdan), Rajasthan (Kalinjarh), Madhya Pradesh (Shajapur), Chhattisgarh (Sonhat), Jharkhand (Lohardaga), West Bengal (Krishnanagar), Tripura (Udaipur) and Mizoram (Champhai). In that order. Mahi River is the only river in India that cuts the Tropic of Cancer twice, first in Madhya Pradesh from where it flows towards Rajasthan and enters Gujarat where it cuts for the second time.
India’s forest cover
India’s forest cover is the total geographical area declared as forest by the government. As of 2019, the total forest cover in India is 712,249 Sq km (71.22 million hectares), which is 21.67 percent of the total geographical area. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEF&CC) released the biennial India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021 on January 13, 2021. The total forest cover as per the IFSR-2021-22 is 8.90 million hectares that is 24.62% . Twelve states and union territories namely Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Goa, Kerala, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Assam, Odisha, have forest cover between 33% to 75%. .Area-wise, Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra. The states with the highest increase in the forest cover are Andhra Pradesh (647 sq km), Telangana (632 sq km), Odisha (537 sq km), Karnataka (155 sq km) and Jharkhand (110 sq km). The reason for the increase in the forest cover in states like Andhra Pradesh is plantation and agroforestry. The northeast reported the biggest overall loss of forest cover at 1,020 sq km. Though the area has 23.75% of total forest cover, states have lost their cover – Mizoram (1.03%), Arunachal Pradesh (0.39%), Manipur (1.48 %), Meghalaya (0.43%), and Nagaland (1.88%). This decline caused by natural calamities, shifting agriculture and deforestation will affect the region’s water resources and will have an increased effect on landslides.