Living in India: the ultimate expat guide

Geography of India

The South Asian country stretches over an area of 3,287,263 km². It shares its border with Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Burma and has the Indian Ocean to its south. The country is divided into 28 states and eight union territories. New Delhi is the capital city of India. Some of the major cities of the country include Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune and Jaipur.

Demography of India

India has been declared as the second most populated country in the world after China. According to the latest estimates of the United Nation India's population as in 2019 is 1,352 billion which is equivalent to about one-fifth of the total world population. Uttar Pradesh is the most densely populated state in the country, followed by Maharashtra, Bihar and Bengal. Analysing the current growth rate of India's population, it is expected that by 2030 India will become the most populated country, surpassing China.

Languages in India

India is a home to several languages. The constitution of India designates Hindi as the national language and the majority of the population are Hindi speakers. There are other regional languages that are state specific. The constitution of India recognises 22 languages. These are Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Sindhi, Santali, Boro, Maithili and Dongri. All the languages belong in one of the two linguistic families: Indo-Aryan and Dravidian. English is considered to be the administrative language, so it's likely that you will come across English-speaking people in most of the major cities, but it is rarely heard in rural regions.

Economy of India

The economy of India has been one of the fastest growing economes in the world. As of 2020, it is the fifth-largest economy in the world measured by nominal GDP with US$3.202 trillion (nominal:2020). Maharashtra is the most flourishing state of the country with an annual GDP of US$330 billion, which is nearly equivalent to countries like Venezuela and the UAE.

India also topped the World Bank's growth outlook during the year 2016-2017. While India's service sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world, other sectors such as industry, agriculture, information and communication technology, agri-food, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, etc. also form an integral part of India's developing economy.

Politics in India

India is one of the world's biggest democratic countries. Within three years of achieving independence from British rule in 1947, the country laid out its first Constitution and became a parliamentary and federal Republic in 1950.

The country has a Prime Minister that is the real executive authority, and a President who is the head of the state and is elected by the members of the parliament and legislative assemblies for a term of five years. The judiciary power lies with the Supreme Court, which is not only the federal court but also constitutional court and court of appeal.

Climate in India

India has large climatic variations between regions. The Himalayas and Thar desert influence the country's climate, which is generally categorised into four seasons: summer, winter, monsoon and autumn. Winter lasts for only one month, that is from January to February, while summer lasts from March to May. Monsoon, the rainy season, starts around June and ends in September. Finally, autumn comes in October and lasts till December.

The average temperature varies between 22.5 °C and 27.5 °C almost everywhere. However, some regions are hotter than others. The southern part of the nation experiences a warmer climate throughout the year than the rest of the country.

Useful links :

India Official Portal
Incredible India