Country · Asia
India
Republic of India
India is a country in Southern Asia. About 1.4 billion people live there, in an area of 3 287 590 square kilometres. Its capital city is New Delhi.
Picture credit: This Photo (CC BY-SA 4.0) · UnpetitproleX (CC BY-SA 4.0) · UnpetitproleX (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Navonildutta4 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is India?
India lies in Southern Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 2 226 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 7 000 km long.
It shares a border with 6 countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.
How big is India?
India covers 3 287 590 square kilometres.
That is about 9.2 times the size of Germany.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 7th largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 411.4 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in India?
About 1.4 billion people live in India.
That is the 2nd biggest population in the world.
People here speak English, Hindi and Tamil.
They pay with the Indian rupee (₹).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 63 years.
The land of India
The land of India sits on average 160 metres above sea level, which makes it one of the flatter countries on Earth.
Its coast runs for about 7 000 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 350 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes India different?
A dish the country is known for: No officially announced national dish.
Websites from here often end in .in.
India and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 179 live in India.
It takes up about 2.5 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia the country ranks 2nd of 46 by size, and 2nd by population.
India and its neighbours
China, its largest neighbour, is about 3 times bigger.
China has more people: 1.4 billion against 1.4 billion.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 29 live wild in India: Tiger, Leopard, Snow leopard, Eurasian otter, Yak, Greater flamingo and more. The highest mountain in the country is Kangchenjunga, at 8 586 metres. The longest river in the country is the Ganges. The largest lake in the country is Loktak Lake. And one of the wonders of the world stands here: the Taj Mahal.
Tiger
Leopard
Snow leopard
Eurasian otter
Yak
Greater flamingo
Indian peafowl
Common kingfisher
Saltwater crocodile
King cobra
House mouse
Red panda
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is India compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 2.9 times as big as India: 9 372 610 km² against 3 287 590 km². See both on one map
- India is about 14 times as big as the United Kingdom: 3 287 590 km² against 242 900 km². See both on one map
Questions children ask
What is the capital of India?
The capital of India is New Delhi. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in India?
About 1.4 billion people live in India, which makes it the 2nd most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border India?
How big is India?
India covers 3 287 590 square kilometres, making it the 7th largest country in the world. That is about 9.2 times the size of Germany.
What is the highest mountain in India?
The highest mountain in India is Kangchenjunga, 8 586 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in India?
The longest river in India is the Ganges, about 2 525 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in India?
The largest lake in India is Loktak Lake. It covers about 287 km².
Which continent is India in?
India is in Asia, in the part called Southern Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
Last checked: · How these pages are made