|
India,
officially the Republic of India
(Hindi: भारत गणराज्य Bhārat
Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian
languages), is a country in
South Asia. It is the seventh
largest country by geographical
area, the second most populous
country, and the most populous
democracy in the world. Bounded
by the Indian Ocean on the
south, the Arabian Sea on the
west, and the Bay of Bengal on
the east, India has a coastline
of 7,517 kilometers (4,671 mi).
It borders Pakistan to the west;
China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the
north-east; and Bangladesh and
Burma to the east. India is in
the vicinity of Sri Lanka, the
Maldives, and Indonesia in the
Indian Ocean.
India is a parliamentary
republic consisting of 28 states
and 7 union territories. It has
the world's twelfth largest
economy at market exchange rates
and the fourth largest in
purchasing power. Economic
reforms have transformed it into
the second fastest growing large
economy; however, it still
suffers from high levels of
poverty, illiteracy, and
malnutrition. A pluralistic,
multilingual, and multiethnic
society, India is also home to a
diversity of wildlife in a
variety of protected habitats.
|