_#_Terrain: upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north
_#_Natural resources: coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, crude oil, limestone
_#_Land use: arable land 55%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 4%; forest and woodland 23%; other 17%; includes irrigated 13%
_#_Environment: droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; air and water pollution; desertification
_#_Note: dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes
_*People #_Population: 866,351,738 (July 1991), growth rate 1.9% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 29 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 87 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)