Land use: arable land: 56% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 23% other: 16% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 480,000 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; earthquakes
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification; air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap water is not potable throughout the country; huge and growing population is overstraining natural resources
Environment - international agreements: party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important
Indian Ocean trade routes
@India:People
Population: 1,014,003,817 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 34% (male 175,228,164; female 165,190,951) 15-64 years: 62% (male 324,699,562; female 301,821,383) 65 years and over: 4% (male 23,925,371; female 23,138,386) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.58% (2000 est.)