The Context: A Brief Overview of India

India at a glance
Government type: Federal republic
Languages: Hindi, English, and 16 other official languages
Ethnic groups: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid 2%, others
Religious beliefs: Hindu 82.41%, Muslim 12%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other groups including Buddhist, Jain, Parsi 2.5%
Labor Force: Agriculture 62%, Industry and Commerce 22%, Services and Government 12%, Transport and Communications 4%

Total population: 1.12 billion
Percent of the population under the age of 15: 36%
Urban population: 29%
Life expectancy: 63 years

Focus on reproductive health
Total fertility rate (average number of children born to a woman in her lifetime): 2.9
Contraceptive prevalence rate (among married women ages 15-49): 46% (modern methods), 53% (all methods)
Maternal mortality rate (maternal deaths per 100,000 live births): 540
In India abortion is legal on broad socioeconomic and health grounds.

Focus on young women
Percentage of females ages 15-19 who have ever been married: 34%
Percentage of females who have given birth by age 18: 28%

Focus on HIV/AIDS
*Percentage of adult population (ages 15-49) living with HIV/AIDS: 0.9%
*Percentage of adult population (ages 15+) living with HIV/AIDS who are women: 29%
*Number HIV-positive adults (ages 15+): 5.6 million
*Number of HIV-positive women (ages 15+): 1.6 million

Focus on gender
Literacy rate for women (ages 15-24): 65%
Literacy rate for men (ages 15-24): 80%
Women as a percent of parliament: 8%
From 1995-2002, 41% of females ages 15+ were economically active compared to 86% of males ages 15+


Source: Population Reference Bureau, www.prb.org
*Source: UNAIDS, www.unaids.org

Page last updated 8/28/07.