

######## UNITED STATES ########


== INTRODUCTION ==

United States Background: Thirteen of Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. Two of the most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65), in which a northern Union of states defeated a secessionist Confederacy of 11 southern slave states, and the Great Depression of the 1930s, an economic downturn during which about a quarter of the labor force lost its jobs. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state. Since the end of World War II, the economy has achieved relatively steady growth, low unemployment, and rapid advances in technology.

== GEOGRAPHY ==

United States Location: North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
United States Geographic coordinates: 38 00 N, 97 00 W
United States Map references: North America
United States Area: total : 9,833,517 sq km
United States Area: land: 9,147,593 sq km
United States Area: water: 685,924 sq km
United States Area - comparative: about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; more than twice the size of the European Union
United States Land boundaries: total: 12,002 km
United States Land boundaries: border countries: Canada 8,891 km (including 2,475 km with Alaska); Mexico 3,111 km
United States Coastline: 19,924 km
United States Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
United States Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm
United States Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
United States Maritime claims: continental shelf: not specified
United States Climate: mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
United States Terrain: vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii
United States Elevation: highest point: Mount McKinley 6,190 m (highest point in North America)
United States Elevation: lowest point: Death Valley (lowest point in North America) -86 m
United States Elevation: mean elevation: 760 m
United States Natural resources: coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, rare earth elements, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber, arable land
United States Land use: agricultural land: 46.1% (2023 est.)
United States Land use: agricultural land: arable land: arable land: 16.6% (2023 est.)
United States Land use: agricultural land: permanent crops: permanent crops: 0.3% (2023 est.)
United States Land use: agricultural land: permanent pasture: permanent pasture: 29.2% (2023 est.)
United States Land use: forest: 33.8% (2023 est.)
United States Land use: other: 18.7% (2023 est.)
United States Irrigated land: 234,782 sq km (2017)
United States Major lakes (area sq km): fresh water lake(s): Michigan – 57,750 sq km; Superior* – 53,348 sq km; Huron* – 23,597 sq km; Erie* – 12,890 sq km; Ontario* – 9,220 sq km; Lake of the Woods – 4,350 sq km; Iliamna – 2,590 sq km; Okeechobee – 1,810 sq km; Belcharof – 1,190 sq km; Red – 1,170 sq km; Saint Clair – 1,113 sq km; Champlain – 1,100 sq kmnote - Great Lakes* area shown as US waters
United States Major lakes (area sq km): salt water lake(s): Great Salt &ndash; 4,360 sq km; Pontchartrain &ndash; 1,620 sq km; &nbsp;Selawik &ndash; 1,400 sq km; Salton Sea &ndash; 950 sq km
United States Major rivers (by length in km): Missouri - 3,768 km; Mississippi - 3,544 km; Yukon river mouth (shared with Canada [s]) - 3,190 km; Saint Lawrence (shared with Canada) - 3,058 km; Rio Grande river source (mouth shared with Mexico) - 3,057 km; Colorado river source (shared with Mexico [m]) - 2,333 km; Arkansas - 2,348 km; Columbia river mouth (shared with Canada [s]) - 2,250 km; Red - 2,188 km; Ohio - 2,102 km); Snake - 1,670 kmnote: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
United States Major watersheds (area sq km): Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Gulf of America) Mississippi* (3,202,185 sq km); Rio Grande (607,965 sq km); (Gulf of Saint Lawrence) Saint Lawrence* (1,049,636 sq km total, US only 505,000 sq km)
United States Major watersheds (area sq km): Pacific Ocean drainage: Yukon* (847,620 sq km, US only 23,820 sq km); Colorado (703,148 sq km); Columbia* (657,501 sq km, US only 554,501 sq km)
United States Major aquifers: Northern Great Plains Aquifer, Cambrian-Ordovician Aquifer System, Californian Central Valley Aquifer System, Ogallala Aquifer (High Plains), Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains Aquifer
United States Population distribution: large urban clusters are spread throughout the eastern half of the US (particularly the Great Lakes area, northeast, east, and southeast) and the western-tier states; mountainous areas such as the Rocky Mountains and Appalachians, deserts in the southwest, the dense boreal forests in the extreme north, and the central prairie states are less densely populated; Alaska's population is concentrated along its southern coast, particularly around Anchorage, and Hawaii's is centered on the island of Oahu
United States Natural hazards: tsunamis; volcanoes; earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of America coasts; tornadoes in the Midwest and Southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska is a major impediment to development volcanism: volcanic activity in the Hawaiian Islands, Western Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and in the Northern Mariana Islands; Mauna Loa (4,170 m) in Hawaii and Mount Rainier (4,392 m) in Washington have been deemed Decade Volcanoes by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to their explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Pavlof (2,519 m) is the most active volcano in Alaska's Aleutian Arc and poses a significant threat to intercontinental air travel; St. Helens (2,549 m), famous for the devastating 1980 eruption, remains active today; other historically active volcanoes are mostly concentrated in the Aleutian arc and Hawaii, including (in Alaska) Aniakchak, Augustine, Chiginagak, Fourpeaked, Iliamna, Katmai, Kupreanof, Martin, Novarupta, Redoubt, Spurr, Wrangell, Trident, Ugashik-Peulik, Ukinrek Maars, Veniaminof, (in Hawaii) Haleakala, Kilauea, Loihi, (in the Northern Mariana Islands) Anatahan, (in the Pacific Northwest) Mount Baker, and Mount Hood; see note 2 under "Geography - note"
United States Geography - note: note 1: world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India); Mt. McKinley is the highest point (6,190 m; 20,308 ft) in North America, and Death Valley is the lowest point (-86 m; -282 ft) note 2: the western US coast and the southern coast of Alaska lie along the Ring of Fire, which is a belt bordering the Pacific Ocean that contains about 75% of the world's volcanoes and up to 90% of the world's earthquakesnote 3: the Aleutian Islands are a chain of volcanic islands that divide the Bering Sea (north) from the main Pacific Ocean (south); they extend about 1,800 km (1,118 mi) westward from the Alaskan Peninsula; the archipelago consists of 14 larger islands, 55 smaller islands, and hundreds of islets; there are 41 active volcanoes on the islands, which together form a large northern section of the Ring of Firenote 4: Mammoth Cave, in west-central Kentucky, is the world's longest known cave system with more than 650 km (405 miles) of surveyed passageways, which is nearly twice as long as the second-longest cave system, the Sac Actun underwater cave in Mexico (see "Geography - note" under Mexico)note 5: Kazumura Cave on the island of Hawaii is the world's longest and deepest lava-tube cave; it has been surveyed at 66 km (41 mi) long and 1,102 m (3,614 ft) deep note 6: Bracken Cave outside San Antonio, Texas is the world's largest bat cave and the summer home to the largest colony of bats in the world; an estimated 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats roost in the cave from March to October, making it the world's largest known concentration of mammals

== PEOPLE AND SOCIETY ==

United States Population: total: 338,016,259 (2025 est.)
United States Population: male: 167,543,554
United States Population: female: 170,472,705
United States Nationality: noun: American(s)
United States Nationality: adjective: American
United States Ethnic groups: White 61.6%, Black or African American 12.4%, Asian 6%, Indigenous and Alaska native 1.1%, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.2%, other 8.4%, two or more races 10.2% (2020 est.)
United States Languages: English only (official) 78.2%, Spanish 13.4%, Chinese 1.1%, other 7.3% (2017 est.)
United States Religions: Protestant 46.5%, Roman Catholic 20.8%, Jewish 1.9%, Church of Jesus Christ 1.6%, other Christian 0.9%, Muslim 0.9%, Jehovah's Witness 0.8%, Buddhist 0.7%, Hindu 0.7%, other 1.8%, unaffiliated 22.8%, don't know/refused 0.6% (2014 est.)
United States Age structure: 0-14 years: 18.1% (male 31,618,532/female 30,254,223)
United States Age structure: 15-64 years: 63.4% (male 108,553,822/female 108,182,491)
United States Age structure: 65 years and over: 18.5% (2024 est.) (male 28,426,426/female 34,927,914)
United States Dependency ratios: total dependency ratio: 56 (2025 est.)
United States Dependency ratios: youth dependency ratio: 26.8 (2025 est.)
United States Dependency ratios: elderly dependency ratio: 29.2 (2025 est.)
United States Dependency ratios: potential support ratio: 3.4 (2025 est.)
United States Median age: total: 39.5 years (2025 est.)
United States Median age: male: 37.8 years
United States Median age: female: 40 years
United States Population growth rate: 0.45% (2025 est.)
United States Birth rate: 10.75 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
United States Death rate: 8.76 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
United States Net migration rate: 2.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
United States Population distribution: large urban clusters are spread throughout the eastern half of the US (particularly the Great Lakes area, northeast, east, and southeast) and the western-tier states; mountainous areas such as the Rocky Mountains and Appalachians, deserts in the southwest, the dense boreal forests in the extreme north, and the central prairie states are less densely populated; Alaska's population is concentrated along its southern coast, particularly around Anchorage, and Hawaii's is centered on the island of Oahu
United States Urbanization: urban population: 83.3% of total population (2023)
United States Urbanization: rate of urbanization: 0.96% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
United States Major urban areas - population: 18.937 million New York-Newark, 12.534 million Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, 8.937 million Chicago, 6.707 million Houston, 6.574 million Dallas-Fort Worth, 5.490 million WASHINGTON, D.C. (capital) (2023)
United States Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
United States Sex ratio: 0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
United States Sex ratio: 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
United States Sex ratio: 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
United States Sex ratio: total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
United States Mother's mean age at first birth: 27.5 years (2023 est.)
United States Maternal mortality ratio: 17 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
United States Infant mortality rate: total: 5 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
United States Infant mortality rate: male: 5.4 deaths/1,000 live births
United States Infant mortality rate: female: 4.7 deaths/1,000 live births
United States Life expectancy at birth: total population: 80.9 years (2024 est.)
United States Life expectancy at birth: male: 78.7 years
United States Life expectancy at birth: female: 83.1 years
United States Total fertility rate: 1.63 children born/woman (2025 est.)
United States Gross reproduction rate: 0.02 (2025 est.)
United States Drinking water source: improved: urban: urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)
United States Drinking water source: improved: rural: rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)
United States Drinking water source: improved: total: total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
United States Drinking water source: unimproved: urban: urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
United States Drinking water source: unimproved: rural: rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
United States Drinking water source: unimproved: total: total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
United States Health expenditure: Health expenditure (as % of GDP): 16.6% of GDP (2022)
United States Health expenditure: Health expenditure (as % of national budget): 24.7% of national budget (2022 est.)
United States Physician density: 3.68 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
United States Hospital bed density: 2.7 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
United States Sanitation facility access: improved: urban: urban: 99.9% of population (2022 est.)
United States Sanitation facility access: improved: rural: rural: 98.5% of population (2022 est.)
United States Sanitation facility access: improved: total: total: 99.6% of population (2022 est.)
United States Sanitation facility access: unimproved: urban: urban: 0.1% of population (2022 est.)
United States Sanitation facility access: unimproved: rural: rural: 1.5% of population (2022 est.)
United States Sanitation facility access: unimproved: total: total: 0.4% of population (2022 est.)
United States Obesity - adult prevalence rate: 36.2% (2016)
United States Alcohol consumption per capita: total: 8.93 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
United States Alcohol consumption per capita: beer: 3.97 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
United States Alcohol consumption per capita: wine: 1.67 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
United States Alcohol consumption per capita: spirits: 3.29 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
United States Alcohol consumption per capita: other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
United States Tobacco use: total: 22.1% (2025 est.)
United States Tobacco use: male: 27.7% (2025 est.)
United States Tobacco use: female: 16.7% (2025 est.)
United States Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 0.4% (2018 est.)
United States Currently married women (ages 15-49): 52.1% (2022 est.)
United States Education expenditure: Education expenditure (% GDP): 5.4% of GDP (2021 est.)
United States Education expenditure: Education expenditure (% national budget): 11.3% national budget (2021 est.)
United States School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): total: 16 years (2022 est.)
United States School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): male: 15 years (2022 est.)
United States School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): female: 17 years (2022 est.)

== ENVIRONMENT ==

United States Environmental issues: air pollution; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; declining natural freshwater resources in the west; deforestation; mining; desertification; species conservation; invasive species&nbsp;
United States International environmental agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
United States International environmental agreements: signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Protocol
United States Climate: mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
United States Land use: agricultural land: 46.1% (2023 est.)
United States Land use: agricultural land: arable land: arable land: 16.6% (2023 est.)
United States Land use: agricultural land: permanent crops: permanent crops: 0.3% (2023 est.)
United States Land use: agricultural land: permanent pasture: permanent pasture: 29.2% (2023 est.)
United States Land use: forest: 33.8% (2023 est.)
United States Land use: other: 18.7% (2023 est.)
United States Urbanization: urban population: 83.3% of total population (2023)
United States Urbanization: rate of urbanization: 0.96% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
United States Carbon dioxide emissions: total emissions: 4.795 billion metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
United States Carbon dioxide emissions: from coal and metallurgical coke: 777.302 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
United States Carbon dioxide emissions: from petroleum and other liquids: 2.258 billion metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
United States Carbon dioxide emissions: from consumed natural gas: 1.76 billion metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
United States Particulate matter emissions: 7.4 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
United States Methane emissions: energy: 20,500.6 kt (2022-2024 est.)
United States Methane emissions: agriculture: 9,063.9 kt (2019-2021 est.)
United States Methane emissions: waste: 4,974 kt (2019-2021 est.)
United States Methane emissions: other: 758.6 kt (2019-2021 est.)
United States Waste and recycling: municipal solid waste generated annually: 265.225 million tons (2024 est.)
United States Waste and recycling: percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 14.8% (2022 est.)
United States Total water withdrawal: municipal: 58.39 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
United States Total water withdrawal: industrial: 209.7 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
United States Total water withdrawal: agricultural: 176.2 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
United States Total renewable water resources: 3.069 trillion cubic meters (2022 est.)

== GOVERNMENT ==

United States Country name: conventional long form: United States of America
United States Country name: conventional short form: United States
United States Country name: abbreviation: US or USA
United States Country name: etymology: the name America was first used in 1507 and is derived from the first name of Amerigo VESPUCCI (1454-1512), an Italian explorer, navigator, and cartographer; the name United States first appeared in a document subtitle during the discussions that led to the Declaration of Independence in 1776
United States Government type: constitutional federal republic
United States Capital: name: Washington, D.C.
United States Capital: geographic coordinates: 38 53 N, 77 02 W
United States Capital: time difference: UTC-5 (during Standard Time)
United States Capital: daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November; note - no DST for Hawaii and most of Arizona
United States Capital: time zone note: the 50 United States cover six time zones
United States Capital: etymology: named after George WASHINGTON (1732-1799), the first president of the United States
United States Administrative divisions: 50 states and 1 district*; Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
United States Dependent areas: American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Wake Island (14)
United States Legal system: common law system based on English common law at the federal level; state legal systems based on common law, except Louisiana, where state law is based on Napoleonic civil code; judicial review of legislative acts
United States Constitution: history: previous 1781 (Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union); latest drafted July - September 1787, submitted to the Congress of the Confederation 20 September 1787, submitted for states' ratification 28 September 1787, ratification completed by nine of the 13 states 21 June 1788, effective 4 March 1789
United States Constitution: amendment process: proposed as a "joint resolution" by Congress, which requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by at least two thirds of the state legislatures; passage requires ratification by three fourths of the state legislatures or passage in state-held constitutional conventions as specified by Congress; the US president has no role in the constitutional amendment process
United States International law organization participation: withdrew acceptance of compulsory ICJ jurisdiction in 2005; withdrew acceptance of ICCt jurisdiction in 2002
United States Citizenship: citizenship by birth: yes
United States Citizenship: citizenship by descent only: yes
United States Citizenship: dual citizenship recognized: no, but the US government acknowledges such situtations exist; US citizens are not encouraged to seek dual citizenship since it limits protection by the US
United States Citizenship: residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
United States Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
United States Executive branch: chief of state: President Donald J. TRUMP (since 20 January 2025)
United States Executive branch: head of government: President Donald J. TRUMP (since 20 January 2025)
United States Executive branch: cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president, approved by the Senate
United States Executive branch: election/appointment process: president and vice president indirectly elected on the same ballot by the Electoral College of electors chosen from each state; president and vice president serve a 4-year term (eligible for a second term)
United States Executive branch: most recent election date: 5 November 2024
United States Executive branch: election results: 2024: Donald J. TRUMP elected president; electoral vote - Donald J. TRUMP (Republican Party) 312, Kamala HARRIS (Democratic Party) 226; percent of direct popular vote - Donald J. TRUMP 49.8%, Kamala HARRIS 48.3%, other 1.9%2020: Joseph R. BIDEN, Jr. elected president; electoral vote - Joseph R. BIDEN, Jr. (Democratic Party) 306, Donald J. TRUMP (Republican Party) 232; percent of direct popular vote - Joseph R. BIDEN Jr. 51.3%, Donald J. TRUMP 46.9%, other 1.8%
United States Executive branch: expected date of next election: 7 November 2028
United States Legislative branch: legislature name: Congress
United States Legislative branch: legislative structure: bicameral
United States Legislative branch - lower chamber: chamber name: House of Representatives
United States Legislative branch - lower chamber: number of seats: 435 (all directly elected)
United States Legislative branch - lower chamber: electoral system: plurality/majority
United States Legislative branch - lower chamber: scope of elections: full renewal
United States Legislative branch - lower chamber: term in office: 2 years
United States Legislative branch - lower chamber: most recent election date: 11/5/2024
United States Legislative branch - lower chamber: parties elected and seats per party: Republican Party (220); Democratic Party (215)
United States Legislative branch - lower chamber: percentage of women in chamber: 28.9%
United States Legislative branch - lower chamber: expected date of next election: November 2026
United States Legislative branch - upper chamber: chamber name: Senate
United States Legislative branch - upper chamber: number of seats: 100 (all directly elected)
United States Legislative branch - upper chamber: electoral system: plurality/majority
United States Legislative branch - upper chamber: scope of elections: partial renewal
United States Legislative branch - upper chamber: term in office: 6 years
United States Legislative branch - upper chamber: most recent election date: 11/5/2024
United States Legislative branch - upper chamber: parties elected and seats per party: Republican Party (15); Democratic Party (19)
United States Legislative branch - upper chamber: percentage of women in chamber: 26%
United States Legislative branch - upper chamber: expected date of next election: November 2026
United States Judicial branch: highest court(s): US Supreme Court (consists of 9 justices -- the chief justice and 8 associate justices)
United States Judicial branch: judge selection and term of office: president nominates and, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoints Supreme Court justices; justices serve for life
United States Judicial branch: subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal (includes the US Court of Appeal for the Federal District and 12 regional appeals courts); 94 federal district courts in 50 states and territories
United States Political parties: Alliance PartyConstitution PartyDemocratic PartyGreen PartyLibertarian PartyRepublican PartyVermont Progressive Party
United States International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), ANZUS, APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CD, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CICA (observer), CP, EAPC, EAS, EBRD, EITI (implementing country), FAO, FATF, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAFTA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), Quad, SAARC (observer), SELEC (observer), SICA (observer), SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOOSA, UN Security Council (permanent), UNTSO, UPU, USMCA, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
United States Independence: 4 July 1776 (declared independence from Great Britain); 3 September 1783 (recognized by Great Britain)
United States National holiday: Independence Day, 4 July (1776)
United States Flag: description: 13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; a blue rectangle in the upper-left corner has 50 five-pointed white stars, arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five starsmeaning: the stars represent the 50 states, and the stripes represent the 13 original colonies; blue stands for loyalty, devotion, truth, justice, and friendship; red for courage, zeal, and fervency; white for purity and rectitude of conduct
United States National symbol(s): bald eagle
United States National color(s): red, white, blue
United States National anthem(s): title: "The Star-Spangled Banner"
United States National anthem(s): lyrics/music: Francis Scott KEY/John Stafford SMITH
United States National anthem(s): history: adopted 1931; during the War of 1812, Francis Scott KEY witnessed the successful American defense of Baltimore's Fort McHenry against a British naval bombardment, later writing a poem about it that would become the US national anthem; the lyrics were set to the tune of "The Anacreontic Song;" there are four verses, but only the first verse is sung
United States National heritage: total World Heritage Sites: 26 (13 cultural, 12 natural, 1 mixed); note - includes one site in Puerto Rico
United States National heritage: selected World Heritage Site locales: Yellowstone National Park (n); Grand Canyon National Park (n); Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site (c); Independence Hall (c); Statue of Liberty (c); Yosemite National Park (n); Papahānaumokuākea (m); Monumental Earthworks of Poverty Point (c); The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright (c); Mesa Verde National Park (c); Mammoth Cave National Park (n); Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (c); Olympic National Park (n); Everglades National Park (n); Kluane / Wrangell-St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek (n); Redwood National and State Parks (n); Great Smoky Mountains National Park (n); La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico (c); Chaco Culture (c); Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (n); Taos Pueblo (c); Carlsbad Caverns National Park (n); Waterton Glacier International Peace Park (n); Moravian Church Settlements (c); San Antonio Missions (c); Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks (c)

== ECONOMY ==

United States Economic overview: world’s largest economy by nominal GDP; largest importer and second-largest exporter; home to leading financial exchanges and global reserve currency; high and growing public debt; inflation moderating but remains above pre-pandemic levels
United States Real GDP (purchasing power parity): Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2024: $25.676 trillion (2024 est.)
United States Real GDP (purchasing power parity): Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2023: $24.977 trillion (2023 est.)
United States Real GDP (purchasing power parity): Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2022: $24.276 trillion (2022 est.)
United States Real GDP growth rate: Real GDP growth rate 2024: 2.8% (2024 est.)
United States Real GDP growth rate: Real GDP growth rate 2023: 2.9% (2023 est.)
United States Real GDP growth rate: Real GDP growth rate 2022: 2.5% (2022 est.)
United States Real GDP per capita: Real GDP per capita 2024: $75,500 (2024 est.)
United States Real GDP per capita: Real GDP per capita 2023: $74,200 (2023 est.)
United States Real GDP per capita: Real GDP per capita 2022: $72,700 (2022 est.)
United States GDP (official exchange rate): $29.185 trillion (2024 est.)
United States Inflation rate (consumer prices): Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2024: 2.9% (2024 est.)
United States Inflation rate (consumer prices): Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023: 4.1% (2023 est.)
United States Inflation rate (consumer prices): Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022: 8% (2022 est.)
United States GDP - composition, by sector of origin: agriculture: 0.9% (2024 est.)
United States GDP - composition, by sector of origin: industry: 17.3% (2024 est.)
United States GDP - composition, by sector of origin: services: 79.7% (2024 est.)
United States GDP - composition, by end use: household consumption: 67.9% (2024 est.)
United States GDP - composition, by end use: government consumption: 13.4% (2024 est.)
United States GDP - composition, by end use: investment in fixed capital: 21.6% (2024 est.)
United States GDP - composition, by end use: investment in inventories: 0.1% (2024 est.)
United States GDP - composition, by end use: exports of goods and services: 10.9% (2024 est.)
United States GDP - composition, by end use: imports of goods and services: -14% (2024 est.)
United States Agricultural products: maize, soybeans, milk, wheat, sugar beets, sugarcane, potatoes, chicken, pork, tomatoes (2023)
United States Industries: highly diversified, world leading, high-technology innovator, second-largest industrial output in the world; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining
United States Industrial production growth rate: 3.25% (2021 est.)
United States Labor force: 174.174 million (2024 est.)
United States Unemployment rate: Unemployment rate 2024: 4.2% (2024 est.)
United States Unemployment rate: Unemployment rate 2023: 3.7% (2023 est.)
United States Unemployment rate: Unemployment rate 2022: 3.7% (2022 est.)
United States Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24): total: 9.4% (2024 est.)
United States Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24): male: 10.4% (2024 est.)
United States Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24): female: 8.3% (2024 est.)
United States Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income: Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income 2023: 41.8 (2023 est.)
United States Average household expenditures: on food: 6.8% of household expenditures (2023 est.)
United States Average household expenditures: on alcohol and tobacco: 1.9% of household expenditures (2023 est.)
United States Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.8% (2023 est.)
United States Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: 30.4% (2023 est.)
United States Remittances: Remittances 2024: 0% of GDP (2024 est.)
United States Remittances: Remittances 2023: 0% of GDP (2023 est.)
United States Remittances: Remittances 2022: 0% of GDP (2022 est.)
United States Budget: revenues: $4.877 trillion (2023 est.)
United States Budget: expenditures: $6.857 trillion (2023 est.)
United States Public debt: Public debt 2023: 114.8% of GDP (2023 est.)
United States Taxes and other revenues: 10.6% (of GDP) (2023 est.)
United States Current account balance: Current account balance 2024: -$1.134 trillion (2024 est.)
United States Current account balance: Current account balance 2023: -$905.378 billion (2023 est.)
United States Current account balance: Current account balance 2022: -$1.012 trillion (2022 est.)
United States Exports: Exports 2024: $3.191 trillion (2024 est.)
United States Exports: Exports 2023: $3.072 trillion (2023 est.)
United States Exports: Exports 2022: $3.039 trillion (2022 est.)
United States Exports - partners: Canada 14%, Mexico 13%, China 8%, Germany 5%, Japan 4% (2023)
United States Exports - commodities: crude petroleum, refined petroleum, natural gas, gas turbines, cars (2023)
United States Imports: Imports 2024: $4.108 trillion (2024 est.)
United States Imports: Imports 2023: $3.857 trillion (2023 est.)
United States Imports: Imports 2022: $3.984 trillion (2022 est.)
United States Imports - partners: Mexico 15%, China 15%, Canada 14%, Germany 5%, Japan 5% (2023)
United States Imports - commodities: cars, crude petroleum, broadcasting equipment, computers, garments (2023)
United States Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2024: $910.037 billion (2024 est.)
United States Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2023: $773.426 billion (2023 est.)
United States Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2022: $706.644 billion (2022 est.)
United States Exchange rates: British pounds per US dollar: 0.782 (2024 est.), 0.805 (2023 est.), 0.811 (2022 est.), 0.727 (2021 est.), 0.780 (2020 est.) Canadian dollars per US dollar: 1.369 (2024 est.), 1.35 (2023 est.), 1.302 (2022 est.), 1.254 (2021 est.), 1.341 (2020 est.)Chinese yuan per US dollar: 0.783 (2024 est.), 7.084 (2023 est.), 6.737 (2022 est.), 6.449 (2021 est.), 6.901 (2020 est.)euros per US dollar: 0.924 (2024 est.), 0.925 (2023 est.), 0.950 (2022 est.), 0.845 (2021 est.), 0.876 (2020 est.)Japanese yen per US dollar: 151.366 (2024 est.), 140.49 (2023 est.), 131.50 (2022 est.), 109.75 (2021 est.), 106.78 (2020 est.)note 1: the following countries and territories use the US dollar officially as their legal tender: British Virgin Islands, Ecuador, El Salvador, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Timor Leste, Turks and Caicos, and islands of the Caribbean Netherlands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba)note 2: the following countries and territories use the US dollar as official legal tender alongside local currency: Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, and Panama

== ENERGY ==

United States Electricity access: electrification - total population: 100% (2022 est.)
United States Electricity: installed generating capacity: 1.235 billion kW (2023 est.)
United States Electricity: consumption: 4.085 trillion kWh (2023 est.)
United States Electricity: exports: 19.87 billion kWh (2023 est.)
United States Electricity: imports: 38.874 billion kWh (2023 est.)
United States Electricity: transmission/distribution losses: 191.104 billion kWh (2023 est.)
United States Electricity generation sources: fossil fuels: 58.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
United States Electricity generation sources: nuclear: 18.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
United States Electricity generation sources: solar: 5.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
United States Electricity generation sources: wind: 9.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
United States Electricity generation sources: hydroelectricity: 5.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
United States Electricity generation sources: geothermal: 0.4% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
United States Electricity generation sources: biomass and waste: 1.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
United States Nuclear energy: Number of operational nuclear reactors: 94 (2025)
United States Nuclear energy: Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors: 96.95GW (2025 est.)
United States Nuclear energy: Percent of total electricity production: 18.5% (2023 est.)
United States Nuclear energy: Number of nuclear reactors permanently shut down: 41 (2025)
United States Coal: production: 534.234 million metric tons (2023 est.)
United States Coal: consumption: 495.156 million metric tons (2023 est.)
United States Coal: exports: 92.28 million metric tons (2023 est.)
United States Coal: imports: 3.825 million metric tons (2023 est.)
United States Coal: proven reserves: 247.883 billion metric tons (2023 est.)
United States Petroleum: total petroleum production: 20.953 million bbl/day (2023 est.)
United States Petroleum: refined petroleum consumption: 20.307 million bbl/day (2024 est.)
United States Petroleum: crude oil estimated reserves: 38.212 billion barrels (2021 est.)
United States Natural gas: production: 1.072 trillion cubic meters (2023 est.)
United States Natural gas: consumption: 920.47 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
United States Natural gas: exports: 215.48 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
United States Natural gas: imports: 82.917 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
United States Natural gas: proven reserves: 13.402 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)
United States Energy consumption per capita: Total energy consumption per capita 2023: 278.474 million Btu/person (2023 est.)

== COMMUNICATIONS ==

United States Telephones - fixed lines: total subscriptions: 87.987 million (2023 est.)
United States Telephones - fixed lines: subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 26 (2023 est.)
United States Telephones - mobile cellular: total subscriptions: 391 million (2024 est.)
United States Telephones - mobile cellular: subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 113 (2024 est.)
United States Broadcast media: 4 major terrestrial TV networks with affiliate stations, plus cable and satellite networks, independent stations, and a limited public broadcasting sector; thousands of TV stations broadcasting; multiple national radio networks with many affiliate stations; over 15,000 radio stations, most commercial; National Public Radio (NPR) has a network of about 900 member stations; satellite radio available (2018)
United States Internet country code: .us
United States Internet users: percent of population: 93% (2023 est.)
United States Broadband - fixed subscriptions: total: 131 million (2023 est.)
United States Broadband - fixed subscriptions: subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 38 (2023 est.)

== TRANSPORTATION ==

United States Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: N
United States Airports: 16,116 (2025)
United States Heliports: 8,130 (2025)
United States Railways: total: 293,564.2 km (2014)
United States Railways: standard gauge: 293,564.2 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge
United States Merchant marine: total: 3,533 (2023)
United States Merchant marine: by type: bulk carrier 4, container ship 60, general cargo 96, oil tanker 68, other 3,305
United States Ports: total ports: 666 (2024)
United States Ports: large: 21
United States Ports: medium: 38
United States Ports: small: 132
United States Ports: very small: 475
United States Ports: ports with oil terminals: 204
United States Ports: key ports: Baltimore, Boston, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Chester, Cleveland, Detroit, Galveston, Houston, Los Angeles, Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), Mobile, New Orleans, New York City, Norfolk, Oakland, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Tri-City Port

== MILITARY AND SECURITY ==

United States Military and security forces: United States Armed Forces (aka US Military): US Army (USA), US Navy (USN; includes US Marine Corps or USMC), US Air Force (USAF), US Space Force (USSF); US Coast Guard (USCG); National Guard (Army National Guard and Air National Guard) (2025)
United States Military expenditures: Military Expenditures 2025: 3.2% of GDP (2025 est.)
United States Military expenditures: Military Expenditures 2024: 3.2% of GDP (2024 est.)
United States Military expenditures: Military Expenditures 2023: 3.1% of GDP (2023 est.)
United States Military expenditures: Military Expenditures 2022: 3.2% of GDP (2022 est.)
United States Military expenditures: Military Expenditures 2021: 3.5% of GDP (2021 est.)
United States Military and security service personnel strengths: approximately 1.28 million active duty Armed Forces (450,000 Army; 334,000 Navy; 317,000 Air Force; 10,000 Space Force; 168,000 Marine Corps); 42,000 Coast Guard) (2025)
United States Military equipment inventories and acquisitions: the US military's inventory is comprised almost entirely of domestically produced weapons systems (some assembled with foreign components) along with a smaller mix of imported equipment from a variety of countries such as Germany and the UK; the US defense industry is capable of designing, developing, maintaining, and producing the full spectrum of weapons systems; the US is the world's leading arms exporter (2025)
United States Military service age and obligation: 17 years of age (under 18 with parental consent) for voluntary service for men and women; maximum enlistment age varies by service; 8-year initial service obligation, including 2-5 years active duty depending on the particular military service (2025)
United States Military deployments: the US has approximately 200,000 military personnel deployed overseas on a permanent or a long-term rotational (typically 3-9 months) basis (2025)
United States Military - note: the US military's primary missions are to deter potential enemies, provide for the defense of the US, its Territories, Commonwealths and possessions, and any areas occupied by the US, and to protect US national interests; its responsibilities are worldwide and include providing humanitarian assistance, participating in international military exercises and operations, conducting military diplomacy, and fulfilling the US's alliance and treaty commitments; the US has been a leading member of NATO since the Alliance's formation in 1949the US military has a global presence; the separate services operate jointly under 11 regional or functionally based joint service "combatant" commands: Africa Command; Central Command, Cyber Command, European Command, Indo-Pacific Command, Northern Command, Southern Command, Space Command, Special Operations Command, Strategic Command, and Transportation CommandCongress officially created the US military in September 1789; the US Army was established in June 1775 as the Continental Army; after the declaration of independence in July 1776, the Continental Army and the militia in the service of Congress became known collectively as the Army of the United States; when Congress ordered the Continental Army to disband in 1784, it retained a small number of personnel that would form the nucleus of the 1st American Regiment for national service formed later that year; both the US Navy and the US Marines were also established in 1775, but the Navy fell into disuse after the Revolutionary War, and was reestablished by Congress in 1794; the first US military unit devoted exclusively to aviation began operations in 1913 as part of the US Army; the Army Air Corps (AAC) was the US military service dedicated to aerial warfare between 1926 and 1941; the AAC became the US Army Air Forces in 1941 and remained as a combat arm of the Army until the establishment of the US Air Force in 1947 (2025)

== SPACE ==

United States Space agency/agencies: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA; established 1958) (2025)
United States Space launch site(s): has 20 government and commercial spaceports licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration spread across 10 states (Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia) (2025)
United States Space program overview: has a large, comprehensive space program and is one of the world&rsquo;s top space powers; builds, launches, and operates space launch vehicles (SLVs)/rockets and the full spectrum of spacecraft, including interplanetary probes, manned craft, reusable rockets, satellites, space stations, and space planes/shuttles; has an astronaut program and a corps of astronauts; researching and developing a broad range of other space-related technologies, including advanced telecommunications and optics, navigational aids, propulsion, and robotics; has launched orbital or lander probes to the Sun and all the planets in the solar system, as well as to asteroids and beyond the solar system; has dozens of international missions and projects, including with Canada, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the ESA; as of January 2026, 60 countries had signed onto the US-led Artemis Accords to enhance the governance of civil exploration and use of outer space; the US commercial space industry is one of the world&rsquo;s largest and is active across the spectrum of US government space programs; US commercial companies conduct the majority of NASA and US military space launches (2026)
United States Key space-program milestones: 1958-1963 - Project Mercury first manned space flights1961-1963 - Project Gemini (longer-duration manned flights in preparation for Moon landings)1963-1971 - Project Apollo Moon landings (world's first manned landing on the Moon, 1969)1964 - launched first successful Mars probe (Mariner)1965-1979 - operated Skylab space station 1977 - began launching Voyager probes to Jupiter, Saturn, and beyond the solar system1980s-2011 - operated Space Shuttle program (world’s first re-usable space orbiters)1990 - launched Hubble Space Telescope1993 - began participating in International Space Station project2003 - launched surface rover vehicles (Spirit and Opportunity) to Mars 2011 - launched orbital probe (Juno) to Jupiter 2016 - launched OSIRIS-REx mission to retrieve asteroid sample (landed on asteroid Bennu in 2020 and returned with sample in 2023)2017 - initiated Artemis lunar landing project2019 - initiated Gateway lunar orbital station project2021 - launched James Webb Space Telescope (ESA contributed launch vehicle and launch site); surface rover vehicle (Perseverance) with robot helicopter (Ingenuity) successfully landed on surface of Mars2024 - successfully placed a commercial lander on the Moon and launched probe (Europa Clipper) to study Jupiter's Europa moon

== TERRORISM ==

United States Terrorist group(s): al-Qa'ida; Hizballah; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); La Mara Salvatruche (MS-13); Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LeT); Tren de Aragua (TdA)

== TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES ==

United States Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees: 3,619,495 (2024 est.)
United States Refugees and internally displaced persons: IDPs: 21,737 (2024 est.)


######## CHINA ########


== INTRODUCTION ==

China Background: China's historical civilization dates to at least the 13th century B.C., first under the Shang (to 1046 B.C.) and then the Zhou (1046-221 B.C.) dynasties. The imperial era of China began in 221 B.C. under the Qin Dynasty and lasted until the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. During this period, China alternated between periods of unity and disunity under a succession of imperial dynasties. In the 19th century, the Qing Dynasty suffered heavily from overextension by territorial conquest, insolvency, civil war, imperialism, military defeats, and foreign expropriation of ports and infrastructure. It collapsed following the Revolution of 1911, and China became a republic under SUN Yat-sen of the Kuomintang (KMT or Nationalist) Party. However, the republic was beset by division, warlordism, and continued foreign intervention. In the late 1920s, a civil war erupted between the ruling KMT-controlled government, led by CHIANG Kai-shek, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Japan occupied much of northeastern China in the early 1930s, and then launched a full-scale invasion of the country in 1937. The resulting eight years of warfare devastated the country and cost up to 20 million Chinese lives by the time of Japan’s defeat in 1945. The Nationalist-Communist civil war continued with renewed intensity after the end of World War II and culminated with a CCP victory in 1949, under the leadership of MAO Zedong.MAO and the CCP established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring the PRC's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and launched agricultural, economic, political, and social policies -- such as the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962) and the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) -- that cost the lives of millions of people. MAO died in 1976. Beginning in 1978, leaders DENG Xiaoping, JIANG Zemin, and HU Jintao focused on market-oriented economic development and opening up the country to foreign trade, while maintaining the rule of the CCP. Since the change, China has been among the world’s fastest growing economies, with real gross domestic product averaging over 9% growth annually through 2021, lifting an estimated 800 million people out of poverty and dramatically improving overall living standards. By 2011, the PRC’s economy was the second largest in the world. Current leader XI Jinping has continued these policies but has also maintained tight political controls. Over the past decade, China has increased its global outreach, including military deployments, participation in international organizations, and a global connectivity plan in 2013 called the "Belt and Road Initiative" (BRI). Many nations have signed on to BRI agreements to attract PRC investment, but others have expressed concerns about such issues as the opaque nature of the projects, financing, and potentially unsustainable debt obligations. XI Jinping assumed the positions of General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission in 2012 and President in 2013. In 2018, the PRC’s National People’s Congress passed an amendment abolishing presidential term limits, which allowed XI to gain a third five-year term in 2023.

== GEOGRAPHY ==

China Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
China Geographic coordinates: 35 00 N, 105 00 E
China Map references: Asia
China Area: total : 9,596,960 sq km
China Area: land: 9,326,410 sq km
China Area: water: 270,550 sq km
China Area - comparative: slightly smaller than the US
China Land boundaries: total: 22,457 km
China Land boundaries: border countries: Afghanistan 91 km; Bhutan 477 km; Burma 2,129 km; India 2,659 km; Kazakhstan 1,765 km; North Korea 1,352 km; Kyrgyzstan 1,063 km; Laos 475 km; Mongolia 4,630 km; Nepal 1,389 km; Pakistan 438 km; Russia (northeast) 4,133 km and Russia (northwest) 46 km; Tajikistan 477 km; Vietnam 1,297 km
China Coastline: 14,500 km
China Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
China Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm
China Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
China Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
China Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
China Terrain: mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east
China Elevation: highest point: Mount Everest (highest peak in Asia and highest point on earth above sea level) 8,849 m
China Elevation: lowest point: Turpan Pendi (Turfan Depression) -154 m
China Elevation: mean elevation: 1,840 m
China Natural resources: coal, iron ore, helium, petroleum, natural gas, arsenic, bismuth, cobalt, cadmium, ferrosilicon, gallium, germanium, hafnium, indium, lithium, mercury, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, tungsten, antimony, manganese, magnesium, molybdenum, selenium, strontium, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, rare earth elements, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest), arable land
China Land use: agricultural land: 55.3% (2023 est.)
China Land use: agricultural land: arable land: arable land: 11.6% (2023 est.)
China Land use: agricultural land: permanent crops: permanent crops: 2.1% (2023 est.)
China Land use: agricultural land: permanent pasture: permanent pasture: 41.7% (2023 est.)
China Land use: forest: 23.8% (2023 est.)
China Land use: other: 20.6% (2023 est.)
China Irrigated land: 690,070 sq km (2012)
China Major lakes (area sq km): fresh water lake(s): Dongting Hu - 3,100 sq km; Poyang Hu - 3,350 sq km; Hongze Hu - 2,700 sq km; Tai Hu - 2,210 sq km; Hulun Nur - 1,590
China Major lakes (area sq km): salt water lake(s): Quinghai Hu - 4,460 sq km; Nam Co - 2,500 sq km; Siling Co - 1,860 sq km; Tangra Yumco - 1,400 sq km;&nbsp;Bosten Hu 1,380 sq km
China Major rivers (by length in km): Yangtze - 6,300 km; Huang He - 5,464 km; Amur river source (shared with Mongolia and Russia [m]) - 4,444 km; Lancang Jiang (Mekong) river source (shared with Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam [m]) - 4,350 km; Yarlung Zangbo Jiang (Brahmaputra) river source (shared with India and Bangladesh [m]) - 3,969 km; Yin-tu Ho (Indus) river source (shared with India and Pakistan [m]) - 3,610 km; Nu Jiang (Salween) river source (shared with Thailand and Burma [m]) - 3,060 km; Irrawaddy river source (shared with Burma [m]) - 2,809 km; Zhu Jiang (Pearl) (shared with Vietnam [s]) - 2,200 km; Yuan Jiang (Red river) source (shared with Vietnam [m]) - 1,149 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
China Major watersheds (area sq km): Arctic Ocean drainage: Ob (2,972,493 sq km)
China Major watersheds (area sq km): Indian Ocean drainage: Brahmaputra (651,335 sq km), Ganges (1,016,124 sq km), Indus (1,081,718 sq km), Irrawaddy (413,710 sq km), Salween (271,914 sq km)
China Major watersheds (area sq km): Pacific Ocean drainage: Amur (1,929,955 sq km), Huang He (944,970 sq km), Mekong (805,604 sq km), Yangtze (1,722,193 sq km)
China Major watersheds (area sq km): Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: Tarim Basin (1,152,448 sq km), Amu Darya (534,739 sq km), Syr Darya (782,617 sq km), Lake Balkash (510,015 sq km)
China Major aquifers: North China Aquifer System (Huang Huai Hai Plain), Song-Liao Plain, Tarim Basin
China Population distribution: overwhelming majority of the population is found in the eastern half of the country; the west, with its vast mountainous and desert areas, remains sparsely populated; though ranked first in the world in total population, overall density is less than that of many Asian and European countries; high population density is found along the Yangtze and Yellow River valleys, the Xi Jiang River delta, the Sichuan Basin (around Chengdu), in and around Beijing, and the industrial area around Shenyang
China Natural hazards: frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence volcanism: China contains some historically active volcanoes including Changbaishan (also known as Baitoushan, Baegdu, or P'aektu-san), Hainan Dao, and Kunlun although most have been relatively inactive in recent centuries
China Geography - note: note 1: world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and the US) and largest country situated entirely in Asia; Mount Everest, on the border with Nepal, is the world's tallest peak above sea levelnote 2: the largest cave chamber in the world is the Miao Room, in the Gebihe cave system at China's Ziyun Getu He Chuandong National Park, which encloses about 10.78 million cu m (380.7 million cu ft); the world's largest sinkhole is the Xiaoxhai Tiankeng sinkhole in Chongqing Municipality, which is 660 m deep, with a volume of 130 million cu m

== PEOPLE AND SOCIETY ==

China Population: total: 1,407,181,209 (2025 est.)
China Population: male: 716,908,592
China Population: female: 690,272,617
China Nationality: noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
China Nationality: adjective: Chinese
China Ethnic groups: Han Chinese 91.1%, ethnic minorities 8.9% (includes Zhang, Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, and other nationalities) (2021 est.)
China Languages: Languages: Standard Chinese or Mandarin (official; Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages; note - Zhuang is official in Guangxi Zhuang, Yue is official in Guangdong, Mongolian is official in Nei Mongol, Uyghur is official in Xinjiang Uygur, Kyrgyz is official in Xinjiang Uyghur, and Tibetan is official in Xizang (Tibet)
China Languages: major-language sample(s): 世界概況 – 不可缺少的基本消息來源 (Standard Chinese)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
China Religions: folk religion 21.9%, Buddhist 18.2%, Christian 5.1%, Muslim 1.8%, Hindu &lt; 0.1%, Jewish &lt; 0.1%, other 0.7% (includes Daoist (Taoist)), unaffiliated 52.1% (2021 est.)
China Age structure: 0-14 years: 16.3% (male 122,644,111/female 107,926,176)
China Age structure: 15-64 years: 69.3% (male 505,412,555/female 476,599,793)
China Age structure: 65 years and over: 14.4% (2024 est.) (male 94,144,838/female 109,315,797)
China Dependency ratios: total dependency ratio: 43.4 (2025 est.)
China Dependency ratios: youth dependency ratio: 22.4 (2025 est.)
China Dependency ratios: elderly dependency ratio: 21 (2025 est.)
China Dependency ratios: potential support ratio: 4.8 (2025 est.)
China Median age: total: 40.8 years (2025 est.)
China Median age: male: 39 years
China Median age: female: 41.5 years
China Population growth rate: -0.08% (2025 est.)
China Birth rate: 7.28 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
China Death rate: 7.97 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
China Net migration rate: -0.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
China Population distribution: overwhelming majority of the population is found in the eastern half of the country; the west, with its vast mountainous and desert areas, remains sparsely populated; though ranked first in the world in total population, overall density is less than that of many Asian and European countries; high population density is found along the Yangtze and Yellow River valleys, the Xi Jiang River delta, the Sichuan Basin (around Chengdu), in and around Beijing, and the industrial area around Shenyang
China Urbanization: urban population: 64.6% of total population (2023)
China Urbanization: rate of urbanization: 1.78% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
China Major urban areas - population: 29.211 million Shanghai, 21.766 million BEIJING (capital), 17.341 million Chongqing, 14.284 million Guangzhou, 14.239 million Tianjin, 13.073 million Shenzhen (2023)
China Sex ratio: at birth: 1.09 male(s)/female
China Sex ratio: 0-14 years: 1.14 male(s)/female
China Sex ratio: 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
China Sex ratio: 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
China Sex ratio: total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
China Maternal mortality ratio: 16 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
China Infant mortality rate: total: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
China Infant mortality rate: male: 6.7 deaths/1,000 live births
China Infant mortality rate: female: 5.7 deaths/1,000 live births
China Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.7 years (2024 est.)
China Life expectancy at birth: male: 76 years
China Life expectancy at birth: female: 81.7 years
China Total fertility rate: 1.2 children born/woman (2025 est.)
China Gross reproduction rate: 0.57 (2025 est.)
China Drinking water source: improved: urban: urban: 98.4% of population (2022 est.)
China Drinking water source: improved: rural: rural: 96.4% of population (2022 est.)
China Drinking water source: improved: total: total: 97.6% of population (2022 est.)
China Drinking water source: unimproved: urban: urban: 1.6% of population (2022 est.)
China Drinking water source: unimproved: rural: rural: 3.6% of population (2022 est.)
China Drinking water source: unimproved: total: total: 2.4% of population (2022 est.)
China Health expenditure: Health expenditure (as % of GDP): 5.4% of GDP (2021)
China Health expenditure: Health expenditure (as % of national budget): 8.8% of national budget (2022 est.)
China Physician density: 3.11 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
China Hospital bed density: 5 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
China Sanitation facility access: improved: urban: urban: 99.5% of population (2022 est.)
China Sanitation facility access: improved: rural: rural: 95.3% of population (2022 est.)
China Sanitation facility access: improved: total: total: 98% of population (2022 est.)
China Sanitation facility access: unimproved: urban: urban: 0.5% of population (2022 est.)
China Sanitation facility access: unimproved: rural: rural: 4.7% of population (2022 est.)
China Sanitation facility access: unimproved: total: total: 2% of population (2022 est.)
China Obesity - adult prevalence rate: 6.2% (2016)
China Alcohol consumption per capita: total: 4.48 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
China Alcohol consumption per capita: beer: 1.66 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
China Alcohol consumption per capita: wine: 0.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
China Alcohol consumption per capita: spirits: 2.63 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
China Alcohol consumption per capita: other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
China Tobacco use: total: 24.5% (2025 est.)
China Tobacco use: male: 46.6% (2025 est.)
China Tobacco use: female: 1.9% (2025 est.)
China Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 2.4% (2013)
China Currently married women (ages 15-49): 69.5% (2021 est.)
China Child marriage: women married by age 15: 0.1% (2020)
China Child marriage: women married by age 18: 2.8% (2020)
China Child marriage: men married by age 18: 0.7% (2020)
China Education expenditure: Education expenditure (% GDP): 4% of GDP (2023 est.)
China Education expenditure: Education expenditure (% national budget): 11.9% national budget (2023 est.)
China Literacy: total population: 96.7% (2020 est.)
China Literacy: male: 98.4% (2020 est.)
China Literacy: female: 95.1% (2020 est.)
China People - note: in October 2015, the Chinese Government announced that it would change its rules to allow all couples to have two children, loosening a 1979 mandate that restricted many couples to one child; the new policy was implemented on 1 January 2016 to address China&rsquo;s rapidly aging population and future economic needs

== ENVIRONMENT ==

China Environmental issues: air pollution and acid rain from reliance on coal; carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; coastal destruction due to land reclamation, industrial development, and aquaculture; deforestation and habitat destruction; poor land management leading to soil erosion, landslides, floods, droughts, dust storms, and desertification; trade in endangered species
China International environmental agreements: party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
China International environmental agreements: signed, but not ratified: Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban
China Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
China Land use: agricultural land: 55.3% (2023 est.)
China Land use: agricultural land: arable land: arable land: 11.6% (2023 est.)
China Land use: agricultural land: permanent crops: permanent crops: 2.1% (2023 est.)
China Land use: agricultural land: permanent pasture: permanent pasture: 41.7% (2023 est.)
China Land use: forest: 23.8% (2023 est.)
China Land use: other: 20.6% (2023 est.)
China Urbanization: urban population: 64.6% of total population (2023)
China Urbanization: rate of urbanization: 1.78% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
China Carbon dioxide emissions: total emissions: 12.196 billion metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
China Carbon dioxide emissions: from coal and metallurgical coke: 9.575 billion metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
China Carbon dioxide emissions: from petroleum and other liquids: 1.847 billion metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
China Carbon dioxide emissions: from consumed natural gas: 774.076 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
China Particulate matter emissions: 41.4 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
China Methane emissions: energy: 27,832.7 kt (2022-2024 est.)
China Methane emissions: agriculture: 18,177.8 kt (2019-2021 est.)
China Methane emissions: waste: 9,402.4 kt (2019-2021 est.)
China Methane emissions: other: 1,186.9 kt (2019-2021 est.)
China Waste and recycling: municipal solid waste generated annually: 395.081 million tons (2024 est.)
China Waste and recycling: percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 24.4% (2022 est.)
China Total water withdrawal: municipal: 117.01 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
China Total water withdrawal: industrial: 103.04 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
China Total water withdrawal: agricultural: 361.24 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
China Total renewable water resources: 2.84 trillion cubic meters (2022 est.)
China Geoparks: total global geoparks and regional networks: 49 (2025)
China Geoparks: global geoparks and regional networks: Alxa; Arxan; Dali-Cangshan; Danxiashan; Dunhuang; Enshi Grand Canyon-Tenglongdong; Fangshan; Funiushan; Guangwushan-Noushuihe; Hexigten; Hong Kong; Huanggang Dabieshan; Huangshan; Jingpohu; Jiuhuashan; Kanbula; Keketuohai; Leiqiong; Leye Fengshan; Linxia; Longhushan; Longyan; Lushan; Mount Changbaishan; Mount Kunlun; Ningde; Qinling Zhongnanshan; Sanqingshan; Shennongjia; Shilin; Songshan; Taining; Taishan; Tianzhushan; Wangwushan-Daimeishan; Wudalianchi; Wugongshan; Xiangxi; Xingwen; Yingyi; Yandangshan; Yanqing; Yimengshan; Yuntaishan; Yunyang: Zhangjlajle; Zhangye; Zhijingdong Cave; Zigong (2025)

== GOVERNMENT ==

China Country name: conventional long form: People's Republic of China
China Country name: conventional short form: China
China Country name: local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
China Country name: local short form: Zhongguo
China Country name: abbreviation: PRC
China Country name: etymology: English name could be derived from the Qin (Chin, Ts'in) rulers in the 3rd century B.C., or from the province of Shaanxi (Shensi) with its capital of Xi'an (Sian); the Chinese name Zhongguo translates as "Central Nation" or "Middle Country"
China Government type: communist party-led state
China Capital: name: Beijing
China Capital: geographic coordinates: 39 55 N, 116 23 E
China Capital: time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
China Capital: time zone note: China is the largest country (in terms of area) with just one time zone; before 1949 it was divided into five
China Capital: etymology: the name comes from the Chinese words bei (north) and jing (capital)
China Administrative divisions: 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu, singular and plural), 4 municipalities (shi, singular and plural), and two special administrative regions (tebie xingzhengqu, singular and plural) provinces: Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang; (see note on Taiwan) autonomous regions: Guangxi, Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia), Ningxia, Xinjiang Uyghur, Xizang (Tibet) municipalities: Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjinspecial administrative regions: Hong Kong, Macau
China Legal system: civil law influenced by Soviet and continental European civil law systems; legislature retains power to interpret statutes
China Constitution: history: several previous; latest promulgated 4 December 1982
China Constitution: amendment process: proposed by the Standing Committee of the National People&rsquo;s Congress or supported by more than one fifth of the National People&rsquo;s Congress membership; passage requires more than two-thirds majority vote of the Congress membership
China International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
China Citizenship: citizenship by birth: no
China Citizenship: citizenship by descent only: least one parent must be a citizen of China
China Citizenship: dual citizenship recognized: no
China Citizenship: residency requirement for naturalization: while naturalization is theoretically possible, in practical terms it is extremely difficult; residency is required but not specified
China Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
China Executive branch: chief of state: President XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013)
China Executive branch: head of government: Premier LI Qiang (since 11 March 2023)
China Executive branch: cabinet: State Council appointed by National People's Congress
China Executive branch: election/appointment process: president and vice president indirectly elected by National People's Congress; premier nominated by president, confirmed by National People's Congress
China Executive branch: most recent election date: 10 March 2023
China Executive branch: election results: 2023: XI Jinping reelected president; National People's Congress vote - 2,952 (unanimously); HAN Zheng elected vice president with 2,952 votes; LI Qiang elected premier with 2,936 votes2018: XI Jinping reelected president; National People's Congress vote - 2,970 (unanimously); WANG Qishan elected vice president with 2,969 votes
China Executive branch: expected date of next election: March 2028
China Legislative branch: legislature name: National People's Congress (Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui)
China Legislative branch: legislative structure: unicameral
China Legislative branch: number of seats: 3000 (all indirectly elected)
China Legislative branch: scope of elections: full renewal
China Legislative branch: term in office: 5 years
China Legislative branch: most recent election date: 3/5/2023
China Legislative branch: percentage of women in chamber: 26.5%
China Legislative branch: expected date of next election: March 2028
China Judicial branch: highest court(s): Supreme People's Court (consists of over 340 judges, including the chief justice and 13 grand justices organized into a civil committee and tribunals for civil, economic, administrative, complaint and appeal, and communication and transportation cases)
China Judicial branch: judge selection and term of office: chief justice appointed by the People's National Congress (NPC); limited to 2 consecutive 5-year-terms; other justices and judges nominated by the chief justice and appointed by the Standing Committee of the NPC; term of other justices and judges determined by the NPC
China Judicial branch: subordinate courts: Higher People's Courts; Intermediate People's Courts; District and County People's Courts; Autonomous Region People's Courts; International Commercial Courts; Special People's Courts for military, maritime, transportation, and forestry issues
China Political parties: Chinese Communist Party or CCP
China Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador XIE Feng (since 30 June 2023)
China Diplomatic representation in the US: chancery: 3505 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
China Diplomatic representation in the US: telephone: [1] (202) 495-2266
China Diplomatic representation in the US: FAX: [1] (202) 495-2138
China Diplomatic representation in the US: email address and website: chinaemppress_us@mfa.gov.cnhttp://www.china-embassy.org/eng/
China Diplomatic representation in the US: consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco
China Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador David PERDUE (since 25 July 2025)
China Diplomatic representation from the US: embassy: 55 Anjialou Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100600
China Diplomatic representation from the US: mailing address: 7300 Beijing Place, Washington DC&nbsp; 20521-7300
China Diplomatic representation from the US: telephone: [86] (10) 8531-3000
China Diplomatic representation from the US: FAX: [86] (10) 8531-4200
China Diplomatic representation from the US: email address and website: BeijingACS@state.govhttps://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/
China Diplomatic representation from the US: consulate(s) general: Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, Wuhan; note - the Chinese Government ordered closure of the US consulate in Chengdu in late July 2020
China International organization participation: ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), APEC, Arctic Council (observer), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BRICS, CDB, CICA, EAS, FAO, FATF, G-20, G-24 (observer), G-5, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SCO, SICA (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UN Security Council (permanent), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
China Independence: 1 October 1949 (People's Republic of China established); notable earlier dates: 221 B.C. (unification under the Qin Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Qing Dynasty replaced by the Republic of China)
China National holiday: National Day (anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949)
China Flag: description: red with a large five-pointed yellow star and four smaller ones in the upper-left corner; the small stars are arranged in a vertical arc around the large onemeaning: red represents revolution; the stars symbolize the four social classes -- the working class, the peasantry, the urban petty bourgeoisie, and the national bourgeoisie (capitalists) -- united under the Communist Party of China
China National symbol(s): dragon, giant panda
China National color(s): red, yellow
China National anthem(s): title: "Yiyongjun Jinxingqu" (The March of the Volunteers)
China National anthem(s): lyrics/music: TIAN Han/NIE Er
China National anthem(s): history: adopted 1982; the anthem, which was banned during the Cultural Revolution, is more commonly known as "Zhongguo Guoge" (Chinese National Song)
China National heritage: total World Heritage Sites: 60 (41 cultural, 15 natural, 4 mixed)
China National heritage: selected World Heritage Site locales: Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (c); Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (c); The Great Wall (c); Summer Palace, an Imperial Garden in Beijing (c); Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area (n); Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, Lhasa (c); Ancient Ancient City of Ping Yao (c); Historic Center of Macau (c); Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in “The Centre of Heaven and Earth” (c); The Grand Canal (c); Mount Huangshan (m); Mogao Caves (c); Mount Taishan (m); Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian(c); Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area (n);Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area (n); Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains (c); Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples, Chengde (c); Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu (c); Lushan National Park (c); Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area (m); Classical Gardens of Suzhou (c); Old Town of Lijiang (c); Temple of Heaven: an Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Beijing (c); Dazu Rock Carvings (c); Mount Wuyi (m); Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui – Xidi and Hongcun (c); Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (c); Longmen Grottoes (c); Mount Qingcheng and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System (c); Yungang Grottoes (c); Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas (n); Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom (c); Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries - Wolong, Mt. Siguniang, and Jiajin Mountains (c); Yin Xu (c); Kaiping Diaolou and Villages (c); South China Karst (n); Fujian Tulou (c); Mount Sanqingshan National Park (n); Mount Wutai (c); China Danxia (n); West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou (c); Chengjiang Fossil Site (n); Site of Xanadu (c); Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces(c); Xinjiang Tianshan (n); Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor (c); Tusi Sites (c); Hubei Shennongjia (n); Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape (c); Kulangsu, a Historic International Settlement (c); Qinghai Hoh Xil (n); Fanjingshan (n); Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City (c); Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (n); Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China (c); Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu’er (c); Badain Jaran Desert - Towers of Sand and Lakes (n); Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital (c); Xixia Imperial Tombs (c)

== ECONOMY ==

China Economic overview: world’s second-largest economy by nominal GDP; global leader in exports and manufacturing; historically strong growth slowing; challenges of aging workforce, weak productivity, rising youth unemployment, struggling property sector, and public debt; state-sponsored economic controls and infrastructure investments
China Real GDP (purchasing power parity): Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2024: $33.598 trillion (2024 est.)
China Real GDP (purchasing power parity): Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2023: $32.005 trillion (2023 est.)
China Real GDP (purchasing power parity): Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2022: $30.361 trillion (2022 est.)
China Real GDP growth rate: Real GDP growth rate 2024: 5% (2024 est.)
China Real GDP growth rate: Real GDP growth rate 2023: 5.4% (2023 est.)
China Real GDP growth rate: Real GDP growth rate 2022: 3.1% (2022 est.)
China Real GDP per capita: Real GDP per capita 2024: $23,800 (2024 est.)
China Real GDP per capita: Real GDP per capita 2023: $22,700 (2023 est.)
China Real GDP per capita: Real GDP per capita 2022: $21,500 (2022 est.)
China GDP (official exchange rate): $18.744 trillion (2024 est.)
China Inflation rate (consumer prices): Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2024: 0.2% (2024 est.)
China Inflation rate (consumer prices): Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023: 0.2% (2023 est.)
China Inflation rate (consumer prices): Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022: 2% (2022 est.)
China GDP - composition, by sector of origin: agriculture: 6.8% (2024 est.)
China GDP - composition, by sector of origin: industry: 36.5% (2024 est.)
China GDP - composition, by sector of origin: services: 56.7% (2024 est.)
China GDP - composition, by end use: household consumption: 39.6% (2023 est.)
China GDP - composition, by end use: government consumption: 17.2% (2023 est.)
China GDP - composition, by end use: investment in fixed capital: 40.5% (2023 est.)
China GDP - composition, by end use: investment in inventories: 0.6% (2023 est.)
China GDP - composition, by end use: exports of goods and services: 19.1% (2023 est.)
China GDP - composition, by end use: imports of goods and services: -17% (2023 est.)
China Agricultural products: maize, rice, vegetables, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, cucumbers/gherkins, tomatoes, watermelons, pork (2023)
China Industries: world leader in gross value of industrial output; mining and ore processing, iron, steel, aluminum, and other metals, coal; machine building; armaments; textiles and apparel; petroleum; cement; chemicals; fertilizer; consumer products (including footwear, toys, and electronics); food processing; transportation equipment, including automobiles, railcars and locomotives, ships, aircraft; telecommunications equipment, commercial space launch vehicles, satellites
China Industrial production growth rate: 5.3% (2024 est.)
China Labor force: 773.88 million (2024 est.)
China Unemployment rate: Unemployment rate 2024: 4.6% (2024 est.)
China Unemployment rate: Unemployment rate 2023: 4.7% (2023 est.)
China Unemployment rate: Unemployment rate 2022: 5% (2022 est.)
China Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24): total: 15.2% (2024 est.)
China Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24): male: 16.5% (2024 est.)
China Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24): female: 13.5% (2024 est.)
China Population below poverty line: 0% (2020 est.)
China Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income: Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income 2021: 35.7 (2021 est.)
China Average household expenditures: on food: 21.2% of household expenditures (2023 est.)
China Average household expenditures: on alcohol and tobacco: 3.2% of household expenditures (2023 est.)
China Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.2% (2021 est.)
China Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: 28.2% (2021 est.)
China Remittances: Remittances 2024: 0.2% of GDP (2024 est.)
China Remittances: Remittances 2023: 0.2% of GDP (2023 est.)
China Remittances: Remittances 2022: 0.1% of GDP (2022 est.)
China Budget: revenues: $2.684 trillion (2022 est.) note: central government revenues (excluding grants) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated
China Budget: expenditures: $4.893 trillion (2019 est.)
China Public debt: Public debt 2017: 47% of GDP (2017 est.)
China Taxes and other revenues: 7.6% (of GDP) (2023 est.)
China Current account balance: Current account balance 2024: $423.919 billion (2024 est.)
China Current account balance: Current account balance 2023: $263.382 billion (2023 est.)
China Current account balance: Current account balance 2022: $443.374 billion (2022 est.)
China Exports: Exports 2024: $3.793 trillion (2024 est.)
China Exports: Exports 2023: $3.508 trillion (2023 est.)
China Exports: Exports 2022: $3.719 trillion (2022 est.)
China Exports - partners: USA 13%, Hong Kong 8%, Japan 5%, Germany 5%, S. Korea 4% (2023)
China Exports - commodities: broadcasting equipment, computers, integrated circuits, garments, machine parts (2023)
China Imports: Imports 2024: $3.254 trillion (2024 est.)
China Imports: Imports 2023: $3.122 trillion (2023 est.)
China Imports: Imports 2022: $3.142 trillion (2022 est.)
China Imports - partners: S. Korea 7%, USA 7%, Japan 6%, Australia 6%, Russia 6% (2023)
China Imports - commodities: crude petroleum, integrated circuits, iron ore, gold, natural gas (2023)
China Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2024: $3.456 trillion (2024 est.)
China Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2023: $3.45 trillion (2023 est.)
China Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2022: $3.307 trillion (2022 est.)
China Debt - external: Debt - external 2023: $488.114 billion (2023 est.)
China Exchange rates: Currency: Renminbi yuan (RMB) per US dollar -
China Exchange rates: Exchange rates 2024: 7.197 (2024 est.)
China Exchange rates: Exchange rates 2023: 7.084 (2023 est.)
China Exchange rates: Exchange rates 2022: 6.737 (2022 est.)
China Exchange rates: Exchange rates 2021: 6.449 (2021 est.)
China Exchange rates: Exchange rates 2020: 6.901 (2020 est.)

== ENERGY ==

China Electricity access: electrification - total population: 100% (2022 est.)
China Electricity: installed generating capacity: 2.949 billion kW (2023 est.)
China Electricity: consumption: 8.894 trillion kWh (2023 est.)
China Electricity: exports: 20.577 billion kWh (2023 est.)
China Electricity: imports: 7.195 billion kWh (2023 est.)
China Electricity: transmission/distribution losses: 325.352 billion kWh (2023 est.)
China Electricity generation sources: fossil fuels: 64.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
China Electricity generation sources: nuclear: 4.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
China Electricity generation sources: solar: 6.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
China Electricity generation sources: wind: 9.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
China Electricity generation sources: hydroelectricity: 13.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
China Electricity generation sources: biomass and waste: 1.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
China Nuclear energy: Number of operational nuclear reactors: 57 (2025)
China Nuclear energy: Number of nuclear reactors under construction: 28 (2025)
China Nuclear energy: Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors: 55.32GW (2025 est.)
China Nuclear energy: Percent of total electricity production: 4.9% (2023 est.)
China Coal: production: 4.805 billion metric tons (2023 est.)
China Coal: consumption: 5.191 billion metric tons (2023 est.)
China Coal: exports: 13.239 million metric tons (2023 est.)
China Coal: imports: 401.517 million metric tons (2023 est.)
China Coal: proven reserves: 157.041 billion metric tons (2023 est.)
China Petroleum: total petroleum production: 4.984 million bbl/day (2023 est.)
China Petroleum: refined petroleum consumption: 16.189 million bbl/day (2023 est.)
China Petroleum: crude oil estimated reserves: 26.023 billion barrels (2021 est.)
China Natural gas: production: 239.402 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
China Natural gas: consumption: 395.341 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
China Natural gas: exports: 6.025 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
China Natural gas: imports: 161.808 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
China Natural gas: proven reserves: 6.654 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)
China Energy consumption per capita: Total energy consumption per capita 2023: 113.805 million Btu/person (2023 est.)

== COMMUNICATIONS ==

China Telephones - fixed lines: total subscriptions: 167 million (2024 est.)
China Telephones - fixed lines: subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 12 (2024 est.)
China Telephones - mobile cellular: total subscriptions: 1.87 billion (2024 est.)
China Telephones - mobile cellular: subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 132 (2024 est.)
China Broadcast media: all broadcast media are owned by, or affiliated with, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or a government agency; no privately owned TV or radio stations; state-run Chinese Central TV, provincial, and municipal stations offer more than 2,000 channels; the Central Propaganda Department and local (provincial, municipal) officials direct news reporting and approve all programming; foreign-made TV programs must be approved/censored prior to broadcast; widespread use of online platforms (Bilibili, Tencent Video, iQiyi, etc) to access domestic and international films and TV shows; Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) regulates video platforms (2022)
China Internet country code: .cn
China Internet users: percent of population: 78% (2023 est.)
China Broadband - fixed subscriptions: total: 636 million (2023 est.)
China Broadband - fixed subscriptions: subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 45 (2023 est.)

== TRANSPORTATION ==

China Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: B
China Airports: 552 (2025)
China Heliports: 120 (2025)
China Railways: total: 150,000 km (2021) 1.435-m gauge (100,000 km electrified); 104,0000 traditional, 40,000 high-speed
China Merchant marine: total: 8,314 (2023)
China Merchant marine: by type: bulk carrier 1,831, container ship 419, general cargo 1,392, oil tanker 1,196, other 3,476
China Ports: total ports: 66 (2024)
China Ports: large: 5
China Ports: medium: 9
China Ports: small: 25
China Ports: very small: 27
China Ports: ports with oil terminals: 48
China Ports: key ports: Chaozhou, Dalian, Fang-Cheng, Guangzhou, Hankow, Lon Shui Terminal, Qingdao Gang, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shekou, Tianjin Xin Gang, Weihai, Wenzhou, Xiamen

== MILITARY AND SECURITY ==

China Military and security forces: People's Liberation Army (PLA): Ground Forces or People's Liberation Army Army (PLAA), Navy (PLAN, includes Marine Corps (PLANMC)), Air Force (PLAAF), Rocket Force (PLARF), Aerospace Force (ASF), Cyberspace Force (CSF), Information Support Force (ISF), Joint Logistics Support Force (JLSF); People's Armed Police (PAP, includes Coast Guard, Border Defense Force, Internal Security Forces); PLA Reserve Force (2025)
China Military expenditures: Military Expenditures 2024: 1.5% of GDP (2024 est.)
China Military expenditures: Military Expenditures 2023: 1.5% of GDP (2023 est.)
China Military expenditures: Military Expenditures 2022: 1.5% of GDP (2022 est.)
China Military expenditures: Military Expenditures 2021: 1.5% of GDP (2021 est.)
China Military expenditures: Military Expenditures 2020: 1.7% of GDP (2020 est.)
China Military and security service personnel strengths: approximately 2 million active-duty PLA (950,000-1 million Ground; 250,000 Navy, including about 50,000 Marines; 350-400,000 Air Force; 120,000 Rocket Forces; 150-175,000 other forces) (2025)
China Military equipment inventories and acquisitions: the PLA is mostly equipped with domestically produced armaments with smaller amounts of imported weaponry, largely from Russia; China has one of the world's largest defense-industrial sectors and is capable of producing advanced weapons systems across all military domains (2025)
China Military service age and obligation: 18-26 years of age depending on education level for men and women for both volunteer and selective compulsory military service; 24-month service obligation (2025)
China Military deployments: 475 Lebanon (UNIFIL); 1,050 South Sudan (UNMISS); 280 Sudan/South Sudan (UNISFA); has also established a base in Djibouti with approximately 400 marines, plus naval and support personnel (2025)
China Military - note: the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the world’s largest military; the PLA's primary responsibility is external security but it also has some domestic security duties; China’s stated defense policy includes safeguarding sovereignty, security, and development interests while emphasizing a greater global role for the PLA; the PLA conducts air, counterspace, cyber, electronic warfare, joint, land, maritime, missile, nuclear, and space operations; it trains regularly, including multinational and multiservice exercises, deploys overseas, and participates in international peacekeeping missions the PRC's internal security forces consist primarily of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), the Ministry of State Security (MSS), the People’s Armed Police (PAP), and the militia; the PLA support the internal security forces as necessary:--the MPS controls the civilian national police, which serves as the first-line force for public order; its primary mission is domestic law enforcement and maintaining order, including anti-rioting and anti-terrorism--the MSS is the PRC’s main civilian intelligence and counterintelligence service--the PAP is a paramilitary component (or adjunct) of the PLA; its primary missions include internal security, maintaining public order, maritime security, and assisting the PLA in times of war; the China Coast Guard (CCG) administratively falls under the PAP and has a variety of missions, such as maritime sovereignty enforcement, surveillance, resource protection, anti-smuggling, and general law enforcement; it is the largest maritime law enforcement fleet in the world--the militia is an armed reserve of civilians which serves as an auxiliary and reserve force for the PLA upon mobilization, although it is distinct from the PLA’s reserve forces; militia units are organized around towns, villages, urban sub-districts, and enterprises, and vary widely in composition and mission; they have dual civilian-military command structures; a key component of the militia are the local maritime forces, commonly referred to as the People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM); the PAFMM consists of mariners (and their vessels) who receive training, equipment, and other forms of support from the Navy and CCG (although the PAFMM remains separate from both) to perform tasks such as maritime patrolling, surveillance and reconnaissance, emergency/disaster response, transportation, search and rescue, and auxiliary tasks in support of naval operations in wartime; the PAFMM’s tasks are often conducted in conjunction or coordination with the Navy and the CCG; it has been used to assert Beijing's maritime claims in the Sea of Japan and South China Sea (2025)

== SPACE ==

China Space agency/agencies: China National Space Administration (CNSA; established in 1993); Administration for Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND; subordinate to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology); People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Aerospace Force (2025)
China Space launch site(s): Jiuquan Launch Center (Inner Mongolia); Xichang Launch Center (Sichuan); Wenchang Launch Center (Hainan; Wenchang includes a commercial launch pad, the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site, which became operational in December 2024); Taiyuan Launch Center (Shanxi); Eastern Spaceport (Shandong; a coastal spaceport designed to facilitate maritime launches) (2025)
China Space program overview: considered one of the world’s leading space powers, with a comprehensive and ambitious space program; can manufacture and operate the full spectrum of space launch vehicles (SLVs) and spacecraft, including human-crewed, lunar/inter-planetary/asteroid probes, satellites (communications, remote sensing, navigational, scientific, etc.), space stations, and reusable space transportation; has an astronaut/taikonaut program; researches and develops a range of space-related capabilities, including advanced telecommunications, optics, spacecraft components, and satellite payloads; participates in international space programs and co-leads (with Australia and Japan) the Global Earth Observation System of Systems; has signed agreements with more than 45 national space agencies, including those of Brazil, Canada, France, and Russia, as well several international organizations; has also cooperated with ESA; two state-owned aerospace enterprises dominate space industry, but a substantial commercial space sector includes launch services (2025)
China Key space-program milestones: 1960s - began launching rockets and initiated satellite and satellite launch vehicle (SLV) programs1970 - launched first communications satellite (Dongfanghong I)2003 - first manned space flight; launched first satellite for global navigational system (Beidou)2011 - placed temporary space station (Tiangong-1) into Earth orbit2013 - first unmanned lunar landing mission (Chang'e-3); placed a second temporary space station (Tiangong-2) in Earth orbit2017 - employed a communications satellite (Micius) to perform the world’s first quantum-encrypted virtual teleconference between Beijing and Vienna2019 - landed a rover vehicle (Chang’e-4) on the far side of the Moon2021 - landed a probe and operated a rover vehicle on Mars; signed agreement with Russia to set up an international manned lunar research station; announced intent to send a manned mission to Mars by 20332022 - completed construction of a permanent manned space station (Tiangong) in Earth orbit2024 - successful landing and return of robotic spacecraft/probe (Chang'e-6) from the far side the Moon; first launch of "Thousand Sails" commercial communications satellite constellation project2025 - launched asteroid sample return mission probe (Tianwen-2); launched world's first quantum communications microsatellite (Jinan-1)

== TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES ==

China Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees: 814 (2024 est.)
China Refugees and internally displaced persons: IDPs: 198,400 (2024 est.)
China Trafficking in persons: tier rating: Tier 3 — China does not fully meet the minimum standards for elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore, China remained on Tier 3; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/china/
China Illicit drugs: USG identification: major illicit drug-producing and/or drug-transit countrymajor precursor-chemical producer (2025)


######## INDIA ########


== INTRODUCTION ==

India Background: The Indus Valley civilization, one of the world's oldest, flourished during the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C. and extended into northwestern India. Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated the Indian subcontinent about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maurya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. -- which reached its zenith under ASHOKA -- united much of South Asia. The Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) ushered in The Golden Age, which saw a flowering of Indian science, art, and culture. Islam spread across the subcontinent over a period of 700 years. In the 10th and 11th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded India and established the Delhi Sultanate. In the early 16th century, the Emperor BABUR established the Mughal Dynasty, which ruled large sections of India for more than three centuries. European explorers began establishing footholds in India during the 16th century. By the 19th century, Great Britain had become the dominant political power on the subcontinent, and India was seen as the "Jewel in the Crown" of the British Empire. The British Indian Army played a vital role in both World Wars. Years of nonviolent resistance to British rule, led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU, eventually resulted in Indian independence in 1947. Large-scale communal violence took place before and after the subcontinent partition into two separate states -- India and Pakistan. The neighboring countries have fought three wars since independence, the last of which was in 1971 and resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. India's nuclear weapons tests in 1998 emboldened Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year. In 2008, terrorists originating from Pakistan conducted a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital. India's economic growth after economic reforms in 1991, a massive youth population, and a strategic geographic location have contributed to the country's emergence as a regional and global power. However, India still faces pressing problems such as extensive poverty, widespread corruption, and environmental degradation, and its restrictive business climate challenges economic growth expectations.

== GEOGRAPHY ==

India Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan
India Geographic coordinates: 20 00 N, 77 00 E
India Map references: Asia
India Area: total : 3,287,263 sq km
India Area: land: 2,973,193 sq km
India Area: water: 314,070 sq km
India Area - comparative: slightly more than one-third the size of the US
India Land boundaries: total: 13,888 km
India Land boundaries: border countries: Bangladesh 4,142 km; Bhutan 659 km; Burma 1,468 km; China 2,659 km; Nepal 1,770 km; Pakistan 3,190 km
India Coastline: 7,000 km
India Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
India Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm
India Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
India Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
India Climate: varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
India Terrain: upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north
India Elevation: highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,586 m
India Elevation: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
India Elevation: mean elevation: 160 m
India Natural resources: coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), antimony, iron ore, lead, manganese, mica, bauxite, rare earth elements, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land
India Land use: agricultural land: 60.1% (2023 est.)
India Land use: agricultural land: arable land: arable land: 51.8% (2023 est.)
India Land use: agricultural land: permanent crops: permanent crops: 4.9% (2023 est.)
India Land use: agricultural land: permanent pasture: permanent pasture: 3.4% (2023 est.)
India Land use: forest: 24.4% (2023 est.)
India Land use: other: 15.5% (2023 est.)
India Irrigated land: 754,562 sq km (2022)
India Major lakes (area sq km): salt water lake(s): Chilika Lake - 1,170 sq km
India Major rivers (by length in km): Brahmaputra (shared with China [s] and Bangladesh [m]) - 3,969 km; Indus (shared with China [s] and Pakistan [m]) - 3,610 km; Ganges river source (shared with Bangladesh [m]) - 2,704 km; Godavari - 1,465 km; Sutlej (shared with China [s] and Pakistan [m]) - 1,372 km; Yamuna - 1,370 km; Narmada - 1,289 km; Chenab river source (shared with Pakistan [m]) - 1,086 km ; Ghaghara river mouth (shared with China [s] and Nepal) - 1,080 kmnote: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
India Major watersheds (area sq km): Indian Ocean drainage: Brahmaputra (651,335 sq km), Ganges (1,016,124 sq km), Indus (1,081,718 sq km), Irrawaddy (413,710 sq km)
India Major aquifers: Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin
India Population distribution: a very high population density exists throughout most of the country, with the notable exception of the deserts in the northwest and the mountain fringe in the north; the core of the population is in the north along the banks of the Ganges, with other river valleys and southern coastal areas also having large population concentrations
India Natural hazards: droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes volcanism: Barren Island (354 m) in the Andaman Sea has been active in recent years
India Geography - note: dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal

== PEOPLE AND SOCIETY ==

India Population: total: 1,419,316,933 (2025 est.)
India Population: male: 730,902,574
India Population: female: 688,414,359
India Nationality: noun: Indian(s)
India Nationality: adjective: Indian
India Ethnic groups: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, and other 3% (2000)
India Languages: Languages: Hindi 43.6%, Bengali 8%, Marathi 6.9%, Telugu 6.7%, Tamil 5.7%, Gujarati 4.6%, Urdu 4.2%, Kannada 3.6%, Odia 3.1%, Malayalam 2.9%, Punjabi 2.7%, Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.1%, other 5.6%;&nbsp; English is the subsidiary official language but is the most important one for national, political, and commercial communication (2011 est.)
India Languages: major-language sample(s): विश्व फ़ैक्टबुक, आधारभूत जानकारी का एक अनिवार्य स्रोत (Hindi) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
India Religions: Hindu 79.8%, Muslim 14.2%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.7%, other and unspecified 2% (2011 est.)
India Age structure: 0-14 years: 24.5% (male 181,115,052/female 163,647,028)
India Age structure: 15-64 years: 68.7% (male 500,568,593/female 467,593,781)
India Age structure: 65 years and over: 6.8% (2024 est.) (male 44,101,180/female 52,102,662)
India Dependency ratios: total dependency ratio: 45 (2025 est.)
India Dependency ratios: youth dependency ratio: 35 (2025 est.)
India Dependency ratios: elderly dependency ratio: 10 (2025 est.)
India Dependency ratios: potential support ratio: 10 (2025 est.)
India Median age: total: 30.1 years (2025 est.)
India Median age: male: 29.1 years
India Median age: female: 30.5 years
India Population growth rate: 0.72% (2025 est.)
India Birth rate: 15.91 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
India Death rate: 8.7 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
India Net migration rate: 0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
India Population distribution: a very high population density exists throughout most of the country, with the notable exception of the deserts in the northwest and the mountain fringe in the north; the core of the population is in the north along the banks of the Ganges, with other river valleys and southern coastal areas also having large population concentrations
India Urbanization: urban population: 36.4% of total population (2023)
India Urbanization: rate of urbanization: 2.33% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
India Major urban areas - population: 32.941 million NEW DELHI (capital), 21.297 million Mumbai, 15.333 million Kolkata, 13.608 million Bangalore, 11.776 million Chennai, 10.801 million Hyderabad (2023)
India Sex ratio: at birth: 1.1 male(s)/female
India Sex ratio: 0-14 years: 1.11 male(s)/female
India Sex ratio: 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
India Sex ratio: 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
India Sex ratio: total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
India Mother's mean age at first birth: 21.2 years (2019/21)
India Maternal mortality ratio: 80 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
India Infant mortality rate: total: 30.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
India Infant mortality rate: male: 30 deaths/1,000 live births
India Infant mortality rate: female: 30.8 deaths/1,000 live births
India Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.2 years (2024 est.)
India Life expectancy at birth: male: 66.5 years
India Life expectancy at birth: female: 70.1 years
India Total fertility rate: 2 children born/woman (2025 est.)
India Gross reproduction rate: 0.95 (2025 est.)
India Drinking water source: improved: urban: urban: 95.8% of population (2022 est.)
India Drinking water source: improved: rural: rural: 91.9% of population (2022 est.)
India Drinking water source: improved: total: total: 93.3% of population (2022 est.)
India Drinking water source: unimproved: urban: urban: 4.2% of population (2022 est.)
India Drinking water source: unimproved: rural: rural: 8.1% of population (2022 est.)
India Drinking water source: unimproved: total: total: 6.7% of population (2022 est.)
India Health expenditure: Health expenditure (as % of GDP): 3.3% of GDP (2021)
India Health expenditure: Health expenditure (as % of national budget): 4.5% of national budget (2022 est.)
India Physician density: 0.72 physicians/1,000 population (2020)
India Hospital bed density: 1.6 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)
India Sanitation facility access: improved: urban: urban: 99.4% of population (2022 est.)
India Sanitation facility access: improved: rural: rural: 83% of population (2022 est.)
India Sanitation facility access: improved: total: total: 88.9% of population (2022 est.)
India Sanitation facility access: unimproved: urban: urban: 0.6% of population (2022 est.)
India Sanitation facility access: unimproved: rural: rural: 17% of population (2022 est.)
India Sanitation facility access: unimproved: total: total: 11.1% of population (2022 est.)
India Obesity - adult prevalence rate: 3.9% (2016)
India Alcohol consumption per capita: total: 3.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
India Alcohol consumption per capita: beer: 0.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
India Alcohol consumption per capita: wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
India Alcohol consumption per capita: spirits: 2.85 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
India Alcohol consumption per capita: other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
India Tobacco use: total: 21.8% (2025 est.)
India Tobacco use: male: 34.1% (2025 est.)
India Tobacco use: female: 8.9% (2025 est.)
India Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 31.5% (2020 est.)
India Currently married women (ages 15-49): 72.3% (2020 est.)
India Child marriage: women married by age 15: 4.8% (2021)
India Child marriage: women married by age 18: 23.3% (2021)
India Child marriage: men married by age 18: 2.6% (2021)
India Education expenditure: Education expenditure (% GDP): 4.1% of GDP (2022 est.)
India Education expenditure: Education expenditure (% national budget): 14.2% national budget (2022 est.)
India Literacy: total population: 81.7% (2023 est.)
India Literacy: male: 88.3% (2023 est.)
India Literacy: female: 74.9% (2023 est.)
India School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): total: 13 years (2024 est.)
India School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): male: 13 years (2024 est.)
India School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): female: 13 years (2024 est.)

== ENVIRONMENT ==

India Environmental issues: deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification; air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage and agricultural pesticides; tap water not potable; growing population overstraining natural resources; biodiversity loss
India International environmental agreements: party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
India International environmental agreements: signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
India Climate: varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
India Land use: agricultural land: 60.1% (2023 est.)
India Land use: agricultural land: arable land: arable land: 51.8% (2023 est.)
India Land use: agricultural land: permanent crops: permanent crops: 4.9% (2023 est.)
India Land use: agricultural land: permanent pasture: permanent pasture: 3.4% (2023 est.)
India Land use: forest: 24.4% (2023 est.)
India Land use: other: 15.5% (2023 est.)
India Urbanization: urban population: 36.4% of total population (2023)
India Urbanization: rate of urbanization: 2.33% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
India Carbon dioxide emissions: total emissions: 2.821 billion metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
India Carbon dioxide emissions: from coal and metallurgical coke: 2.054 billion metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
India Carbon dioxide emissions: from petroleum and other liquids: 642.909 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
India Carbon dioxide emissions: from consumed natural gas: 124.226 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
India Particulate matter emissions: 55.6 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
India Methane emissions: energy: 8,217.3 kt (2022-2024 est.)
India Methane emissions: agriculture: 17,971 kt (2019-2021 est.)
India Methane emissions: waste: 4,773.7 kt (2019-2021 est.)
India Methane emissions: other: 644.6 kt (2019-2021 est.)
India Waste and recycling: municipal solid waste generated annually: 189.75 million tons (2024 est.)
India Waste and recycling: percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 17.8% (2022 est.)
India Total water withdrawal: municipal: 56 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
India Total water withdrawal: industrial: 17 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
India Total water withdrawal: agricultural: 688 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
India Total renewable water resources: 1.911 trillion cubic meters (2022 est.)

== GOVERNMENT ==

India Country name: conventional long form: Republic of India
India Country name: conventional short form: India
India Country name: local long form: Republic of India (English)/ Bharatiya Ganarajya (Hindi)
India Country name: local short form: India (English)/ Bharat (Hindi)
India Country name: etymology: the English name derives from the Indus River; the Indian name, Bharat, may derive from the Bharatas tribe mentioned in the Sanskrit Vedas (Hindu religious texts); the name is also associated with Emperor Bharata, the legendary conqueror of India
India Government type: federal parliamentary republic
India Capital: name: New Delhi
India Capital: geographic coordinates: 28 36 N, 77 12 E
India Capital: time difference: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
India Capital: etymology: the name is of unknown origin; one theory says it may come from the Hindi word dehli (threshold), because of the city's location between the Indus and the Ganges Rivers
India Administrative divisions: 28 states and 8 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir*, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Ladakh*, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Puducherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal
India Legal system: common law system based on the English model; separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus; judicial review of legislative acts
India Constitution: history: previous 1935 (pre-independence); latest draft completed 4 November 1949, adopted 26 November 1949, effective 26 January 1950
India Constitution: amendment process: proposed by either the Council of States or the House of the People; passage requires majority participation of the total membership in each house and at least two-thirds majority of voting members of each house, followed by assent of the president of India; proposed amendments to the constitutional amendment procedures also must be ratified by at least one half of the India state legislatures before presidential assent
India International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt
India Citizenship: citizenship by birth: no
India Citizenship: citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of India
India Citizenship: dual citizenship recognized: no
India Citizenship: residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
India Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
India Executive branch: chief of state: President Droupadi MURMU (since 25 July 2022)
India Executive branch: head of government: Prime Minister Narendra MODI (since 26 May 2014)
India Executive branch: cabinet: Union Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister, appointed by the president
India Executive branch: election/appointment process: president indirectly elected for a 5-year term (no term limits) by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament
India Executive branch: most recent election date: 18 July 2022
India Executive branch: election results: 2022: Droupadi MURMU elected president; percent of electoral college vote - Droupadi MURMU (BJP) 64%, Yashwant SINHA (AITC) 35.9%; Jagdeep DHANKHAR elected vice president; percent of electoral college vote - Jagdeep DHANKHAR (BJP) 74.4%, Margaret ALVA (INC) 25.6%
India Executive branch: expected date of next election: July 2027
India Legislative branch: legislature name: Parliament (Sansad)
India Legislative branch: legislative structure: bicameral
India Legislative branch - lower chamber: chamber name: House of the People (Lok Sabha)
India Legislative branch - lower chamber: number of seats: 545 (543 directly elected; 2 appointed)
India Legislative branch - lower chamber: electoral system: plurality/majority
India Legislative branch - lower chamber: scope of elections: full renewal
India Legislative branch - lower chamber: term in office: 5 years
India Legislative branch - lower chamber: most recent election date: 4/19/2024 to 6/1/2024
India Legislative branch - lower chamber: parties elected and seats per party: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) (240); Indian National Congress (INC) (99); Samajwadi Party (SP) (37); All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) (29); Other (138)
India Legislative branch - lower chamber: percentage of women in chamber: 13.8%
India Legislative branch - lower chamber: expected date of next election: April 2029
India Legislative branch - upper chamber: chamber name: Council of States (Rajya Sabha)
India Legislative branch - upper chamber: number of seats: 245 (233 indirectly elected; 12 appointed)
India Legislative branch - upper chamber: scope of elections: partial renewal
India Legislative branch - upper chamber: term in office: 6 years
India Legislative branch - upper chamber: most recent election date: 1/12/2024 to 6/30/2024
India Legislative branch - upper chamber: percentage of women in chamber: 16.7%
India Legislative branch - upper chamber: expected date of next election: January 2026
India Judicial branch: highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of 28 judges, including the chief justice)
India Judicial branch: judge selection and term of office: justices appointed by the president to serve until age 65
India Judicial branch: subordinate courts: High Courts; District Courts; Labour Court
India Political parties: Aam Aadmi Party or AAPAll India Trinamool Congress or AITCBahujan Samaj Party or BSPBharatiya Janata Party or BJPBiju Janata Dal or BJDCommunist Party of India-Marxist or CPI(M)Dravida Munnetra KhazhagamIndian National Congress or INCNationalist Congress Party or NCPRashtriya Janata Dal or RJDSamajwadi Party or SPShiromani Akali Dal or SADShiv Sena or SSTelegana Rashtra Samithi or TRSTelugu Desam Party or TDPYSR Congress or YSRCP or YCP
India Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Vinay Mohan KWATRA (since 18 September 2024)
India Diplomatic representation in the US: chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
India Diplomatic representation in the US: telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000
India Diplomatic representation in the US: FAX: [1] (202) 265-4351
India Diplomatic representation in the US: email address and website: hoc.washington@mea.gov.inhttps://www.indianembassyusa.gov.in/
India Diplomatic representation in the US: consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco, Seattle
India Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Sergio GOR (since 11 October 2025)
India Diplomatic representation from the US: embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi - 110021
India Diplomatic representation from the US: mailing address: 9000 New Delhi Place, Washington DC&nbsp; 20521-9000
India Diplomatic representation from the US: telephone: [91] (11) 2419-8000
India Diplomatic representation from the US: FAX: [91] (11) 2419-0017
India Diplomatic representation from the US: email address and website: acsnd@state.govhttps://in.usembassy.gov/
India Diplomatic representation from the US: consulate(s) general: Chennai (Madras), Hyderabad, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay)
India International organization participation: ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIMSTEC, BIS, BRICS, C, CD, CERN (observer), CICA, CP, EAS, FAO, FATF, G-15, G-20, G-24, G-5, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, PIF (partner), Quad, SAARC, SACEP, SCO (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNITAR, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UNSOM, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
India Independence: 15 August 1947 (from the UK)
India National holiday: Republic Day, 26 January (1950)
India Flag: description: three equal horizontal bands of saffron (top), white, and green, with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white bandmeaning: saffron stands for courage, sacrifice, and the spirit of renunciation; white for purity and truth; green for faith and fertility; the chakra symbolizes the wheel of life in movement and death in stagnation
India National symbol(s): the Lion Capital of Ashoka, which depicts four Asiatic lions standing back-to-back and mounted on a circular abacus (official); Bengal tiger and lotus flower (traditional)
India National color(s): saffron, white, green
India National anthem(s): title: "Jana-Gana-Mana" (Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All People)
India National anthem(s): lyrics/music: Rabindranath TAGORE
India National anthem(s): history: adopted 1950; Rabindranath TAGORE, a Nobel laureate, also wrote Bangladesh's national anthem
India National heritage: total World Heritage Sites: 44 (36 cultural, 7 natural, 1 mixed)
India National heritage: selected World Heritage Site locales: Taj Mahal (c); Agra Fort (c); Elphanta Caves (c); Hill Forts of Rajasthan (c); Sundarbans National Park (n); Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka (c); Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park (c); Jaipur (c); Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya (c); Manas Wildlife Sanctuary (n); Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks (n); Khangchendzonga National Park (m); Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram (c); Sun Temple, Konârak (c); Kaziranga National Park (n); Churches and Convents of Goa (c); Great Living Chola Temples (c); Group of Monuments at Pattadakal (c); Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi (c); Humayun's Tomb, Delhi (c); Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi (c); Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area (n); Rani-ki-Vav (the Queen’s Stepwell) at Patan, Gujarat (c); Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara at Nalanda, Bihar (c); Historic City of Ahmadabad (c); Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai (c); Jaipur City, Rajasthan (c); Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple, Telangana (c); Moidams – the Mound-Burial System of the Ahom Dynasty (c); Maratha Military Landscapes of India (c)

== ECONOMY ==

India Economic overview: largest South Asian economy; strong, sustained GDP growth led by technology and service sectors, foreign investment, and improved regulatory framework; high poverty rate and income inequality; initiatives on infrastructure development, digitization, manufacturing, and financial access
India Real GDP (purchasing power parity): Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2024: $14.244 trillion (2024 est.)
India Real GDP (purchasing power parity): Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2023: $13.377 trillion (2023 est.)
India Real GDP (purchasing power parity): Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2022: $12.251 trillion (2022 est.)
India Real GDP growth rate: Real GDP growth rate 2024: 6.5% (2024 est.)
India Real GDP growth rate: Real GDP growth rate 2023: 9.2% (2023 est.)
India Real GDP growth rate: Real GDP growth rate 2022: 7.6% (2022 est.)
India Real GDP per capita: Real GDP per capita 2024: $9,800 (2024 est.)
India Real GDP per capita: Real GDP per capita 2023: $9,300 (2023 est.)
India Real GDP per capita: Real GDP per capita 2022: $8,600 (2022 est.)
India GDP (official exchange rate): $3.913 trillion (2024 est.)
India Inflation rate (consumer prices): Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2024: 5% (2024 est.)
India Inflation rate (consumer prices): Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023: 5.6% (2023 est.)
India Inflation rate (consumer prices): Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022: 6.7% (2022 est.)
India GDP - composition, by sector of origin: agriculture: 16.4% (2024 est.)
India GDP - composition, by sector of origin: industry: 24.5% (2024 est.)
India GDP - composition, by sector of origin: services: 49.9% (2024 est.)
India GDP - composition, by end use: household consumption: 61.5% (2024 est.)
India GDP - composition, by end use: government consumption: 10.1% (2024 est.)
India GDP - composition, by end use: investment in fixed capital: 29.6% (2024 est.)
India GDP - composition, by end use: investment in inventories: 3% (2024 est.)
India GDP - composition, by end use: exports of goods and services: 21.2% (2024 est.)
India GDP - composition, by end use: imports of goods and services: -23.5% (2024 est.)
India Agricultural products: sugarcane, rice, milk, wheat, bison milk, potatoes, vegetables, maize, bananas, onions (2023)
India Industries: textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software, pharmaceuticals
India Industrial production growth rate: 5.6% (2024 est.)
India Labor force: 607.691 million (2024 est.)
India Unemployment rate: Unemployment rate 2024: 4.3% (2024 est.)
India Unemployment rate: Unemployment rate 2023: 4.2% (2023 est.)
India Unemployment rate: Unemployment rate 2022: 4.9% (2022 est.)
India Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24): total: 16% (2024 est.)
India Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24): male: 15.5% (2024 est.)
India Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24): female: 17.6% (2024 est.)
India Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income: Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income 2022: 25.5 (2022 est.)
India Average household expenditures: on food: 29.9% of household expenditures (2023 est.)
India Average household expenditures: on alcohol and tobacco: 2% of household expenditures (2023 est.)
India Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 4.5% (2022 est.)
India Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: 22.1% (2022 est.)
India Remittances: Remittances 2024: 3.5% of GDP (2024 est.)
India Remittances: Remittances 2023: 3.3% of GDP (2023 est.)
India Remittances: Remittances 2022: 3.3% of GDP (2022 est.)
India Budget: revenues: $311.824 billion (2022 est.)
India Budget: expenditures: $486.598 billion (2022 est.)
India Public debt: Public debt 2018: 46.5% of GDP (2018 est.)
India Taxes and other revenues: 6.7% (of GDP) (2022 est.)
India Current account balance: Current account balance 2024: -$32.428 billion (2024 est.)
India Current account balance: Current account balance 2023: -$31.962 billion (2023 est.)
India Current account balance: Current account balance 2022: -$79.051 billion (2022 est.)
India Exports: Exports 2024: $822.046 billion (2024 est.)
India Exports: Exports 2023: $773.177 billion (2023 est.)
India Exports: Exports 2022: $767.643 billion (2022 est.)
India Exports - partners: USA 19%, UAE 7%, China 4%, Germany 3%, UK 3% (2023)
India Exports - commodities: refined petroleum, packaged medicine, diamonds, broadcasting equipment, garments (2023)
India Imports: Imports 2024: $923.081 billion (2024 est.)
India Imports: Imports 2023: $859.507 billion (2023 est.)
India Imports: Imports 2022: $902.304 billion (2022 est.)
India Imports - partners: China 19%, Russia 10%, USA 6%, UAE 6%, Saudi Arabia 5% (2023)
India Imports - commodities: crude petroleum, gold, coal, natural gas, integrated circuits (2023)
India Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2024: $643.043 billion (2024 est.)
India Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2023: $627.793 billion (2023 est.)
India Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2022: $567.298 billion (2022 est.)
India Debt - external: Debt - external 2023: $212.728 billion (2023 est.)
India Exchange rates: Currency: Indian rupees (INR) per US dollar -
India Exchange rates: Exchange rates 2024: 83.669 (2024 est.)
India Exchange rates: Exchange rates 2023: 82.599 (2023 est.)
India Exchange rates: Exchange rates 2022: 78.604 (2022 est.)
India Exchange rates: Exchange rates 2021: 73.918 (2021 est.)
India Exchange rates: Exchange rates 2020: 74.1 (2020 est.)

== ENERGY ==

India Electricity access: electrification - total population: 99.2% (2022 est.)
India Electricity access: electrification - urban areas: 100%
India Electricity access: electrification - rural areas: 99.3%
India Electricity: installed generating capacity: 499.136 million kW (2023 est.)
India Electricity: consumption: 1.5 trillion kWh (2023 est.)
India Electricity: exports: 9.529 billion kWh (2023 est.)
India Electricity: imports: 7.843 billion kWh (2023 est.)
India Electricity: transmission/distribution losses: 303.066 billion kWh (2023 est.)
India Electricity generation sources: fossil fuels: 75.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
India Electricity generation sources: nuclear: 2.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
India Electricity generation sources: solar: 6.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
India Electricity generation sources: wind: 5.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
India Electricity generation sources: hydroelectricity: 8.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
India Electricity generation sources: biomass and waste: 1.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
India Nuclear energy: Number of operational nuclear reactors: 20 (2025)
India Nuclear energy: Number of nuclear reactors under construction: 7 (2025)
India Nuclear energy: Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors: 6.92GW (2025 est.)
India Nuclear energy: Percent of total electricity production: 3.1% (2023 est.)
India Coal: production: 1.02 billion metric tons (2023 est.)
India Coal: consumption: 1.262 billion metric tons (2023 est.)
India Coal: exports: 1.632 million metric tons (2023 est.)
India Coal: imports: 243.488 million metric tons (2023 est.)
India Coal: proven reserves: 127.727 billion metric tons (2023 est.)
India Petroleum: total petroleum production: 822,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
India Petroleum: refined petroleum consumption: 5.271 million bbl/day (2023 est.)
India Petroleum: crude oil estimated reserves: 4.605 billion barrels (2021 est.)
India Natural gas: production: 35.168 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
India Natural gas: consumption: 62.196 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
India Natural gas: exports: 91.921 million cubic meters (2019 est.)
India Natural gas: imports: 29.337 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
India Natural gas: proven reserves: 1.381 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)
India Energy consumption per capita: Total energy consumption per capita 2023: 25.179 million Btu/person (2023 est.)

== COMMUNICATIONS ==

India Telephones - fixed lines: total subscriptions: 27.455 million (2022 est.)
India Telephones - fixed lines: subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 2 (2023 est.)
India Telephones - mobile cellular: total subscriptions: 1.15 billion (2024 est.)
India Telephones - mobile cellular: subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 79 (2024 est.)
India Broadcast media: Doordarshan, India's public TV network, has a monopoly on terrestrial broadcasting and operates about 20 national, regional, and local services; a large number of privately owned TV stations are distributed by cable and satellite service providers; cable and satellite TV offer over 850 TV channels; government controls AM radio, with All India Radio operating domestic and external networks; news broadcasts via radio are limited to the All India Radio Network; since 2000, privately owned FM stations have been permitted and have increased rapidly (2020)
India Internet country code: .in
India Internet users: percent of population: 56% (2022 est.)
India Broadband - fixed subscriptions: total: 39.3 million (2023 est.)
India Broadband - fixed subscriptions: subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 2 (2022 est.)

== TRANSPORTATION ==

India Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: VT
India Airports: 315 (2025)
India Heliports: 289 (2025)
India Railways: total: 65,554 km (2014)
India Railways: narrow gauge: 1,604 km (2014) 1.000-m gauge
India Railways: broad gauge: 63,950 km (2014) (39, 329 km electrified)
India Merchant marine: total: 1,859 (2023)
India Merchant marine: by type: bulk carrier 66, container ship 22, general cargo 607, oil tanker 144, other 1020
India Ports: total ports: 56 (2024)
India Ports: large: 4
India Ports: medium: 4
India Ports: small: 13
India Ports: very small: 30
India Ports: size unknown: 5
India Ports: ports with oil terminals: 18
India Ports: key ports: Calcutta, Chennai (Madras), Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Shiva), Kattupalli Port, Kochi (Cochin), Mumbai (Bombay), New Mangalore, Vishakhapatnam

== MILITARY AND SECURITY ==

India Military and security forces: Indian Armed Forces (IAF): Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast GuardMinistry of Home Affairs: Central Police Organization, Central Armed Police Forces (includes Assam Rifles, Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, National Security Guards, Sashastra Seema Bal) (2025)
India Military expenditures: Military Expenditures 2024: 2% of GDP (2024 est.)
India Military expenditures: Military Expenditures 2023: 2.3% of GDP (2023 est.)
India Military expenditures: Military Expenditures 2022: 2.1% of GDP (2022 est.)
India Military expenditures: Military Expenditures 2021: 2.2% of GDP (2021 est.)
India Military expenditures: Military Expenditures 2020: 2.5% of GDP (2020 est.)
India Military and security service personnel strengths: information varies; approximately 1.5 million active Indian Armed Forces, including about 1.25 million in the Army (2025)
India Military equipment inventories and acquisitions: the military's inventory consists of Russian- and Soviet-origin equipment along with a smaller mix of Western and domestically produced arms; Russia continues to be the leading provider of arms to India, although in recent years India has increased acquisitions from other suppliers, including France, Israel, the UK, and the US; India's defense industry is capable of producing a range of air, land, missile, and naval weapons systems for both domestic use and export; it also produces weapons systems under license (2025)
India Military service age and obligation: ages vary by branch of service and positions, but generally 17-27 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; no conscription (2025)
India Military deployments: 1,100 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO); 200 Golan Heights (UNDOF); 900 Lebanon (UNIFIL); 2,400 South Sudan (UNMISS); 600 Sudan (UNISFA) (2025)
India Military - note: the Indian military's primary mission is external/territorial defense while secondary missions include regional power projection, UN peacekeeping deployments, humanitarian operations, and support to internal security forces; it participates in multinational exercises and is one of the world's largest contributors to UN peacekeeping operationsthe military's chief external focuses are China and Pakistan; the short 1962 Sino-India War left in place one of the World’s longest disputed international borders--known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC)--resulting in occasional standoffs between Indian and Chinese security forces, including lethal clashes in 1975 and 2020; naval competition and influence in the Indian Ocean is also an area of interestIndia has fought four wars and several skirmishes with Pakistan; three of the wars have been over the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir, the status of which has been unsettled since the UK's 1947 withdrawal and the partition and independence of India and Pakistan; a fragile cease-fire in Kashmir was reached in 2003, revised in 2018, and reaffirmed in 2021, although the militarized Line of Control which serves as the border remains contested, and India has accused Pakistan of backing armed separatists and terrorist organizations in Jammu and Kashmir where Indian military and security forces have conducted counterinsurgency operations since the 1980s; in the Spring of 2025, India held Pakistan responsible for a terrorist attack in India-controlled Kashmir and retaliated, sparking a brief cross-border conflict involving aircraft, artillery, drone, and missile strikesthe Kashmir dispute also includes the Siachen Glacier, located in the Karakoram Mountain Range, which was seized by India in 1984 with Pakistan attempting to retake the area several times between 1985 and 1995; despite the 2003 cease-fire, both sides continue to maintain a permanent military presence there with outposts at altitudes above 20,000 feet (over 6,000 meters) where most casualties are due to extreme weather and the hazards of operating in the high mountain terrain of the world’s highest conflict, including avalanches, exposure, and altitude sickness (2025)

== SPACE ==

India Space agency/agencies: Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO; originally established in 1962 as the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR); renamed ISRO in 1969); Defense Space Agency (DSA; established 2019) (2025)
India Space launch site(s): Satish Dhawan Space Center (aka Sriharikota Range; located in Andhra Pradesh); Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (Kerala) (2025)
India Space program overview: has one of the world&rsquo;s largest space programs; designs, builds, launches, operates, and tracks the full spectrum of satellites, including communications, navigation, remote sensing (RS), and scientific/technology; designs, builds, and launches rockets, space/satellite launch vehicles (SLVs), and lunar/interplanetary probes; launches satellites for foreign partners; researching and developing additional technologies and capabilities; developing astronaut program and human flight capabilities (with assistance from Russia and the US); has space-related agreements with the ESA and more than 50 countries, including China, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, and the US; participates in international projects such as the Square Kilometer Array radio telescope; the Department of Space administers two government-controlled space industry corporations; has a growing private space sector (2025)
India Key space-program milestones: 1963 - first sounding (research) rocket launched1975 - first domestically made scientific satellite (Aryabhata) launched by Soviet Union1979 - first experimental remote sensing (RS) satellite (Bhaskara-I) launched by Soviet Union1980 - first successful launch of satellite (Rohini) on Indian satellite launch vehicle (SLV)1984 - first Indian in space on a Soviet rocket1988 - first operational RS satellite (IRS-1A) launched by Soviet Union1994 - first successful launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), India’s premier SLV2008 - first lunar orbiter/probe (Chandrayaan-1) launched, reached lunar orbit, and sent a probe to the surface of the Moon2014 - first interplanetary probe (Mangalyaan) reached orbit around Mars2018 - Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (INRSS) became operational2019 - launched lunar orbiter/probe (Chandrayaan-2) with lander and rover (lander lost when it crash-landed on Moon’s surface)2023 - successfully landed uncrewed lander/rover mission (Chandrayaan-3) on Moon's surface2024 - launched satellite (XPoSat) to study black holes and placed solar observatory spacecraft (Aditya-L1) in orbital position to study the Sun2025 - first docking of two orbiting satellites and sent its first astronaut to the International Space Station

== TERRORISM ==

India Terrorist group(s): al-Qa’ida; al-Qa’ida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS); Harakat ul-Mujahidin; Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HUJI); Hizbul Mujahideen; Indian Mujahedeen; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) – India (ISI); Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM); Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LeT); Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; The Resistance Front (TRF)

== TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES ==

India Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees: 250,006 (2024 est.)
India Refugees and internally displaced persons: IDPs: 642,610 (2024 est.)
India Refugees and internally displaced persons: stateless persons: 23,262 (2024 est.)
India Illicit drugs: USG identification: major illicit drug-producing and/or drug-transit countrymajor precursor-chemical producer (2025)