Backgrounder: Brief introduction to India

Chinese President Hu Jintao started a four-day state visit to India on Monday. This is the first visit to India by a Chinese president in 10 years.

The following is a brief introduction to India:

Located in southern Asia, India shares borders with Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Its capital is New Delhi.

India covers an area of 2.98 million square km. Because of its size, India's climate is affected by both seasons and geography. In general, temperatures tend to be cooler in the north, especially between September and March. The south is coolest between November and January.

With 1.09 billion people, India is the second most populous nation in the world. English and Hindi are official languages. But there are 24 languages spoken by a million or more people, as well as countless other dialects.

India has six main ethnic groups, and Hindustan accounts for 46.3 percent of the total population.

Religion is central to Indian culture, and its practice can be seen in virtually every aspect of life in the country. Hinduism is the dominant faith of India, serving 82 percent of the population. Ten percent worship Islam, and five percent are Sikhs and Christians; the remainder are Buddhists, Jains, and Bahai among others.

The president is the head of state. Abdul Kalam, incumbent president of India, took office in 2002.

India has abundant natural resources and remains the world's number one for the storage and output of mica, a mineral used to make electrical instruments.

In recent years, India has engaged in economic reform and its growth rate reached 8.1 percent in the fiscal year 2005/06.

Main export products include jewelry, cotton yarn and cotton products, chemical products, machinery, petrochemicals, leather, marine products, iron ore and mining products.

China and India established diplomatic ties on April 1, 1950.

In recent years, their bilateral trade volume has grown by 20 to 30 percent annually. It reached 18.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2005,up 37.5 percent over 2004.

Source: Xinhua