India

Updated January 2007

India covers an area of 3.3 million sq. km and, with just over one billion people, ranks only second to China as the most populous country in the world. Although only a few areas of India remain uninhabited and unused by humans, the population is very unevenly distributed. More than three-fifths live in the fertile Indo-Gangetic plains, the deltas of the eastern coast, and along the western coast. Population densities in these areas reach up to 800 persons per square kilometre, and it is here that most of the multi-million mega-cities are located. Although urbanisation due to massive rural-urban migration is proceeding fast, India remains a largely rural society, with only 28% living in urban areas. It is estimated that between 33% and 40% of the world's absolute poor live in India. Around 35-37 % of India's population have an annual income below the national poverty line.

India's indigenous and tribal peoples are officially called "Scheduled Tribes" and remain outside the caste system. The tribal peoples have resisted integration and maintained their own cultures and social organisation. This does not, however, mean that there has been no interaction with Hindu society. In many tribal areas, life is very much - and increasingly - determined by this interaction.