Date of independence, or formation date: 1947
Date when current borders were established: 1947
National day: Jan 26
Vehicle country identifying code: IND
Time zone (hours plus or minus from GMT): +5.5
International telephone dialling code: +91
Internet country identifying code: .in

Separated from the rest of Asia by the Himalaya mountain range, India forms the bulk of a subcontinent. As well as the Himalayas, there are two other main geographic regions, the Indo-Gangetic plain, which lies between the foothills of the Himalayas and the Vindhya Mountains, and the central–southern plateau. India is the world's largest democracy and second most populous country after China. The birthrate has recently been falling, but even at its current level India's population will probably overtake China's by 2030. After years of protectionism, India is opening up its economy to the outside world in the hope that the free market will go some way to alleviating one of the country's major problems – poverty.

From "The Financial Times World Desk Reference" © Dorling Kindersley 2004