Factbook
History of India — Timeline
Key dates in the history of India, from the Magna Factbook and the Universal Encyclopedia.
1500Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated the Indian subcontinent about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture.
1947Independence: 15 August 1947 (from the UK).
1947Years of nonviolent resistance to British rule, led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU, eventually resulted in Indian independence in 1947.
1971The 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.
1991India'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.
1998India's nuclear weapons tests in 1998 emboldened Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year.
2008In 2008, terrorists originating from Pakistan conducted a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital.
2011Languages: 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%; English is the subsidiary official language but is the most important one for national, polit Religions: Hindu 79.8%, Muslim 14.2%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.7%, other and unspecified 2% (2011 est.) Urban population: 36.4% of total population (2023).
2023Generation mix — fossil fuels: 75.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); nuclear: 2.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 6.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 5.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 8.2% of total install Energy use: 25.179 million Btu/person (2023 est.).
2023Industries: textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software, pharmaceuticals Agriculture: sugarcane, rice, milk, wheat, bison milk, potatoes, vegetables, maize, bananas, onions (2023) Electricity access: 99.2% (2022 est.).
2023Major urban areas: 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) 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 Inflation: 5% (2024 est.).
2024Military spending: 2% of GDP (2024 est.).
2025Population: 1.42 billion (2025 estimate).
