Southern Asia · AsiaIndia
Discover India - the world's most populous country, home to 22 official languages, the Taj Mahal, and a civilization stretching back 5,000 years.
Where Is India?
India is a country in Southern Asia. Its capital is New Delhi.
- Capital New Delhi
- Population 1.46B
- Area 3,287,263 km²
India is a subcontinent masquerading as a country. With 1.4 billion people speaking 22 officially recognized languages across 28 states, it is the most linguistically and culturally diverse nation on Earth. The Indus Valley civilization, one of the world's oldest, flourished here around 3300 BCE - and the traditions it seeded still pulse through daily life in everything from temple rituals to spice blends perfected over millennia.
The scale of India defies easy summary. It is the birthplace of four major world religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism - the source of the number zero and the decimal system, and home to both the Himalayas and tropical beaches within the same border. Bollywood produces more films per year than Hollywood. The railway system carries 23 million passengers daily. And yet India's greatest asset might be its street food - a dizzying variety of flavors that changes every hundred kilometers.
At a glance
Largest cities in India
Delhi
Mumbai
Bangalore
Chennai
Kolkata
Jaipur
Famous people from India
Mahatma Gandhi
PoliticsLed India's independence movement through nonviolent civil disobedience, inspiring civil rights movements worldwide
Rabindranath Tagore
LiteratureFirst non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature (1913), wrote the national anthems of both India and Bangladesh
Srinivasa Ramanujan
ScienceSelf-taught mathematical genius who made extraordinary contributions to number theory and infinite series
Sachin Tendulkar
SportCricket legend with 100 international centuries, the highest run scorer in both Test and ODI history
Satyajit Ray
FilmDirector of the Apu Trilogy and recipient of an honorary Academy Award, one of the greatest filmmakers in cinema history
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
ScienceMissile scientist who became India's President, led the development of ballistic missile and space launch vehicle technology
Ravi Shankar
MusicSitar virtuoso who introduced Indian classical music to the Western world and influenced The Beatles
C.V. Raman
ScienceWon the Nobel Prize in Physics (1930) for discovering the Raman Effect in light scattering
Traditional cuisine of India
- Biryani
- Fragrant layered rice dish with meat, saffron, and whole spices, with fiercely debated regional variations from Hyderabad to Lucknow
- Butter Chicken
- Creamy tomato-based curry created in Delhi in the 1950s, now one of the most recognized Indian dishes worldwide
- Dosa
- Crispy fermented rice and lentil crepe from South India, served with sambar and coconut chutney
- Samosa
- Deep-fried pastry filled with spiced potatoes and peas, the ultimate Indian street snack found on every corner
- Tandoori Chicken
- Chicken marinated in yogurt and spices, cooked in a clay tandoor oven until charred and smoky
- Chole Bhature
- Spicy chickpea curry served with puffy deep-fried bread, a beloved North Indian breakfast
- Masala Chai
- Spiced tea brewed with milk, cardamom, ginger, and cinnamon - India's unofficial national drink
- Gulab Jamun
- Soft milk-solid dumplings soaked in rose-scented sugar syrup, the undisputed king of Indian desserts
Nature and landmarks in India
- HimalayasMountain
- The world's highest mountain range forming India's northern border, including Kangchenjunga at 8,586 meters
- Thar DesertDesert
- India's largest desert spanning Rajasthan, known for camel safaris and the golden city of Jaisalmer
- Kerala BackwatersWaterway
- Network of interconnected canals, rivers, and lakes along the Malabar Coast, explored by traditional houseboats
- SundarbansMangrove
- The world's largest mangrove forest shared with Bangladesh, home to the elusive Royal Bengal tiger
- Western GhatsMountain
- UNESCO-listed mountain range along India's western coast, one of the world's eight hottest biodiversity hotspots
- Ganges RiverRiver
- India's holiest river flowing 2,525 km from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, sacred to over a billion Hindus
- Valley of FlowersNational Park
- UNESCO World Heritage Site in Uttarakhand, a high-altitude Himalayan valley blanketed with endemic alpine flowers
- Andaman IslandsIsland
- Remote archipelago in the Bay of Bengal with pristine beaches, coral reefs, and dense tropical rainforest
Sports in India
- Cricket
- By far the most popular sport, won the Cricket World Cup (1983, 2011) and the ICC T20 World Cup (2007, 2024)
- Field Hockey
- Eight Olympic gold medals, the most successful team in Olympic field hockey history
- Kabaddi
- Ancient Indian contact sport with a massively popular professional league and dominant international record
- Badminton
- Rising global force with PV Sindhu winning Olympic silver (2016) and bronze (2020) medals
- Chess
- Viswanathan Anand was World Chess Champion (2007-2013), India has become a dominant chess nation
Did you know?
India has 22 officially recognized languages, but over 19,500 distinct dialects are spoken across the country
The Indian railway network carries about 23 million passengers every day - roughly equal to the entire population of Australia
India is the birthplace of four major world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism
The number zero was invented in India - the concept was first described by the mathematician Brahmagupta in 628 CE
Bollywood produces over 1,500 films per year, making India the world's largest film industry by number of movies
The Kumbh Mela religious gathering is the largest peaceful assembly of humans on Earth, with hundreds of millions of visits reported at the 2025 Maha Kumbh
India's space program (ISRO) reached Mars orbit in 2014 on its first attempt, with a budget smaller than the movie Gravity
Meghalaya in northeast India is the wettest place on Earth, receiving about 11,871 mm of rainfall per year
Read more about India
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Zeus disguised as a bull, a Florentine explorer who stole Columbus's credit, and a southern land imagined centuries before it was found. The surprising origins of all seven continent names.
Why Do Some Countries Drive on the Left?
From medieval swordfighters to Napoleon's conquests - the surprising history behind why 76 countries drive on the left while the rest of the world drives on the right.
Can you find India on a map?
Drop a pin where you think it is and see how close you got. A few rounds and you will place India and its neighbours without a second thought.
