India

India forms a large peninsula extending into the Indian Ocean, with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Bay of Bengal to the east. For thousands of years, sailors used seasonal winds to cross these waters, linking Indian ports with East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Southeast Asia through trade and migration.

The Himalayas—whose name means "abode of snow" in Sanskrit—rise along India's northern edge and contain some of the highest peaks on Earth. The range is still slowly rising as the Indian tectonic plate pushes northward into Asia. Rivers flowing from these mountains have helped build one of the world's great fertile plains below, depositing rich soil across flat, well-watered land that supports intensive farming and some of the country's densest settlement.

Some of India's largest rivers begin in the Himalayas and carry mountain water across the crowded plains below. The Ganges, sacred to Hindus, flows through one of the most densely settled river valleys in the world before reaching the Bay of Bengal. The Brahmaputra and other major rivers also supply farms and cities and shape transportation, settlement, pilgrimage, and religious life.

India contains an extraordinary range of climates, from hot desert in Rajasthan and tropical forests in the northeast to warm southern coasts and cold alpine environments high in the Himalayas. Each summer, winds bring huge amounts of moisture from the Indian Ocean onto the land, creating monsoon rains that supply much of the water used by farms, rivers, reservoirs, and communities. A weak, late, or unusually intense monsoon can strongly affect crops and water supplies.

More than 1.4 billion people live in India, but they are concentrated very unevenly across the country. The fertile northern plains, river valleys, and many coastal areas are densely settled, while the Himalayas and Thar Desert have far fewer people. Even as huge cities grow, many Indians still live in villages and smaller towns.

India is one of the world's most linguistically diverse countries. Hindi is the most widely spoken language, English is widely used in government, higher education, and business, and the Constitution recognizes 22 major languages. Many states are closely associated with particular languages, which shape their literature, media, food, and everyday life.

Four major world religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—began on the Indian subcontinent, and religion remains highly visible in India's landscapes and daily life. Temples, mosques, churches, gurdwaras, pilgrimage routes, festivals, and food traditions vary greatly across regions and communities.

India has long been connected to other regions by migration as well as trade. Today, millions of people move within the country for work and education, while large Indian communities live in the Persian Gulf, North America, the United Kingdom, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere. Family ties, businesses, films, food, music, and money continue to move between India and these communities abroad.

India's economy looks very different from one region to another. Mumbai is a major financial and commercial center, while industrial areas around Pune, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Delhi manufacture cars, textiles, medicines, and other goods. Farming remains central to life across much of rural India.

Each summer, seasonal winds bring huge amounts of rain from the Indian Ocean across much of India. These monsoon rains help determine whether crops such as rice, wheat, cotton, sugarcane, tea, and spices grow well, how much farmers earn, and what food costs for hundreds of millions of people. When the rains arrive late, weak, or unusually strong, the effects can spread through farms and markets across the country.

Indian companies provide software, technology support, and other business services to clients around the world. Cities such as Bengaluru and Hyderabad grew into major technology centers because skilled workers and digital networks allow work done in India to serve companies thousands of kilometers away.

India is made up of 28 states, and language, food, religion, and traditions differ dramatically from one to another. Centuries of different peoples, kingdoms, religions, and trade—combined with landscapes ranging from Himalayan mountains to deserts and tropical coasts—have given different parts of India distinct cultures. Each state has its own government, while all are part of India.