POPULATION 1,045,845,226
HINDU 80 percent
MUSLIM 14 percent
CHRISTIAN 2.4 percent
SIKH 2 percent
BUDDHIST 0.7 percent
JAIN 0.5 percent
OTHER 0.4 percent

Country Overview

Introduction

The Republic of India is situated in the Indian subcontinent in South Asia. It is bordered to the north and northeast by China, Nepal, and Bhutan; to the west by Pakistan and the Arabian Sea; to the east by Bangladesh, Myanmar, and the Bay of Bengal; and to the south by the Indian Ocean. The Indo-Gangetic plain and the Himalayas are the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. With well over 800 million adherents Hinduism is by far the most widely practiced religion in India. Buddhism and Jainism arose in the sixth century B.C.E. in North India. Buddhism spread first to Sri Lanka and then by various routes to Southeast Asia, China, and Japan, and today the majority of Buddhists live outside of India. Sikhism originated in northwestern India...