1. Surface area: 3,287,595 km²
2. Population: 1,155,347,678 (2009)
   Urban population: 66.9% (2009)
3. Language: Hindi is the official language. Each state and territory of the Indian nation has its own official languages, with the Constitution recognizing 22 in total.
4. GDP: US$ 1,310,170,521,447 (2009)
   GDP per capita: US$ 1,134 (2009)
5. Politics and society: After a long history of colonialism and internal struggles, India has implemented sustained political and economic reforms to achieve great prospects for development. With regard to its system of government, India is a federal republic with a parliamentary system. The president is the head of the executive power and holds office for a period of 5 years.
6. Mobile phone penetration: 66.16% (2010)
   Internet penetration: 6.9% (2010)
7. Literacy: 63% (2006)
8. Publishing industry: In India there are around 16,000 publishing houses publishing in a number of languages, although 45% of the 60,000 titles the country produces each year are in English. In fact, India ranks third, behind the US and the UK, in book publishing in English. The main distribution channels are publishers, bookstores, commercial representatives – who visit institutions, schools and NGOs –, fairs and, to a lesser extent, the Web.

Sources: World Bank; Indian Department of Telecommunications; Internet World Stats – India; Telecom Regulatory Authority of India; Frankfurt Book Fair.