India: Population and Key Statistics

AsiaCapital: New Delhi#1 by population

With 1.45 billion people, India overtook China in 2023 to become the world's most populous country. With a GDP of roughly $3.9 trillion, it ranks as the world's fifth-largest economy and is one of the fastest-growing among the major economies.

With a median age of only 28.4, the country has an enormous young labor force. A world leader in software and IT services exports, India has only one-third of its population living in cities, which points to a major wave of urbanization in the decades ahead.

Population (2025)
1.5 billion
1,463,865,525 people
GDP (2025)
$3,956bn
nominal, current US dollars
GDP per capita
$2,702
Life expectancy
72.2
years
Area
3,287,260
km²
Population density
445
people/km²
Median age
28.4
Internet usage
70.0%

Military Strength

Military expenditure (2024)
$86.1bn
86,126 million dollars
Share of GDP
2.27%
NATO guideline: 2%
Share of government spending
7.63%
Spending per capita
$59
per year, per person
Armed forces (2020)
3.1 million
3,068,000 active personnel
Armed forces per 1,000 people
2.1
0.58% of the labor force

Expenditure figures come from SIPRI and personnel counts from the IISS, both distributed through the World Bank. Source years differ by indicator, so each figure is shown with its own year.

How India compares

India and China — core indicators
05 b10 b15 bGDP per capita ($)Life expectancy (years)Internet usage (%)GDP per capita ($) — India: 2.702Life expectancy (years) — India: 72,2Internet usage (%) — India: 70GDP per capita ($) — China: 13.862Life expectancy (years) — China: 78Internet usage (%) — China: 91,6
IndiaChina

The indicators use different scales, so the chart is a rough visual comparison only. For exact figures see the full side-by-side comparison.

Data sourcesPopulation and social indicators: UN World Population Prospects, World BankEconomy: IMF World Economic Outlook, World BankMilitary: SIPRI and IISS, distributed through the World BankLast refreshed: 2026-08-26