Economy - overview:
India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Slightly less than half of the workforce is in agriculture, but services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for nearly two-thirds of India's output but employing less than one-third of its labor force. India has capitalized on its large educated English-speaking population to become a major exporter of information technology services, business outsourcing services, and software workers. Nevertheless, per capita income remains below the world average.India is developing into an open-market economy, yet traces of its past autarkic policies remain. Economic liberalization measures, including industrial deregulation, privatization of state-owned enterprises, and reduced controls on foreign trade and investment, began in the early 1990s and served to accelerate the country's growth, which averaged nearly 7% per year from 1997 to 2017. India's economic growth slowed in 2011 because of a decline in investment caused by high interest rates, rising inflation, and investor pessimism about the government's commitment to further economic reforms and about slow world growth. Rising macroeconomic imbalances in India and improving economic conditions in Western countries led investors to shift capital away from India, prompting a sharp depreciation of the rupee through 2016.Growth rebounded in 2014 through 2016, exceeding 7% each year, but slowed in 2017. Investors’ perceptions of India improved in early 2014, due to a reduction of the current account deficit and expectations of post-election economic reform, resulting in a surge of inbound capital flows and stabilization of the rupee. Since the election, the government has passed an important goods and services tax bill and raised foreign direct investment caps in some sectors, but most economic reforms have focused on administrative and governance changes largely because the ruling party remains a minority in India’s upper house of Parliament, which must approve most bills. Despite a high growth rate compared to the rest of the world, India’s government-owned banks faced mounting bad debt in 2015 and 2016, resulting in low credit growth and restrained economic growth.The outlook for India's long-term growth is moderately positive due to a young population and corresponding low dependency ratio, healthy savings and investment rates, and increasing integration into the global economy. However, long-term challenges remain significant, including: India's discrimination against women and girls, an inefficient power generation and distribution system, ineffective enforcement of intellectual property rights, decades-long civil litigation dockets, inadequate transport and agricultural infrastructure, limited non-agricultural employment opportunities, high spending and poorly targeted subsidies, inadequate availability of quality basic and higher education, and accommodating rural-to-urban migration.
GDP (purchasing power parity): GDP (official exchange rate): GDP - real growth rate: GDP - per capita (PPP): Gross national saving: GDP - composition, by end use: GDP - composition, by sector of origin: Agriculture - products: Industries: Industrial production growth rate: Labor force: Labor force - by occupation: Unemployment rate: Population below poverty line: Household income or consumption by percentage share: Distribution of family income - Gini index: Budget: Taxes and other revenues: Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-): Public debt: Fiscal year: Inflation rate (consumer prices): Central bank discount rate: Commercial bank prime lending rate: Stock of narrow money: Stock of broad money: Stock of domestic credit: Market value of publicly traded shares: Current account balance: Exports: Exports - commodities: Exports - partners: Imports: Imports - commodities: Imports - partners: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Debt - external: Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: Exchange rates:
$9.447 trillion (2017 est.)
$8.852 trillion (2016 est.)
$8.265 trillion (2015 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
country comparison to the world: 4
$2.439 trillion (2016 est.)
[see also: GDP (official exchange rate) country ranks ]
6.7% (2017 est.)
7.1% (2016 est.)
8% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 15
[see also: GDP - real growth rate country ranks ]
$7,200 (2017 est.)
$6,800 (2016 est.)
$6,400 (2015 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
country comparison to the world: 157
28.6% of GDP (2017 est.)
29.7% of GDP (2016 est.)
31.8% of GDP (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 32
[see also: Gross national saving country ranks ]
household consumption: 58.7%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - household consumption country ranks ]
government consumption: 11.6%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - government consumption country ranks ]
investment in fixed capital: 27.5%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - investment in fixed capital country ranks ]
investment in inventories: 4%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - investment in inventories country ranks ]
exports of goods and services: 18.4%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - exports of goods and services country ranks ]
imports of goods and services: -20.2% (2017 est.)
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - imports of goods and services country ranks ]
agriculture: 16.8%
[see also: GDP - composition, by sector of origin - agriculture country ranks ]
industry: 28.9%
[see also: GDP - composition, by sector of origin - industry country ranks ]
services: 46.6% (2017 est.)
[see also: GDP - composition, by sector of origin - services country ranks ]
rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, lentils, onions, potatoes; dairy products, sheep, goats, poultry; fish
textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software, pharmaceuticals
7.5% (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 21
[see also: Industrial production growth rate country ranks ]
521.9 million (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
[see also: Labor force country ranks ]
agriculture: 47%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - agriculture country ranks ]
industry: 22%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - industry country ranks ]
services: 31% (FY 2014 est.)
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - services country ranks ]
8.8% (2017 est.)
8% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 120
[see also: Unemployment rate country ranks ]
21.9% (2011 est.)
[see also: Population below poverty line country ranks ]
lowest 10%: 3.6%
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10% country ranks ]
highest 10%: 29.8% (2011)
35.2 (2011)
37.8 (1997)
country comparison to the world: 93
[see also: Distribution of family income - Gini index country ranks ]
revenues: $248.7 billion
[see also: Budget - revenues country ranks ]
expenditures: $330.3 billion (2017 est.)
[see also: Budget - expenditures country ranks ]
10.2% of GDP (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 213
[see also: Taxes and other revenues country ranks ]
-3.3% of GDP (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 125
[see also: Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) country ranks ]
50.1% of GDP (2017 est.)
50.3% of GDP (2016 est.)
note: data cover central government debt, and exclude debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data exclude debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions
country comparison to the world: 102
[see also: Public debt country ranks ]
1 April - 31 March
3.8% (2017 est.)
4.5% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 153
[see also: Inflation rate (consumer prices) country ranks ]
6.25% (31 December 2016)
7.75% (31 December 2014)
note: this is the Indian central bank's policy rate - the repurchase rate
country comparison to the world: 69
[see also: Central bank discount rate country ranks ]
9.6% (31 December 2017 est.)
9.67% (31 December 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 88
[see also: Commercial bank prime lending rate country ranks ]
$429.3 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$294.4 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
[see also: Stock of narrow money country ranks ]
$2.063 trillion (31 December 2017 est.)
$1.773 trillion (31 December 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 9
[see also: Stock of broad money country ranks ]
$1.795 trillion (31 December 2017 est.)
$1.622 trillion (31 December 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
[see also: Stock of domestic credit country ranks ]
$1.516 trillion (31 December 2015 est.)
$1.558 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)
$1.139 trillion (31 December 2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 11
[see also: Market value of publicly traded shares country ranks ]
-$33.68 billion (2017 est.)
-$15.23 billion (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 197
[see also: Current account balance country ranks ]
$299.3 billion (2017 est.)
$268.6 billion (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 21
[see also: Exports country ranks ]
petroleum products, precious stones, vehicles, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, cereals, apparel
US 16%, UAE 11.7%, Hong Kong 5.1% (2016)
$426.8 billion (2017 est.)
$376.1 billion (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12
[see also: Imports country ranks ]
crude oil, precious stones, machinery, chemicals, fertilizer, plastics, iron and steel
China 17%, US 5.8%, UAE 5.4%, Saudi Arabia 5.2%, Switzerland 4.2% (2016)
$407.2 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$359.7 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
[see also: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold country ranks ]
$483.4 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$456.4 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 25
[see also: Debt - external country ranks ]
$367.5 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$318.5 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 21
[see also: Stock of direct foreign investment - at home country ranks ]
$156.1 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$144.1 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 31
[see also: Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad country ranks ]
Indian rupees (INR) per US dollar -
65.17 (2017 est.)
67.195 (2016 est.)
67.195 (2015 est.)
64.152 (2014 est.)
61.03 (2013 est.)