India (Hindi: भारतBhārat; see also other Indian languages), officially the Republic of India (Hindi: भारत गणराज्यBhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh largest country by geographical area, the second most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east, India has a coastline of 7,517 kilometers (4,671 mi).^[13] It borders Pakistan to the west;^[14] China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma) to the east. India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Indonesia in the Indian Ocean.

Home to the Indus Valley Civilizationand a region of historic trade routesand vast empires, the Indian subcontinentwas identified with its commercialand culturalwealth for much of its long history.^[15] Four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainismand Sikhismoriginated here, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianityand Islamarrived in the first millennium CEand shaped the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by the British East India Companyfrom the early eighteenth century and colonized by the United Kingdomfrom the mid-nineteenth century, India became a modern nation statein 1947 after a struggle for independencethat was marked by widespread nonviolent resistance.

India has the world's twelfth largest economy at market exchange rates and the fourth largest in purchasing power. Economic reforms have transformed it into the second fastest growing large economy;^[16] however, it still suffers from high levels of poverty,^[17] illiteracy, and malnutrition. A pluralistic, multilingual, and multiethnic society, India is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats.