India data questions answered
The 15 questions people search most about India's official figures, each answered from the body that publishes them, with a link to check the latest number yourself.
What is the population of India?
India's population was 1,463,865,525 in 2025, according to the World Bank World Development Indicators, which use national census data and UN population estimates.
India's own official count comes from the decennial census run by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner. Between censuses, national population figures are estimates and projections rather than counts. The Registrar General's website could not be reached from our checks today; the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) publishes population projections in its statistical yearbooks and reports.
What is the inflation rate in India?
India's CPI inflation rose to 4.8% in August 2026 from 4.5% in July, according to the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee resolution of 7 October 2026, citing official data. Core inflation was 4.2%, or 2.9% excluding precious metals. The RBI says the rise was mainly due to food and fuel prices.
The consumer price index is compiled monthly by the National Statistics Office (NSO) in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and published in its press releases each month. The RBI's inflation target, set by the government, is defined in terms of this CPI, and the MPC's resolutions explain how each decision relates to it.
What is India's GDP growth rate?
India's real GDP grew 7.8% in the first quarter (April to June) of 2026-27, according to National Statistics Office estimates cited in the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee resolution of 7 October 2026. The RBI says strong private consumption, fixed investment and exports supported growth.
Quarterly GDP growth in India is reported as the change from the same quarter a year earlier, not from the previous quarter, so it is not directly comparable with quarter-on-quarter figures from other countries. The NSO publishes GDP estimates for each quarter on the MoSPI website and revises them in later releases.
What is India's GDP in dollars?
India's gross domestic product was US$3.96 trillion in 2025, according to the World Bank World Development Indicators, and GDP per person was US$2,702, according to the World Bank's GDP per capita series.
The World Bank converts GDP from rupees at market exchange rates, so the dollar figure moves with the rupee as well as with output. Per-person figures divide by the whole population. India's own GDP estimates in rupees are published by the National Statistics Office in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. India's fiscal year runs from April to March, while World Bank figures here are for calendar years.
What is the RBI repo rate?
The Reserve Bank of India's policy repo rate is 5.50%, after the Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously on 7 October 2026 to raise it by 25 basis points, according to the RBI's Monetary Policy Statement. The standing deposit facility rate is 5.25%, and the marginal standing facility rate and Bank Rate are 5.75%. The MPC also changed its stance to 'calibrated tightening'.
The repo rate is the rate at which the RBI lends to banks overnight, and it feeds into banks' lending rates, including loans linked to external benchmarks. The RBI says the MPC's next meeting is scheduled for 2 to 4 December 2026.
What are India's foreign exchange reserves?
India's foreign exchange reserves were US$734.6 billion (₹70.73 lakh crore) on 2 October 2026, down US$13.0 billion over the week, according to the Reserve Bank of India's Weekly Statistical Supplement. Foreign currency assets were US$604.7 billion and gold US$106.4 billion.
Reserves include foreign currency assets, gold, Special Drawing Rights and India's reserve position in the IMF. Weekly changes reflect both RBI market operations and changes in the value of assets, since non-dollar holdings and gold are revalued. The RBI publishes the supplement weekly in its press releases.
What is the unemployment rate in India?
India's unemployment rate was 4.2% of the labour force in 2025, according to the World Bank, which publishes the International Labour Organization's modelled estimate. India's own figures come from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) of the National Statistics Office.
PLFS rates depend on the measure used: the 'current weekly status' looks at the past seven days, while the 'usual status' looks at the past year, and rates differ for rural and urban areas and by age. Check which measure and age group a figure uses. PLFS releases are published on the MoSPI website, which could not be read by our automated checks today.
What is life expectancy in India?
Life expectancy at birth in India was 72.2 years in 2024, according to the World Bank World Development Indicators, which compile national and UN estimates.
India's own life expectancy estimates come from abridged life tables based on the Sample Registration System (SRS), run by the Office of the Registrar General. These cover multi-year periods and are published with a delay, so they do not match single-year international figures exactly. Life expectancy at birth summarises current death rates and is not a forecast for any individual. Figures vary considerably between states.
What is the birth rate in India?
India's crude birth rate was 16.0 births per 1,000 people in 2024, and the total fertility rate was 1.96 births per woman, according to the World Bank's birth rate and fertility rate series.
A fertility rate below about 2.1 is usually described as below replacement level, the rate at which a population would stay the same size in the long run without migration. India's official birth and fertility rates come from the Sample Registration System bulletins of the Office of the Registrar General, which also give figures for each state; fertility differs widely between states.
What is the poverty rate in India?
2.6% of India's population lived on less than $3.00 a day in 2023, at 2021 purchasing power parity, according to the World Bank. At the higher $4.20-a-day line used for lower-middle-income countries, the share was 16.1%, according to the World Bank's second poverty series.
These are international poverty lines for comparing countries; they are not India's own national poverty line. The World Bank builds them from India's national household consumption surveys, and changes in survey method between rounds mean long-term comparisons need care.
What is India's government debt?
India's general government gross debt was 84.3% of GDP in 2025, according to the International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook database (October 2026 edition). The IMF projects 83.1% for 2026. General government covers the central government and the states together.
The IMF figures for recent years can include staff estimates. The Ministry of Finance publishes central government debt separately in the Union Budget documents, and the Reserve Bank of India publishes data on state finances. Central government debt alone is lower than the general government total.
What is the RBI's inflation forecast for 2026-27?
The Reserve Bank of India projects CPI inflation of 5.2% for 2026-27, according to its Monetary Policy Statement of 7 October 2026. By quarter, it projects 4.9% in July to September, 6.0% in October to December and 5.7% in January to March 2027, and 5.6% for April to June 2027. The RBI describes the risks as evenly balanced.
The RBI cites a deficient monsoon, El Niño conditions and high energy and commodity prices as sources of pressure. Projections are revised at each Monetary Policy Committee meeting. The fiscal year 2026-27 runs from April 2026 to March 2027.
What is India's GDP growth forecast for 2026-27?
The Reserve Bank of India projects real GDP growth of 7.1% for 2026-27, according to its Monetary Policy Statement of 7 October 2026. By quarter, it projects 7.2% for July to September 2026, 6.9% for October to December and 6.8% for January to March 2027, and 7.1% for April to June 2027. The RBI describes the risks as evenly balanced.
These are the central bank's own projections, not official statistics. Actual quarterly growth is estimated by the National Statistics Office, which put growth in April to June 2026 at 7.8%. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank publish their own forecasts for India, which use calendar or fiscal years and can differ.
What are the income tax slabs in India?
Under the default new tax regime for assessment year 2026-27, income up to ₹4,00,000 is not taxed, and rates rise from 5% (₹4–8 lakh) to 10% (₹8–12 lakh), 15% (₹12–16 lakh), 20% (₹16–20 lakh), 25% (₹20–24 lakh) and 30% above ₹24 lakh, according to the Income Tax Department. A rebate under section 87A of up to ₹60,000 means residents with taxable income up to ₹12,00,000 pay no income tax.
Assessment year 2026-27 covers income earned in 2025-26. Taxpayers can opt for the old regime, which has lower thresholds but allows more deductions. A 4% health and education cess is added to the tax.
How do I file an RTI application in India?
Requests under the Right to Information Act 2005 to central government public authorities can be filed online through the government's RTI Online portal, where the applicant pays the prescribed fee by internet banking, card or UPI, according to the portal's guidelines. Citizens below the poverty line pay no fee, and the portal says no fee is payable for a first appeal.
If the Central Public Information Officer does not reply, a first appeal can be filed after the 30-day period has passed, according to the portal's FAQ. Second appeals go to the Central Information Commission. State government bodies have their own RTI portals and state information commissions.
Source guides
- Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (National Statistics Office)
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
- Right to Information (RTI Online and the Central Information Commission)
Questions were chosen from the searches people make most about this country's figures, and each answer was written from the official page it links to, read on 14 October 2026. These answers give no verdict on any claim. To report an error, send a correction request.