India

22.8% —or about 67,701,000 hectares—of India is forested.

Change in Forest Cover: Between 1990 and 2000, India gained an average of 361,500 hectares of forest per year. The amounts to an average annual reforestation rate of 0.57%. Between 2000 and 2005, the rate of forest change decreased by 92.3% to 0.04% per annum. In total, between 1990 and 2005, India gained 5.9% of its forest cover, or around 3,762,000 hectares. Measuring the total rate of habitat conversion (defined as change in forest area plus change in woodland area minus net plantation expansion) for the 1990-2005 interval, India gained 1.0% of its forest and woodland habitat.

Biodiversity and Protected Areas: India has some 2356 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles according to figures from the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Of these, 18.4% are endemic, meaning they exist in no other country, and 10.8% are threatened. India is home to at least 18664 species of vascular plants, of which 26.8% are endemic. 4.9% of India is protected under IUCN categories I-V.

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Forest Cover | Forest types | Breakdown of forest types | Change in Forest Cover | Primary forest | Forest designation | Disturbances affecting forest land | Protected areas | Biodiversity - Wildlife | Biodiversity - Plants | Value of forests | Production, trade and consumption of forest products | Environment | Land use / Resources | Economy | Population / Demographics | Infrastructure | Health | References | Books

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India: Forest Cover, 2005 Total Land Area (ha) 297,319,000 Total Forest Area (ha) 67,701,000 Percent Forest Cover 22.77% Primary Forest Cover (ha) - Primary Forest, % total forest - Primary Forest, % total land - Other wooded land (ha) 4,110,000 India : Forest types Tropical (% forest area) 95% Subtropical (% forest area) 5% Temperate (% forest area) 0% Boreal/polar (% forest area) 0% India: Breakdown of forest types, 2005 Primary forest (ha | %) - - Modified natural (ha | %) 32,943,000 48.7% Semi-natural (ha | %) 31,532,000 46.6% Production plantation (ha | %) 1,053,000 1.6% Production plantation (ha | %) 2,173,000 3.2% India: Change in Forest Cover TOTAL FOREST COVER Forest 1990 (ha) 63,939,000 Forest 2000 (ha) 67,554,000 Forest 2005 (ha) 67,701,000 Annual Change 1990-2000 (ha | %) 361,500 0.57% Annual Change 2000-2005 (ha | %) 29,400 0.04% Total Change 1990-2005 (ha | %) 3,762,000 5.88% Change in rate (%) -92.30% PRIMARY FOREST COVER Primary 1990 (ha) - Primary 2000 (ha) - Primary 2005 (ha) - Annual Change 1990-2000 (ha | %) - - Annual Change 2000-2005 (ha | %) - - Total Change 1990-2005 (ha | %) - - Change in rate (%) - OTHER WOODED LAND Other 1990 (ha) 5,894,000 Other 2000 (ha) 4,732,000 Other 2005 (ha) 4,110,000 Annual Change 1990-2000 (ha | %) (116,200) -1.97% Annual Change 2000-2005 (ha | %) (124,400) -2.63% Total Change 1990-2005 (ha | %) (1,784,000) -30.27% Change in rate (%) 33.35% PLANTATIONS Other 1990 (ha) 1,954,000 Other 2000 (ha) 2,805,000 Other 2005 (ha) 3,226,000 Annual Change 1990-2000 (ha | %) 85,100 4.36% Annual Change 2000-2005 (ha | %) 84,200 3.00% Total Change 1990-2005 (ha | %) 1,272,000 65.10% Change in rate (%) -31.08% TOTAL DEGRADATION/CONSERVSION Forest area+Wooded Area-Plantations Other 1990 (ha) 67,879,000 Other 2000 (ha) 69,481,000 Other 2005 (ha) 68,585,000 Annual Change 1990-2000 (ha | %) 160,200 0.24% Annual Change 2000-2005 (ha | %) (179,200) -0.26% Total Change 1990-2005 (ha | %) 706,000 1.04% Change in rate (%) -209.28% India: Primary Primary or "old-growth" vegetation Primary Forest 2005 (ha) - Other primary wooded land 2005 (ha) - Other primary wooded land 2005 (ha) 0 Undisturbed vegetation 2005 (% land area) 0.00% India: Forest designation Ownership of forest land, 2000 Public (%) 98.4% Private (%) 1.6% Other (%) 0.0% Ownership of other wooded land, 2000 Public (%) 98.4% Private (%) 1.6% Other (%) 0.0% Designated functions of forest � primary function 2005 Production (%) 21.2% Protection (%) 14.8% Conservation (%) 21.7% Social Services (%) - Multiple Services (%) 42.4% None of Unknown (%) - India: Disturbances affecting forest land 2000 Forest Area annually affected by Fire (%) 5.48% Insects (ha) 1.48% Diseases (ha) 12.43% Other (ha) - India: Protected areas 4 Protected areas Biosphere reserves, 2005 Wetlands of international importance (Ramsar sites), 2005 19 World Heritage sites, 2004 24 Protected Areas: IUCN categories I-V, percent of total land 4.9% Protected Areas: IUCN categories Ia, Ib, and II, extent, percent of total land 1.08% Protected Areas: IUCN categories III, IV, and V, percent of total land, 2004 3.57% Protected Areas: IUCN categories VI and other, percent of total land, 2004 0.10% India: Biodiversity - Wildlife Amphibians total species 233 endemic species 133 threatened species 66 Birds total species 1180 endemic species 70 threatened species 79 Mammals total species 422 endemic species 44 threatened species 85 Reptiles total species 521 endemic species 186 threatened species 25 Wildlife diversity total species 2356 endemic species 433 threatened species 255 India: Biodiversity - Plants Growing stock composition 3 most common species % of total growing stock 21.90% Growing stock composition 3 most common species % of total growing stock 27.20% Number of Native tree species Native tree species - Number of tree species in IUCN red list Critically Endangered 50 Endangered 98 Vulnerable 98 Vascular Plant Species, 2004 Total 18664 Number endemic 5000 Number of Threatened Plant Species, 2004 Species threatened 246 India: Value of forests Biomass stock in forest, 2005 Above-ground biomass (M t) 4,093 Below-ground biomass (M t) 1,085 Dead wood (M t) 570 Total (M t) 5,748 Carbon stock in forest, 2005 Carbon in above-ground biomass (M t) 1,852 Carbon in below-ground biomass (M t) 491 Carbon in dead wood (M t) 258 Carbon in litter (M t) 222 Soil carbon (M t) 7,181 Change in growing stock 1990 - 2005 Annual change rate (1000 cubic m/yr) 1990-2000 29,900 2000-2005 7,200 Growing stock per hectare 1990 - 2005 Annual change rate ( cubic m/ha per yr) 1990-2000 0.08 2000-2005 0.08 Wood removal 2005 Industrial roundwood (1000 cubic m) 1,252 Wood fuel (1000 cubic m) 3,472 Total wood removal 2005 (1000 cubic m) 4,724 Total wood removal 2005 (% of growing stock) n.s. Plant products 2005 Food (t) 61,060 Fodder (t) 45,780 Raw material for medicine and aromatic products (t) 62,700 Raw material for colorants and dyes (t) 4,930 Raw material for utensils, handicrafts & construction (t) 1,315,250 Ornamental plants (t) - Exudates (t) 3,380 Other plant products (t) 547,470 Animal products 2005 Living animals (units) - Hides, skins and trophies (units) - Wild honey and bee-wax (t) - Bush meat (t) - Raw material for medicine and aromatic products (t) - Raw material for colorants and dyes (t) - Other edible animal products (t) - Other non-edible animal products (t) - Value of wood and non-wood forest product removal 2005 Industrial roundwood (US$) $208,644,000 Wood fuel (US$) $8,023,000 Non-wood forest products (US$) $179,132,000 Total value (US$) $395,799,000 Total value ($USD/ha) $6 Employment in forestry 2000 Total people employed 4,855,000 India : Production, trade and consumption of forest products, 2002 Woodfuel ('000 cubic m), 2002 Production 300,564 Imports 0 Exports 0 Consumption 300,564 Industrial roundwood ('000 cubic m), 2002 Production 19,308 Imports 1,998 Exports 8 Consumption 21,298 Sawnwood ('000 cubic m), 2002 Production 7,900 Imports 30 Exports 8 Consumption 7,922 Wood-based panels ('000 cubic m), 2002 Production 645 Imports 67 Exports 12 Consumption 700 Pulp for paper ('000 metric tons), 2002 Production 2,603 Imports 198 Exports 26 Consumption 2,775 Paper and paperboard ('000 metric tons), 2002 Production 3,973 Imports 620 Exports 101 Consumption 4,492 India: Environment Environment - current issues deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification; air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap water is not potable throughout the country; huge and growing population is overstraining natural resources Environment - international agreements party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements Natural hazards droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes India: Land use / Resources Land use (%) arable land: 54.4% permanent crops: 2.74% other: 42.86% (2001) Natural resources coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land India: Economy Economy - overview: India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for half of India's output with less than one quarter of its labor force. About two-thirds of the workforce is in agriculture, leading the UPA government to articulate an economic reform program that includes developing basic infrastructure to improve the lives of the rural poor and boost economic performance. Government controls on foreign trade and investment have been reduced in some areas, but high tariffs (averaging 20% on non-agricultural items in 2004) and limits on foreign direct investment are still in place. The government in 2005 liberalized investment in the civil aviation, telecom, and construction sectors. Privatization of government-owned industries essentially came to a halt in 2005, and continues to generate political debate; continued social, political, and economic rigidities hold back needed initiatives. The economy has posted an excellent average growth rate of more than 6.8% in the decade since 1994, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points. India probably achieved greater than 7 percent GDP growth in 2005, significantly expanding manufacturing. India is capitalizing on its large numbers of well-educated people skilled in the English language to become a major exporter of software services and software workers. Despite strong growth, the World Bank and others worry about the combined state and federal budget deficit, running at approximately 9% of GDP. The huge and growing population is the fundamental social, economic, and environmental problem. GDP - per capita $3,400 (2005 est.) GDP - real growth rate (%) 7.1% (2005 est.) Agriculture - products rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish GDP - composition by sector (%) agriculture: 20.6%, industry: 28.1%, services: 51.4% (2005 est.) Industries textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software Economic aid - recipient $2.9 billion (FY98/99) Debt - external $119.7 billion (2005 est.) Population below poverty line (%) 25% (2002 est.) Labor force - by occupation (%) agriculture 60%, industry 17%, services 23% (1999) India: Population / Demographics Population (July 2005) 1,080,264,388 Population growth rate (%) (2005) 1.40% Population density (people/sq km) (2005) 363.3 Percent rural (2003) 71.7% Median age (years) total: 24.66 years Total fertility rate (children born/woman) 2.78 (2005 est.) Ethnic groups (%) Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000) Largest Cities in India Cities and urban areas in India with population over 100,000 All figures are estimates for 2002. City Country City Population Urban Area Population Mumbai (Bombay) India 12147100 12147100 Delhi India 10009200 16713200 Calcutta India 4670000 11387400 Bangalore India 4376100 5797900 Chennai (Madras) India 4298600 6550100 Ahmadabad India 3584000 3584000 Hyderabad India 3517300 5641700 Pune India 2589700 3828900 Kanpur India 2581600 2743000 Surat India 2481300 2866400 Jaipur India 2369700 2369700 Lucknow India 2250500 2250500 Nagpur India 2091400 2091400 Indore India 1628600 1671100 Bhopal India 1461900 1483200 Ludhiana India 1422300 1422300 Patna India 1403800 1740800 Vadodara India 1331500 1521500 Agra India 1284600 1284600 Varanasi India 1122200 1353900 Nashik India 1098000 1098000 Mirat India 1095200 1095200 Haora India 1028400 1028400 Pimpri India 1026100 1026100 Allahabad India 1009600 1009600 Amritsar India 994800 994800 Visakhapatnam India 988500 1355400 Rajkot India 985500 1021700 Jabalpur India 970100 1139000 Koyampattur India 941100 941100 Madurai India 940900 940900 Srinagar India 912400 912400 Sholapur India 890100 890100 Ranchi India 863000 879700 Jodhpur India 862900 872800 Gwalior India 843100 882700 Vijayawada India 841600 1030900 Chandigarh India 824600 824600 Guwahati India 823800 830500 Hubli India 801400 801400 Tiruchchirappalli India 760600 863700 Thiruvananthapuram India 759300 906600 Mysore India 756800 756800 Navi Mumbai India 717700 717700 Jalandhar India 714900 764400 Bareli India 713500 744100 Kota India 709500 718500 Selam India 706800 706800 Aligarh India 680800 1116300 Bhubaneswar India 659900 1455300 Moradabad India 653800 653800 Gorakhpur India 636800 636800 Raipur India 617000 617000 Bhiwandi India 610400 633500 Kochi (Cochin) India 608100 608100 Jamshedpur India 581500 1123300 Bhilai India 564700 941600 Amravati India 560100 1031100 Bikaner India 539300 539300 Warangal India 538900 588500 Mira Bhayandar India 530500 530500 Guntur India 524800 524800 Bhavnagar India 520900 527700 Durgapur India 502600 502600 Asansol India 495800 495800 Kolhapur India 494700 643500 Ajmer India 494700 494700 Saharanpur India 461800 461800 Dehra Dun India 456600 538200 Jamnagar India 456500 569400 Bhatpara India 450600 450600 Sangli-Miraj India 445200 445200 Kozhikkod India 445100 445100 Nanded India 439000 439000 Ujjain India 438300 439100 Gulbarga India 436300 444100 Tirunelveli India 419300 440000 Malegaon India 417200 417200 Akola India 407800 407800 Belgaum India 407400 516100 Mangaluru India 406500 406500 Bokaro India 401900 401900 South Dum Dum India 399800 399800 Udaipur India 396900 396900 Maheshtala India 396800 396800 Jhansi India 390700 472300 Gaya India 390700 390700 Jammu India 385800 619500 Jalgaon India 375800 375800 Davanagere India 370900 370900 Kollam India 368500 368500 Panihati India 355200 355200 Tiruppur India 353300 553400 Dhule India 348100 348100 Bhagalpur India 347000 356500 Rajpur India 343000 343000 Thrissur India 323700 336500 Bellary India 323200 323200 Muzaffarnagar India 322600 322600 Korba India 321900 321900 Kamarhati India 320500 320500 Rajamahendri India 319500 416300 Ahmadnagar India 313500 313500 Muzaffarpur India 311400 311400 Patiala India 308800 329600 Chandrapur India 303400 303400 Ni Dilli India 300500 300500 Kulti India 295700 295700 Kakinada India 295600 375900 Brahmapur India 295400 295400 Nizamabad India 292600 292600 Rohtak India 292400 300300 Barddhaman India 291500 291500 Rampur India 287000 287000 Bhilwara India 285700 285700 Firozabad India 284200 440700 Shimoga India 279500 279500 Rajarhat Gopalpur India 277100 277100 Karnul India 273000 326900 Darbhanga India 272000 272000 Bilaspur India 270400 270400 Lalbahadur Nagar India 267100 267100 Panipat India 266800 360900 Bally India 266700 266700 Alwar India 265300 265300 Parbhani India 264200 264200 Ichalkaranji India 262600 291400 Hisar India 261800 268200 Baranagar India 255500 255500 Tumkur India 253400 253400 Bijapur India 250800 258300 Ramagundam India 240100 241200 Jalna India 240100 240100 Sagar India 236900 236900 Bihar India 236500 236500 Barasat India 236000 236000 Dewas India 235200 235200 Aizawl India 234200 234200 Farrukhabad India 232300 247300 Tirupati India 232100 232100 Satna India 229900 229900 Raurkela India 229000 493800 Ratlam India 225600 238000 Anantapur India 225300 225300 Pondicherry India 225100 515600 Bathinda India 221600 221600 Imphal India 221500 250800 Thuthukkudi India 220300 247600 Thanjavur India 219900 219900 Hapur India 216100 216100 Etawah India 215600 215600 Ganganagar India 214900 214900 Karnal India 214600 226400 Nagercoil India 212200 212200 Kharagpur India 212000 458500 Raichur India 209700 209700 Mirzapur India 209300 209300 Bharatpur India 208400 209100 Sikandarabad India 208200 208200 Karimnagar India 207800 220000 Ulubaria India 206000 206000 Dhanbad India 202800 1085100 Dindigul India 200500 200500  Environment, Land use / Resources, Economy, Population / Demographics, Infrastructure, Health -- CIA World Factbook, 2005  Forest Cover, Forest types, Breakdown of forest types, Change in Forest Cover, Primary forests, Forest designation, Disturbances affecting forest land, Value of forests, Production, trade and consumption of forest products -- The FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS's Global Forest Resources Assessment (2005) and the State of the World�s Forests (2005, 2003, 2001)  Protected Areas, Plant and animal biodiversity -- United Nations Environment Programme - World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). 2004. World Database on Protected Areas.  Biosphere reservers -- United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) - Man and Biosphere Program. 2004. UNESCO - MAB Biosphere Reserves Directory.  RAMSAR sites -- The Bureau of the Convention on Wetlands . 2005. The Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.  World Resources Institute's EarthTrends web site  The 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species  Population Data -- United Nations Population Fund  With additional analysis by Rhett Butler of mongabay.com