• Literacy rate: 61%
• Numbers in tertiary education: 10.5m students

The education system

Education is primarily the responsibility of the individual state governments. There is now a primary school in every village across the subcontinent, but many children drop out of school to provide supplementary income for their families. There are more than 60 million students at middle–secondary level, and an estimated 24 million graduates from more than 200 universities. Women make up around 40% of those enrolled in higher education: a good percentage for a low-income economy. Though the high level of illiteracy is a brake on development, India has one of the largest pools of science graduates anywhere in the world.

• Protected land as percentage of total land area: 5% (3% partially protected)
• CO2 emissions trend: 1.1 tonnes per capita

Environmental treaties

• Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Washington DC, 1973: yes
• Convention on Biological Diversity Earth Summit in Rio, 1992: yes
• 1992 Amendment to protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer (amendment to Montreal Protocol) Copenhagen, 1992: yes
• Kyoto Convention on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions Earth Summit in Kyoto, 1997: yes
• Basel convention on the dumping of hazardous wastes (Basel) Basel, 1989: yes
• Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar) Ramsar, Iran 1971: yes

Deforestation is one of India's most pressing environmental problems. Industrial and agricultural pressures have felled almost 90% of original forest cover. This results in major soil erosion, the silting up of dams, and landslides. Unusually serious flooding in eastern states in 2000 was largely attributed to deforestation. On the other hand, dealing with water scarcities, such as the drought which affected much of the northwest in 2000, has become a major public policy issue.

• Doctors: 1 per 1885 people
• Major causes of death: Respiratory, nutritional, and diarrheal diseases, malaria

Malnutrition is extremely common, increasing infant mortality, much of it due to preventable diseases. Air pollution from the domestic use of solid fuel kills half a million children every year. HIV infection rates are rising and 5.1 million adults were living with HIV/AIDS by 2004, the second-highest number in the world. State governments are responsible for most health programs, but various national projects include a huge polio eradication program. Plans to subsidize health insurance for the poorest of the poor were announced in 2000.