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Country profile · South Asia

India

India is the world's most populous country with about 1.46 billion people. It has the sixth-largest economy. It is nuclear-armed and has no treaty allies. It buys arms from both Russia and the West. Its border with China has never been formally agreed.

Updated September 2026 · Data from the UN, IMF, SIPRI and IISS

The Taj Mahal in Agra seen from its gardens, with the long reflecting pool in front Map of South Asia with India highlighted
The Taj Mahal, Agra. Photo: Yann Forget, edited by King of Hearts, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Where India ranks

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Who runs India?

Narendra Modi has been Prime Minister since May 26, 2014. He is serving a third consecutive term, the first Prime Minister since Nehru to win three in a row. The BJP won 240 of 543 Lok Sabha seats in 2024, short of the 272 majority, and governs with coalition allies. Modi says he helped at his father's tea stall at the Vadnagar railway station. He left home at about 17 after refusing an arranged marriage. In 2005 the United States refused him a visa over the 2002 Gujarat riots. In May 2026 the BJP won West Bengal for the first time. The next general election is due by 2029.

Narendra Modi
Narendra Modi
Prime Minister since 2014
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
Lok Sabha, 2024 election543 seats
272 for a majority
  • Modi's BJP 240
  • Congress 99
  • Other parties 204

Portrait (2025): The White House, public domain

Who are India's allies and rivals?

India has no mutual defense treaty with any country. The Quad groups India with the United States, Japan and Australia. Russia supplied 40% of India's arms imports in 2021-25, France 29% and Israel 15%. India and Pakistan fought for four days in May 2025 after gunmen killed 26 people near Pahalgam. In June 2020, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley. President Xi Jinping visited New Delhi for the BRICS summit on September 12, 2026, his first India visit in about seven years. Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a mutual defense pact in Mecca on August 7, 2026.

Allies and partners

  • United StatesQuad partner, 10-year defense framework, 2025
  • RussiaSupplied 40% of arms imports, 2021-25
  • FranceLargest buyer of French arms, 2021-25
  • IsraelLargest buyer of Israeli arms, 2021-25
  • JapanQuad partner, Takaichi visited in July 2026
  • United Arab EmiratesDefense partnership letter, January 2026

Rivals

  • PakistanFour days of fighting in May 2025
  • ChinaGalwan clash in 2020, border unresolved
  • TurkeyJoined Mecca defense pact, August 2026
Map of South Asia: India, its partners Bhutan and Sri Lanka, and its rivals Pakistan and China
  1. Pakistan-held Kashmir Held by Pakistan, claimed by India
  2. Aksai Chin Held by China, claimed by India as part of Ladakh
  3. Arunachal Pradesh Administered by India, most of it claimed by China
  • India
  • Partner
  • Rival

Who does India trade with?

India exported $441.78 billion of goods in FY2025-26 and imported $774.98 billion. The trade deficit was $333.2 billion. China overtook the United States as India's largest trading partner, with total trade of $151.1 billion and a record deficit of $112.16 billion. The United States took 19.8% of exports. Engineering goods were the largest export group. About a quarter of the world's iPhones were made in India in 2025. India imported 88.7% of its crude oil. Russia supplied about a third of crude imports in 2025 and about half in July 2026 as fighting disrupted the Strait of Hormuz. Indian goods pay a 10% US tariff under Section 301.

Sells to

Share of India's exports

  1. United States19.8%
  2. United Arab Emirates8.5%
  3. China4.4%
  4. Netherlands4.0%
  5. United Kingdom3.0%

Buys from

Share of India's imports

  1. China17.0%
  2. United Arab Emirates8.2%
  3. Russia7.1%
  4. United States6.8%
  5. Saudi Arabia4.0%

Goods trade, April 2025 to March 2026. Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

How strong is India's military?

SIPRI estimates India spent $92.1 billion on its military in 2025, the fifth most in the world. The IISS counts 1,500,700 active troops, the second most after China. The 2026-27 defense budget is about $85.5 billion. Pay and pensions take just under half. India has two aircraft carriers and ordered 26 Rafale-M naval jets from France in April 2025. In February 2026 the government gave initial approval for 114 more Rafales. In May 2025 India struck nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-held Kashmir after the Pahalgam attack. India admitted unspecified aircraft losses. Theater commands are still being planned.

Military spending, 2025

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  1. China est.$336bn
  2. India$92.1bn
  3. Japan$62.2bn
  4. South Korea$47.8bn
  5. Pakistan$11.9bn

SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, 2026 edition

How many nuclear weapons does India have?

The Federation of American Scientists estimates India has about 190 warheads at the start of 2026. Pakistan has about 170. India keeps nearly all of its warheads in central storage rather than on missiles. India first tested a nuclear device on May 18, 1974, and conducted further tests on May 11 and 13, 1998. It has never signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The government adopted a no-first-use doctrine on January 4, 2003. India tested the Agni-V missile with multiple warheads on March 11, 2024, and again on May 8, 2026. Two ballistic-missile submarines are in service: INS Arihant, commissioned in 2016, and INS Arighaat, commissioned in August 2024.

Nuclear warheads, 2026

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  1. China620
  2. France370
  3. United Kingdom225
  4. India190
  5. Pakistan170
  6. Israel90

Federation of American Scientists, Status of World Nuclear Forces, 2026

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