Country Profile- India
India is described by many visitors as overwhelming and
is the world's most populated democracy. Rich in history, the Indus Valley
civilisation dates back 2,500 years before Christ. It is home to an extraordinary
array of wildlife, geographical features and ancient buildings perhaps
the most famous of which is the Taj Mahal. Despite having a number of
huge cities with populations in excess of 5 million people, India is still
rural. Three quarters of all people live in country regions and agriculture
employs more than half of the workforce. With 330 million gods and goddesses
to worship, India always seems to be celebrating some sort of festival.
Although India boasts tremendous wealth and some modern
cities, this exists side-by-side with incredible poverty.
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Facts and Stats according to UNICEF 2001.
The average person is approximately 24 years old.
93 babies & children per 1000 under the age of 5 die.
Life expectancy at birth is 64 years.
Women have an average of 3.1 children each.
44% of the population live on less than $1.00 per day.
Facts and Stats according to The World Fact Book
81.3% of the population is Hindu, 12% is Islamic,
2.3% are Christians.
48.3% of women over 15 years of age can read and write compared
to 70.2% of men.
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Asian Aid's India Program.
Asian Aid began work in this region in the late 1970's
after the fall of Vietnam to communism and the collapse of our program
there. In the year ending March 2003 approximately 80% of all Asian
Aid funds were disbursed to India representing donations of $1,590,349.00.
Today Asian Aid supports over 5,000 children
and young adults in almost 70 SDA schools or institutions.
We fully fund the Kollegal Deaf school, two blind schools, two orphanages
and about one dozen village schools.
We currently assist 1,600 destitute people through our Hungry Money
program ensuring that they receive at least one meal per day.
Asian Aid is also responsible for a health clinic, is involved in
provision of potable drinking water and assists with the physical
infrastructure needs of schools.
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View a map of India (PDF format)
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