Data Review · No. 01
India by
the Numbers
Two decades of national indicators, compared across two consecutive ten-year periods.
This review sets out how a set of widely used national indicators moved between 2004 and 2024. Figures are grouped into two ten-year periods and reported without interpretation of cause. Where official series differ, the range is stated rather than a single preferred figure. Every exhibit carries its source and a confidence rating.
- Coverage
- 2004–2024
- Structure
- Two ten-year periods
- Scope
- National indicators
Plain-language summary
This is a like-for-like scoreboard, not an argument. It takes the numbers governments and international agencies already publish about India, splits the last twenty years into two ten-year halves, and shows what moved, what stalled and what the statisticians themselves still disagree about. Every chart carries a short plain-English line beneath its technical caption, so you can read the report at either level.
01 — GROWTH & PRICES
Growth
& Prices
Annual average growth of output and annual average consumer price inflation, for each ten-year window. Figures are computed as of annual values.
Plain-language summary
How fast the economy grew, and how fast prices rose, in each ten-year half. Growth was a little slower in the second half; price rises were clearly slower. The growth figure for the first half is the one statisticians still argue about.
GDP growth
% per year, period average
Decade 1
0.0
Decade 2
0.0
The economy kept growing quickly in both halves, slightly slower in the second.
Consumer price inflation
% per year, period average
Decade 1
0.0
Decade 2
0.0
Prices still rose every year, but roughly a third more slowly than before.
Year-by-year growth, with 2014 marked. Most years sit between 6% and 8%; the single deep dip is 2020.
World Bank · World Development Indicators (NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG; FP.CPI.TOTL.ZG)
Cross-country macroeconomic series, used here as an independent check against India's own reported national accounts.
Open source ↗Confidence
Contested / Unresolved
The period average for the earlier decade depends on whether the international series or the revised national is used.
Experts disagree on this number.
Published range
Both figures are published for the same measure; the value depends on which series is used.
Companion primary source
MoSPI · National Accounts Statistics
India's own primary-source output and sectoral series, including the revised base-year methodology.
Open source ↗Everyday prices rose about 8% a year in the first half and about 5% a year in the second.
Inflation, % per year (period average)
World Bank · World Development Indicators — consumer prices (FP.CPI.TOTL.ZG)
Annual consumer price inflation; period averages are unweighted means of annual values.
Open source ↗Confidence
Confirmed
Every available series shows a lower annual average rate of price increase in Decade 2.
Every source points the same way — this one is settled.
Note
GDP growth figures differ depending on which official data series is used. The calculation methodology changed in 2015, and different reconstructions of the earlier period produce different averages, ranging from 6.7% to 7.6% per year. Single-decimal comparisons should be treated with caution.
The unresolved figure
0.0–7.6%
One decade of national output growth has two published averages, nearly a full percentage point apart — the single widest unresolved gap in this review.
Two official ways of counting give two different growth figures for the same ten years. This report shows both rather than picking one.
Amber is used only for figures that are contested or unresolved. It appears nowhere else in this report.
02 — EMPLOYMENT
Employment
Reported unemployment, youth unemployment and female , each as a .
Plain-language summary
Joblessness edged down slightly between the two halves, youth joblessness stayed high and roughly unchanged, and fewer women were in or looking for paid work in the second half than the first.
Unemployment rate
% of labour force, period average
Decade 1
0.0
Decade 2
0.0
Slightly fewer job-seekers were without work, on this measure.
Youth unemployment
% of labour force aged 15–24, period average
Decade 1
0.0
Decade 2
0.0
Around one in five young job-seekers was without work in both halves.
Female labour force participation
% of female population aged 15+, period average
Decade 1
0.0
Decade 2
0.0
Declined through the middle of the period, then partly recovered.
Fewer women were in paid work or looking for it — the clearest reversal here.
Side by side: the two joblessness measures barely move, while women's participation drops.
Unemployment rate
Youth unemployment
Female labour force participation
World Bank / ILO modelled estimate · World Development Indicators (SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS; SL.UEM.1524.ZS; SL.TLF.CACT.FE.ZS)
Long-run modelled labour-market context; not substituted for national household-survey observations.
Open source ↗Companion primary source
MoSPI · Periodic Labour Force Survey
National household survey of employment from 2017 onward; not directly comparable with earlier modelled estimates.
Open source ↗Note
Two measurement approaches — an older and a newer national household survey — report unemployment differently. One shows a mid-single-digit rate; the other has shown movement between roughly 3% and 6%. The direction of the trend is more reliable than the exact level.
03 — HEALTH & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Health &
Human
Development
Three long-run measures of survival, shown as continuous series rather than period snapshots.
Plain-language summary
People are living longer, and far fewer babies and mothers are dying. This improvement runs steadily through both halves rather than belonging to either one.
Life expectancy
Years at birth, 2004 → 2014 → 2024
Decade 1
66.5 → 70.0
Decade 2
70.0 → 72.2
A baby born today can expect close to six more years of life than one born in 2004.
Infant mortality
Deaths per 1,000 live births
Decade 1
49.4 → 30.9
Decade 2
30.9 → 23.3
Infant deaths more than halved over the twenty years.
Maternal mortality
Deaths per 100,000 live births
Decade 1
216.8 → 113.4
Decade 2
113.4 → 80.0
Deaths in childbirth fell by roughly two-thirds since 2004.
A steady upward line: each year lived adds to average lifespan, with no visible break at 2014.
World Bank · World Development Indicators — survival series (SP.DYN.LE00.IN; SP.DYN.IMRT.IN; SH.STA.MMRT)
Compiled inter-agency survival estimates; values are modelled and revised periodically, so single-year readings are indicative.
Open source ↗Confidence
Long-run trend
Survival gains continue at a broadly similar pace across both periods.
A steady, decades-long trend rather than a one-decade shift.
A long, continuous decline — fewer babies die each year than the year before.
World Bank · World Development Indicators — survival series (SP.DYN.LE00.IN; SP.DYN.IMRT.IN; SH.STA.MMRT)
Compiled inter-agency survival estimates; values are modelled and revised periodically, so single-year readings are indicative.
Open source ↗The same downward path for mothers, falling fastest in the earlier years.
World Bank · World Development Indicators — survival series (SP.DYN.LE00.IN; SP.DYN.IMRT.IN; SH.STA.MMRT)
Compiled inter-agency survival estimates; values are modelled and revised periodically, so single-year readings are indicative.
Open source ↗Observation
These series improved at a broadly similar pace across both periods, consistent with a long-run national trend rather than a change confined to one ten-year window.
08 — TODAY'S WORKFORCE, IN STRUCTURE
Today's Workforce,
in Structure
A single-period portrait of how work is held, where it happens, what protections come with it, and what it pays. Figures here describe one survey period only — a reading; nothing in this section should be read as a Decade 1 versus Decade 2 movement.
Plain-language summary
A photograph of Indian work today rather than a comparison over time: most people work for themselves, farming is still the largest employer, secure jobs with full benefits are a minority, and typical pay is far below the average.
Nearly three in five workers work for themselves; only about one in five draws a regular salary or wage.
MoSPI / NSO · Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24
National household survey for a single period; a cross-sectional snapshot, not comparable with the decade averages used elsewhere in this review.
Open source ↗Farming still employs close to half of all workers, far more than manufacturing and construction combined.
MoSPI / NSO · Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24
National household survey for a single period; a cross-sectional snapshot, not comparable with the decade averages used elsewhere in this review.
Open source ↗About half of salaried workers get any one protection, but only a third get all three at once.
Written contract
0.0%
Paid leave eligible
0.0%
Social security eligible
0.0%
Has all three
0.0%
Roughly 11 to 19 points below any single benefit taken on its own.
MoSPI / NSO · Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24 — benefit eligibility
Regular salaried employees only, not all workers; the self-employed and casual workers are outside this base.
Open source ↗Observation
Each protection taken on its own is held by roughly two in five to one in two regular employees. Holding all three at once is markedly less common. The gap between any single benefit and the full set is the finding here, not the individual levels.
The middle salaried worker earns about ₹15,000 a month; the lowest-paid tenth earn ₹6,000 or less, the best-paid tenth ₹45,000 or more.
Regular salaried / wage workers · monthly earnings
P10
₹6,000
P25
₹9,500
Median
₹15,000
P75
₹25,000
P90
₹45,000
Reference point · self-employed
Median ₹10,600
A separate group on a separate measure of earnings, shown for orientation only — it is not a point on the strip above.
MoSPI / NSO · Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24
National household survey for a single period; a cross-sectional snapshot, not comparable with the decade averages used elsewhere in this review.
Open source ↗Two respected sources put joblessness at 3.2% and 4.2% for the same year — and their longer-run lines are shaped differently too.
MoSPI / NSO and World Bank · PLFS 2023-24 (usual status) and World Development Indicators (modelled ILO estimate)
Two separate series with different methodologies — the modelled international estimate is not the same series as the national household survey and is not a revision of it.
Open source ↗Confidence
Genuinely Unresolved
The two series differ in level and in shape: the sits near 7.6–7.7% for close to three decades before falling sharply from about 2019, a path the household survey does not trace. Neither is a correction of the other.
Two methods, two answers — neither is a correction of the other.
Published range
Both figures are published for the same measure; the value depends on which series is used.
Method note
The modelled international series and the national household survey are built on different definitions and different inputs. They are shown together to make the divergence visible, not to imply that one supersedes the other.
Compared with ten broadly similar economies, India has among the lowest shares of women in work, and is not the richest of the group either.
Callout
31.1%
India's female employment-to-population ratio — 10th of 11 in this comparator set. Comparator median: 47.7%.
About three in ten Indian women of working age are in work; across these comparator countries the typical figure is closer to five in ten.
Selected · plain reading
India's female employment-to-population ratio (31.1%) sits below the comparator median (47.7%) and above only Pakistan in this set.
Bubble area is population · 1441M · GDP per capita $10,100 (PPP)
Caution: comparator selection is for orientation, not a ranking system — omitted countries could shift India's relative position.
Across Indian states, higher per-capita income shows a weak negative with women's worker-population ratio — descriptive only, not causal.
Richer states do not automatically have more women in work — and nothing here says income causes that.
MoSPI / PIB and MoSPI / NSO · State-wise per-capita income, cross-referenced with PLFS 2023-24
Descriptive state-level association only; no causal inference is drawn and state series are compiled on differing bases.
Open source ↗World Bank · World Development Indicators — cross-country comparator set
GDP per capita (PPP), female employment-to-population ratio and population for a selected comparator set; selection is for orientation only.
Open source ↗04 — INDUSTRY STRUCTURE
Industry Structure
The composition of output: the accounted for by manufacturing, services and agriculture.
Plain-language summary
What the economy actually makes. Services dominate and stayed flat, farming's share held steady, and factories account for a smaller slice than twenty years ago.
Manufacturing share of GDP
% of GDP, 2004 → 2014 → 2024
Decade 1
16.4 → 14.4
Decade 2
14.4 → 13.1
Factories make up a smaller part of the economy than in 2004, not a larger one.
Services share of GDP
% of GDP, 2004 → 2014 → 2024
Decade 1
45.2 → 48.0
Decade 2
48.0 → 48.0
Services are almost half the economy and stopped growing as a share after 2014.
Agriculture share of GDP
% of GDP, 2004 → 2014 → 2024
Decade 1
17.1 → 17.1
Decade 2
17.1 → 17.6
Farming's share of output is essentially where it was twenty years ago.
The three slices side by side: services steady and large, farming steady, manufacturing shrinking.
Manufacturing, end of period
Services, end of period
Agriculture, end of period
World Bank · World Development Indicators — national accounts (NV.IND.MANF.ZS; NV.SRV.TOTL.ZS; NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS)
Sectoral shares of output on a common cross-country basis, cross-checked against nationally published accounts.
Open source ↗Confidence
Confirmed
The decline in manufacturing's share of output is agreed on direction by both the national accounts and the international series.
Every source points the same way — this one is settled.
Companion primary source
MoSPI · National Accounts Statistics
India's own primary-source output and sectoral series, including the revised base-year methodology.
Open source ↗Counter-trend
Manufacturing's share of output fell over the more recent period, despite a stated national objective of raising it. This is one indicator that moved in the opposite direction from the stated goal.
05 — EXTERNAL SECTOR & DIGITAL
External Sector & Digital
, the , and the spread of internet and mobile access.
Plain-language summary
India holds far more foreign currency than it did, owes the rest of the world a little less each year, and went from almost no internet users to about two-thirds of the population online.
Foreign exchange reserves
US$ billion, 2004 → 2014 → 2024
Decade 1
$246 → $474
Decade 2
$474 → $643
The national savings buffer for paying foreign bills is now about 2.6 times its 2004 size.
Current account balance
% of GDP, 2004 → 2014 → 2024
Decade 1
−2.2 → −1.1
Decade 2
−1.1 → −0.9
India still spends more abroad than it earns there, but the gap has narrowed.
Internet users
% of population, 2004 → 2014 → 2024
Decade 1
6.2 → 32.2
Decade 2
32.2 → 64.9
From about 6 people in 100 online to roughly 65 in 100 — the biggest change in this report.
Mobile subscriptions
Subscriptions per 100 people, 2004 → 2014 → 2024
Decade 1
38.5 → 81.0
Decade 2
81.0 → 79.4
Broadly flat in the second period as duplicate connections were consolidated.
Almost everyone who wants a mobile connection has one; the count stopped rising because duplicates were removed.
Internet use roughly doubled between 2014 and 2024, while mobile connections held flat.
Internet users, % of population
Mobile subscriptions per 100 people
Foreign exchange reserves, US$ billion ÷ 10
World Bank · World Development Indicators (FI.RES.TOTL.CD; BN.CAB.XOKA.GD.ZS; IT.NET.USER.ZS; IT.CEL.SETS.P2)
Reserve, external-balance and telecom access series; subscription counts include duplicate connections.
Open source ↗Observation
Internet adoption is the largest single movement in this dataset: from roughly 6 in 100 people in 2004 to about 65 in 100 by 2024. No other indicator here moves on that scale.
06 — EVIDENCE CATALOGUE
Evidence Catalogue
Every major figure cited in this review, with its source and confidence rating in one searchable table.
Plain-language summary
A full index of every number used above. Search a word or pick a topic, then click any source to see where the figure came from and what it does and does not cover.
33 of 33 entries shown. Hover or click a source to open its full citation.
| Indicator | Decade 1 / period value | Decade 2 / period value | Source | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
GDP growth 01 · % per year, period average | 6.8% | 6.0% | ?Contested / Unresolved | |
GDP growth, earlier period — published range 01 · % per year, period average | 6.7–7.6% | — | ?Contested / Unresolved | |
Consumer price inflation 01 · % per year, period average | 8.0% | 5.2% | Confirmed | |
Unemployment rate 02 · % of labour force, period average | 7.6% | 6.8% | Long-run trend | |
Youth unemployment 02 · % of labour force aged 15–24, period average | 22.6% | 22.8% | Long-run trend | |
Female labour force participation 02 · % of female population aged 15+, period average | 30.5% | 27.4% | Reversed from expectation | |
Employment type — self-employed 08 · % of all workers, 2023-24 | — | 58.4% | Confirmed | |
Employment type — regular salaried / wage 08 · % of all workers, 2023-24 | — | 21.8% | Confirmed | |
Employment type — casual labour 08 · % of all workers, 2023-24 | — | 19.9% | Confirmed | |
Workers in agriculture 08 · % of all workers, 2023-24 | — | 46.2% | Confirmed | |
Workers in services 08 · % of all workers, 2023-24 | — | 29.9% | Confirmed | |
Workers in construction 08 · % of all workers, 2023-24 | — | 12.0% | Confirmed | |
Workers in manufacturing 08 · % of all workers, 2023-24 | — | 11.2% | Confirmed | |
Workers in utilities 08 · % of all workers, 2023-24 | — | 0.5% | Confirmed | |
Workers in mining 08 · % of all workers, 2023-24 | — | 0.2% | Confirmed | |
Written contract 08 · % of regular employees, 2023-24 | — | 42.5% | Confirmed | |
Eligible for paid leave 08 · % of regular employees, 2023-24 | — | 52.7% | Confirmed | |
Eligible for social security 08 · % of regular employees, 2023-24 | — | 46.5% | Confirmed | |
Holds all three benefits 08 · % of regular employees, 2023-24 | — | 34.1% | Reversed from expectation | |
Median monthly earnings, regular workers 08 · ₹ per month, 2023-24 (P10 ₹6,000 – P90 ₹45,000) | — | ₹15,000 | Confirmed | |
Median monthly earnings, self-employed 08 · ₹ per month, 2023-24 | — | ₹10,600 | Confirmed | |
Unemployment rate — two measures 08 · % of labour force, 2023-24: survey vs modelled estimate | — | 3.2% · 4.2% | ?Genuinely Unresolved | |
Female employment-to-population ratio 08 · % of female population aged 15+; comparator median 47.7% | — | 31.1% | Reversed from expectation | |
Life expectancy at birth 03 · Years at birth, start → end of period | 66.5 → 70.0 | 70.0 → 72.2 | Long-run trend | |
Infant mortality 03 · Deaths per 1,000 live births | 49.4 → 30.9 | 30.9 → 23.3 | Long-run trend | |
Maternal mortality 03 · Deaths per 100,000 live births | 216.8 → 113.4 | 113.4 → 80.0 | Long-run trend | |
Manufacturing share of GDP 04 · % of GDP, start → end of period | 16.4 → 14.4 | 14.4 → 13.1 | Reversed from expectation | |
Services share of GDP 04 · % of GDP, start → end of period | 45.2 → 48.0 | 48.0 → 48.0 | Confirmed | |
Agriculture share of GDP 04 · % of GDP, start → end of period | 17.1 → 17.1 | 17.1 → 17.6 | Confirmed | |
Foreign exchange reserves 05 · US$ billion, start → end of period | $246 → $474 | $474 → $643 | Confirmed | |
Current account balance 05 · % of GDP, start → end of period | −2.2 → −1.1 | −1.1 → −0.9 | Confirmed | |
Internet users 05 · % of population, start → end of period | 6.2 → 32.2 | 32.2 → 64.9 | Confirmed | |
Mobile subscriptions 05 · Subscriptions per 100 people, start → end of period | 38.5 → 81.0 | 81.0 → 79.4 | Long-run trend |
07 — SOURCES & NOTES
Sources & Notes
Method of construction, the treatment of disputed figures, and the full reference list.
Plain-language summary
How this report was put together, why some numbers have more than one right answer, and the complete list of sources behind it.
Statistical agencies revise how they measure. Over twenty years the reference year used for price comparisons was changed, household surveys were redesigned, and new administrative data sources became available. Each revision improves the newer figures, but it also means the newer and older series are not always measuring on identical terms.
For some indicators there is therefore more than one defensible figure for the same year. This is a normal feature of long statistical records and is not evidence of omission.
Where figures are disputed, this review states the range rather than selecting one value. Where a trend holds across every available series, it is presented as settled. Period averages are simple of annual values, and figures are rounded for legibility. Unit labels state the basis of each figure; percentages are written with the per cent sign and no intervening space.
Where the official numbers disagree, this report shows the range instead of choosing a favourite; where they all agree, it says so plainly.
Reference list
- 1.
World Bank · World Development Indicators (NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG; FP.CPI.TOTL.ZG)
Cross-country macroeconomic series, used here as an independent check against India's own reported national accounts.
Open source ↗ - 2.
MoSPI · National Accounts Statistics
India's own primary-source output and sectoral series, including the revised base-year methodology.
Open source ↗ - 3.
MoSPI · Periodic Labour Force Survey
National household survey of employment from 2017 onward; not directly comparable with earlier modelled estimates.
Open source ↗ - 4.
World Bank / ILO modelled estimate · World Development Indicators (SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS; SL.UEM.1524.ZS; SL.TLF.CACT.FE.ZS)
Long-run modelled labour-market context; not substituted for national household-survey observations.
Open source ↗ - 5.
World Bank · World Development Indicators — survival series (SP.DYN.LE00.IN; SP.DYN.IMRT.IN; SH.STA.MMRT)
Compiled inter-agency survival estimates; values are modelled and revised periodically, so single-year readings are indicative.
Open source ↗ - 6.
World Bank · Data360 — India country economy profile
Country-level indicator portal used to locate and cross-check the India series cited in this review.
Open source ↗ - 7.
World Bank · World Development Indicators — indicator catalogue
Public indicator catalogue giving definitions, vintages and coverage notes for each series code cited here.
Open source ↗
Note
Some indicators improved steadily across both periods. Some remain genuinely disputed. This review reports both cases.
Figures drawn from published international and national statistical series covering 2004–2024. Periods are referred to only as Decade 1 (2004–2014) and Decade 2 (2014–2024).