India: country facts, travel advice and health

Buying a SIM involves ID checks, so visitors should use a network's own branded store, not a small reseller.Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Apps locals use

Uber: ride-hailing in cities, with pick-ups at every airport terminal.Ola: the local ride-hailing rival to Uber for car rides.Rapido: book motorbike and auto-rickshaw rides.112 India: the official emergency app, which can share your location with responders.IRCTC: an account is needed to book train tickets online.Swiggy: food delivery that reaches even small villages.Zomato: the other big food delivery service.WhatsApp: the standard way people message; SMS is mostly for codes.

Source: GOV.UK · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Cards or cash

Mostly cashMostly cards

Step 2 of 5: Cash is used for most payments; cards are accepted in some places.Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Money in India

Indian Rupee · ₹ · INR

Refuse billing in your home currency at ATMs and card terminals; the conversion almost never favours you.

Carry plenty of small notes, as stalls and small shops often can't break large ones.

Refuse torn or taped banknotes, as they may be hard to spend later.

Check your money before paying and confirm the change you get back.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Collect Indian Rupee in CointryOur sister app for coin and banknote collectors · cointry.appOpen

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Safety today

Germany, the US and the UK publish their travel advice openly. Here is what those that cover India say, side by side, checked daily.

German Foreign Office says

Travel warning for some regions

Calm

Caution ●

Serious

Don’t go

Some regions differ, see the official page.

Source: Auswärtiges Amt
Updated 14 Oct 2026 · Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

U.S. Department of State says

Exercise increased caution

Calm

Caution ●

Serious

Don’t go

Level 2 of 4

Source: travel.state.gov
Updated 15 Jun 2025 · Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

UK Foreign Office says

Advises against all travel to parts of the country

Some regions differ, see the official page.

Source: GOV.UK
Updated 7 Oct 2026 · Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

Scams to know

Station ticket and tour touts

Ignore station touts selling tickets or tours; buy from official counters.

Source: GOV.UK · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Drugged food or drinks

Refuse food and drink from strangers and never leave a glass unattended.

Source: GOV.UK · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Card skimming and online fraud

Shield your card at terminals and ATMs; report fraud to police and the cybercrime line.

Source: GOV.UK · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Fake embassy contacts

Verify any message said to be from a British mission via official channels first.

Source: GOV.UK · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Countrywise is a summary. The official page is authoritative.

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Health

Routine shots, hepatitis A and typhoid; more for some trips. Malaria in some regions, altitude risk in places.

Vaccinations

Be current on routine shots including measles (MMR); hepatitis A and typhoid are advised for most visitors, hepatitis B for the unvaccinated, and rabies, Japanese encephalitis, cholera or chikungunya for some trips. A yellow fever certificate is needed if arriving from a risk country.

Malaria

In some regions

Altitude

Altitude sickness is a danger in some parts of the country.

Talk to a travel clinic 4–8 weeks before you go.

Source: CDC
Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

Summarised from the CDC’s Travelers’ Health pages. Using them does not mean the CDC endorses Countrywise.

04Travel layer

In the app: the travel layer

The travel layer

Read a country like someone who’s been there.

What’s different from home, and what’s the lawMust-see places, free entry and World Heritage sites20 words to remember, with pronunciationStrange and surprising factsThe anthem and national symbolsSaved for offline use

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Must-see · 1Taj Mahal

Agra's white marble mausoleum, one of the new world wonders.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Strange & surprising · #1

Phones list India's time as Asia/Kolkata, but official time is based on Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

National anthem: Jana Gana Mana. The lyrics, translated, and the story are in the app. Source: Wikidata · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

45 World Heritage sites in India, each with a photo and its story, in the app. Source: UNESCO World Heritage List

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Deep facts

Economy
GDP	≈ $4 trillionSource: World Bank · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Per person	≈ $2,702Source: World Bank · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Top exports	refined petroleum, packaged medicine, diamonds, broadcasting equipment, garments (2023)Source: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Population
Population	1.5 billionSource: World Bank · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Median age	30.1 yearsSource: The World Factbook (archive) · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Life expectancy	68.2 yearsSource: The World Factbook (archive) · 2024 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Religions	Hindu 79.8%, Muslim 14.2%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.7%, other and unspecified 2% (2011 est.)Source: The World Factbook (archive) · 2011 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Geography
Area	3,287,263 km²Source: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Climate	varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in northSource: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Terrain	upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in northSource: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Government
Type of government	federal parliamentary republicSource: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Calling code	+91Source: libphonenumber · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

About the data

Written from the sources we link, and checked against them before each release. Countrywise summarises public sources. We are not an official source. For safety and entry rules, always follow the official page we link to.

From your foreign ministry when it publishes its advice openly (Germany, the US, the UK). Otherwise we show those three side by side. Checked daily, with the date next to every entry.

CDC · 24 Oct 2026 ↗GOV.UK · 24 Oct 2026 ↗IANA Time Zone Database · 23 Oct 2026 ↗libphonenumber · 24 Oct 2026 ↗The World Factbook (archive) · 23 Oct 2026 ↗U.S. Department of State · 24 Oct 2026 ↗Unicode CLDR · 24 Oct 2026 ↗Wikidata · 24 Oct 2026 ↗Wikivoyage · 24 Oct 2026 ↗World Bank · 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Flag artwork from flag-icons (MIT licence).