Nagaland (the land of the Nagas) lies between 93.20 degree to 95.15
degree East longitude and 25.60 degree to 26.40 degree North latitude
in the extreme northeastern end of India. It is bounded by Myanmar
in the East, Assam in the West, Arunachal Pradesh and a part of Assam
in the North and Manipur in the South. Nagaland encompasses a total
area of 16579 sq. km. comprising 6.32 per cent of the whole of North
East and 0.5 per cent of the total area of India. Nagaland became
the 16th State of the Indian union on December 1, 1963.
The people of Nagaland though commonly known as the Nagas, actually
comprise 16 odd tribes and many more sub-tribes belonging to the mongoloid
stock. According to Census 2001, Nagaland has a total population of
1,988,636 and a density of 120 persons per sq km. It constitutes 0.19
per cent of the total population of India and 5.09 per cent of the
entire North East.
The economy of the State is predominantly based on agriculture. 68.03
percent of the working population pursue agriculture and other allied
activities as their chief means of livelihood. The per capita income
of the State is Rs 13,052 for the year 1997-98. Nagaland ranks 11th
in the human resource development index and 22nd in the poverty index
in India. The rate of literacy of the State with 67.11 per cent is
higher than the national average of 65.20 per cent.
More than 358138.7 hectares of the total land area of the State is
under forests. Nagaland is rich with regard to its mineral wealth.
But due to lack of modern industries, proper utilization of these
resources have been restricted.
