Economic history of the Indian subcontinent

Created by ZitaKight7091
Last edited February 24, 2026

This is the Economic history of the Indian subcontinent. It includes the economic timeline of the region, from the ancient era to the present, and briefly summarizes the data presented in the Economic history of India and List of regions by past GDP (PPP) articles.

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Antiquity

  • 500 BC
    • Silver punch-marked coins[1] were minted as currency belonging to a period of intensive trade activity and urban development by the Mahajanapadas.[2][3]
  • 4th century AD
    • Indian subcontinent under the Gupta Empire united much of the subcontinent, contained 33.21% of the world’s population, contributed to around 33 to 35% of world's GDP,[3] and generated an estimated average of $450 (1990 dollars) PPP per annum.

Middle Ages

  • 1000
    • Indian subcontinent (led by the Chola, Western Chalukya and Pala empires) contained an estimated 28.05% of the world's population, and contributed to around 30 to 33% of world's GDP.[4] Individually generated an estimated average of $450 (1990 dollars) PPP per annum, and collectively produced $33,750 million.[4]
  • 1500

Mughal era

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Maddison's estimates of global GDP,[6] China and India being the most powerful until the 18th century. Bengal Subah was valued 50% of Mughal India's GDP.

Colonial period

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East India Company

  • 1850
    • The gross domestic product of India in 1850 dropped to 5–10% and was estimated at about 40 per cent that of China. British cotton exports reach 30 per cent of the Indian market by 1850.[17]

British Raj

  • 1868
  • 1870
  • 1900
    • Under the British Empire, India's share of manufacturing declined to 2% of global industrial output.[12]
  • 1913
    • India's economy had a 5.4% share of world income under the British Empire.[18]
  • 1930
    • Indian subcontinent contained an estimated 336.4 of the world's 2,070 million people (16.25%), and who individually generated an estimated average of $726 (1990 dollars) per annum, and collectively produced $244,097 million, of the world's $3,800,000 million (6.42%).
  • 1943

Post-Independence period

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Just after Independence

  • 1952
    • India's economy had a 3.8% share of world income.[18]
  • 1973
    • India's economy was $494.8 billion, which accounted for a 3.1% share of world income.[18]

1980–1991

Economically closed.

1991–present

See also

References

  1. Nupam Mahajan and R. Balasubramaniam, "Scanning electron microscopy study of an ancient silver punch-marked coin with central pentagonal mark", Numismatic Digest v. 22.
  2. "Ancient Indian Coinage" Template:Webarchive, RBI Monetary Museum rbi.org
  3. 3.0 3.1 The World Economy: Historical Statistics, Angus Maddison
  4. 4.0 4.1 Angus Maddison (2001). The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective, OECD, Paris
  5. 5.0 5.1 Angus Maddison (2003). The World Economy: Historical Statistics, OECD, Paris
  6. Template:Harvnb, Table A.7
  7. Developing cultures: case studies{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Routledge(2006). ISBN 9780415952798
  8. Bowen, H. V. Business of Empire: The East India Company and Imperial Britain, 1756–1833 (2006), 304pp
  9. 9.0 9.1 The Seventeen Emperors of the Ming Dynasty{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. 光明日报出版社(2006). ISBN 978-7-80206-237-5
  10. 10.0 10.1 [{{{url}}} Why Europe Grew Rich and Asia Did Not: Global Economic Divergence, 1600–1850]. Cambridge University Press.
  11. The European Union and Global Social Change{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Routledge(2009-09-10). ISBN 9781135255800
  12. 12.0 12.1 India's Deindustrialization in the 18th and 19th Centuries. Harvard University(August 2005).
  13. Kumar, Dharma and Meghnad Desai, eds. The Cambridge Economic History of India: Volume 2, c.1751-c.1970 (1983).
  14. Om Prakash, "Empire, Mughal", History of World Trade Since 1450, edited by John J. McCusker, vol. 1, Macmillan Reference USA, 2006, pp. 237–240, World History in Context. Retrieved 3 August 2017
  15. India, Modernity and the Great Divergence: Mysore and Gujarat (17th to 19th C.){{#if:Yazdani|, Yazdani}. BRILL(10 January 2017). ISBN 978-90-04-33079-5
  16. Template:Cite conference
  17. Historical Prices and Wages Dataset. www.iisg.nl(20 April 2023). Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 The World Economy A Millennial Perspective{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. OECD Publishing(12 Jun 2001). ISBN 9789264186545
  19. Timeline: India. BBC News(2011-02-22). Retrieved 2011-03-06.
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 World Economic Outlook Database April 2017. www.imf.org. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
  21. 21.0 21.1 GDP, PPP (current international $) | Data. data.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
  22. The Indian Economy In The Next Decade.
  23. 23.0 23.1 India and the IMF. IMF. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
  24. Report for Selected Countries and Subjects.
  25. Report for Selected Countries and Subjects. www.imf.org. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
  26. International Monetary Fund(1 April 2021).
  27. India: Share of global gross domestic product (GDP) adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) from 2016 to 2026(1 April 2021).

Further reading