The Indian city of Delhi, the bustling multinational capital of this country, can shock an unaccustomed tourist. It is often referred to as New Delhi, although in fact only one of the city’s districts bears this name. However, New Delhi can be called one of the most decent areas of the capital. It is noticeably cleaner and quieter here, while the typical Indian flavor is more than enough here.
Facts about the city of Delhi
- Delhi has a population of 19 million, and these are just official statistics.
- The population density in Delhi exceeds 11 thousand people per square kilometer.
- Delhi has long been one of the top 5 most populous cities in the world. In all of India, this city is second only to Mumbai in terms of population, but fewer people live there (interesting facts about Mumbai).
- More than 60,000 monuments of history and culture are located in Delhi.
- According to Indian history, at one time this city managed to be the capital of seven different empires.
- It is not known for certain when the city of Delhi was founded. It is believed that this happened about 5000 years ago.
- The status of official languages in Delhi has four languages. In addition to Hindi and English common to the country, Urdu and Punjabi are also considered official languages here.
- In Delhi, rickshaw cabs are prohibited, which carry customers, harnessing themselves to the carriage.
- The environmental situation here leaves much to be desired. A huge amount of transport emits a lot of pollutants into the atmosphere, and a hat of smog often hangs over Delhi.
- Many tourists say that seeing the «real India» you can in the old districts of the city, where there are many bazaars, ancient temples and other things. And New Delhi is a quite respectable business center (interesting facts about India).
- Delhi’s Qutub Minar is the tallest brick minaret in the world.
- The record heat ever recorded in Delhi was +48.8 degrees. At the same time, only once did the thermometer here drop to -0.8 degrees, that is, slightly below zero.
- Delhi Square is about 660 times the area of the Principality of Monaco.
- According to the results of the latest census, almost 20% of the inhabitants of the Indian capital are not literate.
- There are many more men in Delhi than women, as many of them come here from all over India in search of work.
- There is a special «female taxi» in Delhi, in which women work- drivers serving only female customers.
- More than 80% of all Delhi are Hindus. Muslims in the city are about 10%, and all the rest are representatives of other religions, mainly Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism and Christianity.
- There are more than 20 spoken languages in Delhi, but English prevails in writing. True, few people speak it orally.
- Since India gained independence from Great Britain, the population of Delhi has increased more than 10 times.
- All over the world, the urban agglomeration of Delhi (that is, along with suburbs) is the third most populous, after Mumbai and Tokyo. Although Beijing ranks first in terms of the number of inhabitants within the city (interesting facts about Beijing).
- A variety of outfits mix on the Delhi streets, from barefoot hermits and ladies in national saris to office workers in suits and foreign tourists in shorts and flip flops.
- In December-January, the average daily temperature in Delhi usually drops to 8-9 degrees Celsius, so it’s not always hot here.
- When founded, this city was called Indraprastha.
- On the roads, large traffic jams often occur. Moreover, a brand new «Mercedes» and a horse-drawn cart.
- All the functions of the capital are concentrated in the New Delhi area.