Additional Graphs
India's economy has grown considerably since 1960. The previous page illustrated growth by region. However, it left unanswered how rich each region was initially and how the relative economic rankings of regions have shifted over time. The below displays real per capita net state domestic product (NSDP) by region for 1960, 1991, and 2023. In short, the western and northern parts of India were originally relatively rich and remain so today, the heartland of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar was relatively poor in 1960 and remains so today, and southern India was average until the early 1990s but has since become the richest region in India. It's important to note for context that this only refers to GDP per person and does not consider vital issues like inequality, health, education, and public services.
1960
The West was originally India's richest region, closely followed by the North and the East. However, India's richest region was only 1.6x richer than its poorest region — a gap that could hold outsized significance as incomes were very low then, but also a gap that is low compared to regional inequality today.
1991
From 1960 to 1991, the North grew significantly faster than the rest of the country and became the richest region nationwide. The East, by contrast, grew slowly and fell below the national average. Regional inequality grew — the richest region was now 2.5x richer than the poorest.
2023
Over the last three decades, economic growth in South India surged, while growth in the North Central region lagged. As a result, the South, North, and West are now all about equally rich. The South Central and East are about equal and North Central remains relatively poor. Regional inequality has continued to rise, with the South 3.4x as rich as North Central India.