Largest democracy

India is known as the “world’s largest democracy” and its current Prime Minister (the country’s 14th) is Dr. Manmohan Singh, who has held the position since 22 May 2004; a member of the ruling Congress Party, he is also the first Sikh to reach the post, and at 79, one of the oldest people today to head a government. With an estimated population of 1.2 billion – the world’s second largest after China – the electorate alone was estimated at 714 million for the 2009 national election – more than the combined electorates of the USA and EU. India has a bicameral Parliament (Sansad) with the Rajya Sabha (the upper house) made up of 245 seats and the Lok Sabha (the lower house translated as “People’s Assembly”) comprised of 545 seats. Dr. Singh holds degrees from both Cambridge and Oxford, earning his doctorate in Economics from Nuffield College, Oxford, in 1962. Prior to his becoming Prime Minister, he was governor of India’s Central Bank (Reserve Bank of India).