Delhi (; Hindi pronunciation: [ˈdɪlːiː] Dillī; Punjabi pronunciation: [ˈdɪlːiː] Dillī; Urdu pronunciation: [ˈdɛɦliː] Dêhlī), officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Located on the Yamuna river, Delhi is bordered by the state of Haryana on three sides and by Uttar Pradesh to the east. The NCT covers an area of 1,484 square kilometres (573 sq mi). According to the 2011 census, Delhi's city proper population was over 11 million, while the NCT's population was about 16.8 million. Delhi's urban agglomeration, which includes the satellite cities of Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurgaon and Noida in an area known as the National Capital Region (NCR), has an estimated population of over 28 million, making it the largest metropolitan area in India and the second-largest in the world (after Tokyo).The topography of the medieval fort Purana Qila on the banks of the river Yamuna matches the literary description of the citadel Indraprastha in the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata; however, excavations in the area have revealed no signs of an ancient built environment.  From the early 13th-century until the mid-19th century, Delhi was the capital of two major empires of North India, first of the Delhi sultanate and then of the Mughal Empire. All three UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the city, the Qutub Minar, Humayun's Tomb, and the Red Fort belong to this period. Delhi was the early centre of Sufism and Qawwali music.  The names of Nizamuddin Auliya and Amir Khusrau are prominently associated with it. The Khariboli dialect of Delhi was part of a linguistic development that gave rise to the literature of the Urdu language and then of Modern Standard Hindi. Major Urdu poets from Delhi are Mir Taqi Mir, and Mirza Ghalib. Delhi was a major centre of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. In 1911, New Delhi, a southern region within Delhi, became the capital of the British Indian Empire.  During the Partition of India in 1947, Delhi was transformed from a Mughal city to a Punjabi one, losing two-thirds of its Muslims residents, in part to the pressure brought to bear by arriving Hindu refugees from western Punjab. After independence in 1947, New Delhi continued as the capital of the Dominion of India, and after 1950 of the Republic of India.  
Delhi is the second-wealthiest city in India (after Mumbai), and is home to 18 billionaires and 23,000 millionaires. Delhi ranks fifth among the Indian states and union territories in human development index. Delhi has the second-highest GDP per capita in India (after Goa). Although a union territory, the political administration of the NCT of Delhi today more closely resembles that of a state of India, with its own legislature, high court and an executive council of ministers headed by a Chief Minister. New Delhi is jointly administered by the federal government of India and the local government of Delhi, and serves as the capital of the nation as well as the NCT of Delhi. Delhi is also the centre of the National Capital Region, which is a 'interstate regional planning' area created in  1985.
Delhi hosted the inaugural 1951 Asian Games, 1982 Asian Games, 1983 NAM Summit, 2010 Men's Hockey World Cup, 2010 Commonwealth Games, 2012 BRICS Summit and was one of the major host cities of the 2011 Cricket World Cup.




Delhi is located on the banks of Yamuna River, one of the major tributaries of Ganges. The river flows from Haryana through Delhi and then merges with Ghaghra River to form a delta in Allahabad. The area around Delhi was probably inhabited before the second millennium BC, when people settled in villages around fertile land near rivers.

Delhi City Map Poster

Design your own map of Delhi

About Delhi

Cities near Delhi