Andaman & Nicobar Islands

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a chain of roughly 570 islands in the Bay of Bengal, of which only about 38 are inhabited. They sit some 1,200 km east of the mainland and closer to Myanmar and Indonesia than to India. The capital is Sri Vijaya Puram, renamed from Port Blair in 2023.

Tropical rainforest covers most of the chain, and the population is concentrated in a handful of towns. The economy runs on tourism, fisheries, coconut and areca cultivation, and government employment. The islands are a Union Territory administered directly by the Centre, with a small elected council.

Several indigenous groups live in the interior, including the Jarawa, Onge and Sentinelese; the Sentinelese remain uncontacted and North Sentinel Island is off limits by law. Barren Island, east of the main group, is India’s only active volcano. The islands are seismically active and were badly hit by the 2004 tsunami.