Location: | Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan | | Geographic coordinates: | 20 00 N, 77 00 E | | Map references: | Asia | | Area: | total: 3,287,590 sq km
land: 2,973,190 sq km
water: 314,400 sq km | | Area - comparative: | slightly more than one-third the size of the US | | Land boundaries: | total: 14,103 km
border countries: Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km | | Coastline: | 7,000 km | | Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm | | Climate: | varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north | | Terrain: | upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north | | Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m | | Natural resources: | coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land | | Land use: | arable land: 54.4%
permanent crops: 2.74%
other: 42.86% (2001) | | Irrigated land: | 590,000 sq km (1998 est.) | | Natural hazards: | droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes | | Environment - current issues: | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification; air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap water is not potable throughout the country; huge and growing population is overstraining natural resources | | Environment - international agreements: | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | | Geography - note: | dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes
Source: CIA World Factbook
|
|
|
