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: contiguous zone: 24 NM
Continental Shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
Exclusive Economic Zone: 200 NM
Territorial Sea: 12 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: 56%
Permanent Crops: 1%
Permanent Pastures: 4%
Forests and Woodland: 23%
Other: 16% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 535,100 sq km (1995/96 est.)
Natural hazards: droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common;
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, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of
the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, 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