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
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
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: 48.83%
permanent crops: 2.8%
other: 48.37% (2005)
Irrigated land
558,080 sq km (2003)
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; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world,
lies on the border with Nepal
