| Geography |
India |
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) |
Total renewable water resources: |
1,907.8 cu km (1999) |
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): |
total: 645.84 cu km/yr (8%/5%/86%)
per capita: 585 cu m/yr (2000) |
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 |
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