|
Location:
|
Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India on the east and Iran and Afghanistan on the west and China in the north
|
|
Geographic coordinates:
|
30 00 N, 70 00 E
|
|
Map references:
|
Asia
|
|
Area:
|
total: 803,940 sq km
land: 778,720 sq km
water: 25,220 sq km
|
|
Area - comparative:
|
slightly less than twice the size of California
|
|
Land boundaries:
|
total: 6,774 km
border countries: Afghanistan 2,430 km, China 523 km, India 2,912 km, Iran 909 km
|
|
Coastline:
|
1,046 km
|
|
Maritime claims:
|
contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
|
|
Climate:
|
mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in north
|
|
Terrain:
|
flat Indus plain in east; mountains in north and northwest; Balochistan plateau in west
|
|
Elevation extremes:
|
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: K2 (Mt. Godwin-Austen) 8,611 m
|
|
Natural resources:
|
land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited petroleum, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone
|
|
Land use:
|
arable land: 27.81%
permanent crops: 0.79%
other: 71.4% (1998 est.)
|
|
Irrigated land:
|
180,000 sq km (1998 est.)
|
|
Natural hazards:
|
frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy rains (July and August)
|
|
Environment - current issues:
|
water pollution from raw sewage, industrial wastes, and agricultural runoff; limited natural fresh water resources; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification
|
|
Environment - international agreements:
|
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban
|
|
Geography - note:
|
controls Khyber Pass and Bolan Pass, traditional invasion routes between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent
|
