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
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
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%
permanent crops: 3%
other: 43% (1998 est.)

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, 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

NOTE: The information regarding India on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of India Geography 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about India Geography 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.