Geography, environment and climate

Geography, environment and climate:

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: 796,095 sq km
land: 770,875 sq km
water: 25,220 sq km
country comparison to the world: 36

Area – comparative:
slightly more than five times the size of Georgia; slightly less than twice the size of California

Area comparison map:

Land boundaries:
total: 7,257 km
border countries (4): Afghanistan 2,670 km, China 438 km, India 3,190 km, Iran 959 km

Coastline:
1,046 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:
mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in north

Terrain:
divided into three major geographic areas: the northern highlands, the Indus River plain in the center and east, and the Balochistan Plateau in the south and west

Elevation:
mean elevation: 900 m
elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: K2 (Mt. Godwin-Austen) 8,611 m

Natural resources:
arable land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited petroleum, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone

Land use:
agricultural land: 35.2%
arable land 27.6%; permanent crops 1.1%; permanent pasture 6.5%
forest: 2.1%
other: 62.7% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land:
202,000 sq km (2012)

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 freshwater resources; most of the population does not have access to potable water; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification

Environment – international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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

Geography – note:
controls Khyber Pass and Bolan Pass, traditional invasion routes between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent