Location: India is located in Southern Asia,
bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between two countries
Burma and Pakistan
Geographic coordinates: 200 N Latitude and 770
E Longitude
Map reference: Asia
Total Area: 3,287,590 sq km
Land: 2,973,190 sq km
Water bodies spread: 314,400 sq km
Area - comparative: India's territorial area is slightly more
than one-third of the size of the US
Land boundaries: 14,103 km
Border Countries: Bhutan 605 km; Burma 1,463 km; China 3,380 km;
Nepal 1,690 km; Pakistan 2,912 km; Bangladesh 4,053 km
Coastline: 7,000 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 Nautical Mile (NM)
Continental Shelf: 200 Nautical Mile (NM) or to the edge of the
continental margin
Exclusive Economic Zone: 200 Nautical Mile (NM)
Territorial Sea: 12 Nautical Mile (NM)
Climate: varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate
climate in the north
Terrain: Himalayas in north, upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in
south, deserts in west, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges
Elevation extremes:
Lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
Highest Point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m
Natural resources: iron ore, mica, bauxite, titanium ore,
chromites, diamonds, petroleum, arable land, coal (fourth-largest
reserves in the world), manganese, natural gas, limestone
Land use: 56% of arable land
Permanent Crops: 1%
Permanent Pastures: 4% cover
Forests and Woodland: 23% cover
Other: 16% (1993 estimate)
Irrigated land: 535,100 sq km (1995/96 estimate)
Natural hazards: flash floods, severe thunderstorms are common;
earthquakes, tsunami, droughts
Environment - current issues: soil erosion; overgrazing;
desertification; deforestation; water pollution from raw sewage and
runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap water is not available throughout
the country; air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle
emissions; huge and rising population is overstraining natural resources
leaving no resource bank for the future generations.
Environment - international agreements party to: Antarctic
Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands, Whaling, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Law of the Sea,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection.
