Geography

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

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: 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: 24.44%
Permanent crops: 0.84%
Other: 74.72% (2005)

Irrigated land: 182,300 sq km (2003)

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 AGREEMENT

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