Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India and Iran

Geographic coordinates: 30 00 N, 70 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area:

total area: 803,940 sq km

land area: 778,720 sq km

comparative area: 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

continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: status of Kashmir with India; border dispute with Afghanistan (Durand Line); water-sharing problems over the Indus (Wular Barrage) with upstream riparian India

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

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: 23%

permanent crops: 0%

meadows and pastures: 6%

forest and woodland: 4%

other: 67% (1993)

Irrigated land: 170,000 sq km (1992)

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

natural hazards: frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy rains (July and August)

international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

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

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