| 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
|
| 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
|
| 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
|
| 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:
27%
permanent crops:
1%
permanent pastures:
6%
forests and woodland:
5%
other:
61% (1993 est.)
|
| Irrigated land: |
171,100 sq km (1993 est.)
|
| 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 agreements: |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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, Nuclear Test Ban
|
| Geography - note: |
controls Khyber Pass and Bolan Pass, traditional invasion routes between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent
|
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