Location: Southern Asia, between  Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Burma , bordered by the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean.

Map references: Asia

Area:
Total area: 3,287,590 sq.km.
Land area: 2,973,190 sq.km.
Comparative area: slightly more than one-third the size of the US

Latitude: Between 8'4' and 37'6' north

Longitude: Between 68'7 and 97'6 east

Land Frontier: 15200 Km

Highest Mountain Range : Himalayas (altitude more than 7500m)

Highest Mountain Peak : K2 (8611m above sea level)

Largest River Basin: Ganga-Brahmaptra Basin

Longest River : Brahmaputra 2990 Km (Ganga 2510 Km)

Land Boundaries: Total 14,103 km; Bangladesh 4,053 km; Bhutan 605 km; Burma 1,463 km; China 3,380 km; Nepal 1,690 km; Pakistan 2,912 km

Coastline: 7,516.5 Km (Including Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar islands)

Marine Time 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: boundaries with Bangladesh and China, status of Kashmir with Pakistan, water-sharing problems with Bangladesh over the Ganges and Pakistan over the Indus

Climate: varies from tropical monsoon in the south to extremes in temperature in the north

Terrain: Himalayas in the north, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in the west, the Deccan Plateau in the south

Natural Resources: coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromium, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone

Land Use: cultivable land: 55%
Permanent Crops: 1%
Meadows and Pastures: 4%
Forest Area: 23%
Others: 17%

Irrigated Land: 430,390 sq.km. (1989)

Environment & Current Issues: Deforestation, soil erosion, over-grazing, desertification, air-pollution caused by industrial effluents and vehicle emissions, water pollution due to seepage of sewage and agricultural pesticides, tap water is not available throughout the country, huge and rapidly growing population is overstraining the natural resources.

Natural Hazards: Droughts, floods, cyclones, thunderstorms, earthquakes. International agreements: party to -- Antarctic Treaty, Nuclear Test Ban, Bio-diversity, Environmental Issues - climate change, endangered species, ozone layer protection, hazardous wastes, ship pollution, tropical timber, wetlands , signed, but not ratified - Antarctic Environmental Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea.