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Location:
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Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan
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Geographic coordinates:
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20 00 N, 77 00 E
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Map references:
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asia
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Area:
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total: 3,287,590 sq km
land: 2,973,190 sq km
water: 314,400 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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slightly more than one-third the size of the US
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Land boundaries:
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total: 14,103 km
border countries: Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km
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Coastline:
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7,000 km
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
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Climate:
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varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
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Terrain:
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upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m
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Natural resources:
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coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land
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Land use:
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arable land: 54.4%
permanent crops: 2.74%
other: 42.86% (2001)
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Irrigated land:
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590,000 sq km (1998 est.)
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Natural hazards:
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droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes
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Environment - current issues:
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deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification; air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap water is not potable throughout the country; huge and growing population is overstraining natural resources
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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Geography - note:
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dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes
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