Total area: 3,287,590 km2
land area: 2,973,190 km2

Comparative area: slightly more than one-third the size of the US

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

Coastline: 7,000 km

Maritime claims: Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: boundaries with Bangladesh, China, and Pakistan; water sharing problems with downstream riparians, Bangladesh over the Ganges and Pakistan over the Indus

Climate: varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north

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

Natural resources: coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, crude oil, limestone

Land use: arable land 55%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 4%; forest and woodland 23%; other 17%; includes irrigated 13%

Environment: droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; air and water pollution; desertification

Note: dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes

NOTE: The information regarding India on this page is re-published from the 1991 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of India Geography 1991 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about India Geography 1991 should be addressed to the CIA.