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| 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 | | | Zone | Asia | | | Area | total: 803,940 sq km
land: 778,720 sq km
water: 25,220 sq km | | | 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 | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin | | | 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 | | | Irrigated land | 1,046 km | | | 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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 | | | Geography - note | controls Khyber Pass and Bolan Pass, traditional invasion routes between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent | |
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