Pakistan Geography Profile 2008

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

Map references

Asia

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

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

Land use

arable land: 24.44%
permanent crops: 0.84%
other: 74.72% (2005)

Irrigated land

182,300 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources

233.8 cu km (2003)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 169.39 cu km/yr (2%/2%/96%)
per capita: 1,072 cu m/yr (2000)

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; most 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