Flag of India

India Geography Profile

Home > Factbook > Countries > India

LocationSouthern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan
Geographic coordinates20 00 N, 77 00 E
Map referencesAsia
Areatotal: 3,287,263 sq km

land: 2,973,193 sq km

water: 314,070 sq km
Area - comparativeslightly more than one-third the size of the US
Land boundariestotal: 13,888 km

border countries (6): Bangladesh 4142 km, Bhutan 659 km, Burma 1468 km, China 2659 km, Nepal 1770 km, Pakistan 3190 km
Coastline7,000 km
Maritime claimsterritorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Climatevaries from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
Terrainupland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north
Elevation extremeshighest point: Kanchenjunga 8,586 m

lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 160 m
Natural resourcescoal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), antimony, iron ore, lead, manganese, mica, bauxite, rare earth elements, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land
Land useagricultural land: 60.5% (2018 est.)

arable land: 52.8% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 4.2% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 3.5% (2018 est.)

forest: 23.1% (2018 est.)

other: 16.4% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land667,000 sq km (2012)
Total renewable water resources1,910,900,000,000 cubic meters (2017 est.)
Natural hazards

droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes

volcanism: Barren Island (354 m) in the Andaman Sea has been active in recent years

Geography - notedominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal

Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021

Geography Comparison