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
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

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: 27%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 6%
forests and woodland: 5%
other: 61% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land 171,100 sq km (1993 est.)

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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, 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

NOTE: The information regarding Pakistan on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Pakistan Geography 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Pakistan Geography 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.