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: 796,095 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 770,875 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 25,220 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 36

Area - comparative:
slightly more than five times the size of Georgia; slightly less than twice the size of California
Area comparison map:

Land boundaries:
total: 7,257 km
border countries (4): Afghanistan 2,670 km, China 438 km, India 3,190 km, Iran 959 km
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]

Coastline:
1,046 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

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:
mean elevation:
[see also: Mean Elevation country ranks ]
elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: K2 (Mt. Godwin-Austen) 8,611 m

Natural resources:
arable land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited petroleum, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone

Land use:
agricultural land: 35.2% arable land 27.6%; permanent crops 1.1%; permanent pasture 6.5%
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
forest: 2.1%
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 62.7% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
199,900 sq km (2008)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Total renewable water resources:
246.8 cu km (2011)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 183.5 cu km/yr (5%/1%/94%)
per capita: 1,038 cu m/yr (2008)

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 freshwater 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