Pakistan Geography - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

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

land: 770,875 sq km

water: 25,220 sq km

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 2670 km, China 438 km, India 3190 km, Iran 959 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

divided into three major geographic areas: the northern highlands, the Indus River plain in the center and east, and the Balochistan Plateau in the south and west

Elevation

highest point: K2 (Mt. Godwin-Austen) 8,611 m

lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m

mean elevation: 900 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% (2018 est.)

arable land: 27.6% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1.1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 6.5% (2018 est.)

forest: 2.1% (2018 est.)

other: 62.7% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

202,000 sq km (2012)

Total renewable water resources

246.8 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Population distribution

the Indus River and its tributaries attract most of the settlement, with Punjab province the most densely populated

Natural hazards

frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy rains (July and August)

Environment - international agreements

party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, 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 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Pakistan 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Pakistan 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.