Explanation:

Location

Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of BENGAL, between Burma and Pakistan

Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam

Geographic coordinates

20 00 N, 77 00 E

35 00 N, 105 00 E

Map references

Asia

Asia

Area

total: 3,287,263 sq km

land: 2,973,193 sq km

water: 314,070 sq km

total: 9,596,960 sq km

land: 9,326,410 sq km

water: 270,550 sq km

Area - COMPARATIVE

slightly more than one-third the size of the US

slightly smaller than the US

Land boundaries

total: 13,888 km

border countries (6): Bangladesh 4142 km, Bhutan 659 km, Burma 1468 km, China 2659 km, Nepal 1770 km, Pakistan 3190 km

total: 22,457 km

border countries (15): Afghanistan 91 km, Bhutan 477 km, Burma 2129 km, India 2659 km, Kazakhstan 1765 km, North Korea 1352 km, Kyrgyzstan 1063 km, LAOS 475 km, Mongolia 4630 km, Nepal 1389 km, Pakistan 438 km, Russia (northeast) 4133 km, Russia (northwest) 46 km, Tajikistan 477 km, Vietnam 1297 km

Coastline

7,000 km

14,500 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

territorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate

varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north

extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north

Terrain

upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north

mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east

Elevation extremes

MEAN elevation: 160 m

lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m

highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,586 m

mean elevation: 1,840 m

lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m

highest point: Mount Everest (highest peak in Asia and highest point on earth above sea level) 8,848 m

Natural resources

coal (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

coal, iron ore, helium, petroleum, natural gas, arsenic, bismuth, cobalt, cadmium, ferrosilicon, gallium, germanium, hafnium, indium, lithium, mercury, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, tungsten, antimony, manganese,

all compared