Part 341

Map ---

Location: 20 00 N, 77 00 E -- Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan

Flag ----

Description: three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and green with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Niger, which has a small orange disk centered in the white band

Geography ---------

Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan

Geographic coordinates: 20 00 N, 77 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area: total area: 3,287,590 sq km land area: 2,973,190 sq km comparative area: slightly more than one-third the size of the US

Land boundaries: total: 14,103 km border countries: Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km

Coastline: 7,000 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

International disputes: boundaries with Bangladesh and China in dispute; status of Kashmir with Pakistan; water-sharing problems with downstream riparians, Bangladesh over the Ganges and Pakistan over the Indus (Wular Barrage)

Climate: varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north

Terrain: upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m

Natural resources: coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone

Land use: arable land: 55% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 4% forest and woodland: 23% other: 17%

Irrigated land: 430,390 sq km (1989)

Environment: current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification; air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap water is not potable throughout the country; huge and rapidly growing population is overstraining natural resources natural hazards: droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; earthquakes international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification

Geographic note: dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes

People ------

Population: 952,107,694 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 34% (male 168,030,766; female 159,283,151) 15-64 years: 62% (male 304,805,787; female 281,311,834) 65 years and over: 4% (male 19,148,385; female 19,527,771) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.64% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 25.94 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 9.61 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female all ages: 1.07 male(s)/female (1996 est.)