sia

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

People

Population: 138,123,359 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 41% (male 29,423,876; female 27,763,774)
15-64 years: 55% (male 38,533,918; female 36,804,592)
65 years and over: 4% (male 2,768,942; female 2,828,257) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.18% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 33.51 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 10.45 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/fema