GEOGRAPHY
Area:
3.3 million sq. km. (1.3 million sq. mi.); about one-third the
size of the U.S.
Cities:
Capital--New Delhi (pop. 11 million). Other major cities--Mumbai,
formerly Bombay (15 million); Calcutta (12 million); Chennai,
formerly Madras (6 million); Bangalore (5 million); Hyderabad
(5 million); Ahmedabad (3.7 million).
Terrain:
Varies from Himalayas to flat river valleys.
Climate:
Temperate to subtropical monsoon.
Elevation
extremes:
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, arable land
Land
use:
arable land: 56%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 4%
forests and woodland: 23%
other: 16% (1993 est.)
Irrigated
land: 535,100 sq km (1995/96 est.)
Natural
hazards: droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms
common; earthquakes
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 growing
population is overstraining natural resources
Environment
- international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography
- note: dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important
Indian Ocean trade routes
