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.)