World Factbook
India
Republic of India (English)/ Bharatiya Ganarajya (Hindi)
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
2,973,193 sq km
water
314,070 sq km
total
3,287,263 sq km
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
Land use
other
15.5% (2023 est.)
forest
24.4% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
60.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 51.8% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 4.9% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 3.4% (2023 est.)
Location
Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan
Coastline
7,000 km
Elevation
lowest point
Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point
Kanchenjunga 8,586 m
mean elevation
160 m
Irrigated land
754,562 sq km (2022)
Major aquifers
Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin
Map references
Asia
Land boundaries
total
13,888 km
border countries
Bangladesh 4,142 km; Bhutan 659 km; Burma 1,468 km; China 2,659 km; Nepal 1,770 km; Pakistan 3,190 km
Maritime claims
contiguous zone
24 nm
territorial sea
12 nm
continental shelf
200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone
200 nm
Natural hazards
droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes volcanism: Barren Island (354 m) in the Andaman Sea has been active in recent years
Geography - note
dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal
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
Area - comparative
slightly more than one-third the size of the US
Geographic coordinates
20 00 N, 77 00 E
Population distribution
a very high population density exists throughout most of the country, with the notable exception of the deserts in the northwest and the mountain fringe in the north; the core of the population is in the north along the banks of the Ganges, with other river valleys and southern coastal areas also having large population concentrations
Major lakes (area sq km)
salt water lake(s)
Chilika Lake - 1,170 sq km
Major watersheds (area sq km)
Indian Ocean drainage
Brahmaputra (651,335 sq km), Ganges (1,016,124 sq km), Indus (1,081,718 sq km), Irrawaddy (413,710 sq km)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Brahmaputra (shared with China [s] and Bangladesh [m]) - 3,969 km; Indus (shared with China [s] and Pakistan [m]) - 3,610 km; Ganges river source (shared with Bangladesh [m]) - 2,704 km; Godavari - 1,465 km; Sutlej (shared with China [s] and Pakistan [m]) - 1,372 km; Yamuna - 1,370 km; Narmada - 1,289 km; Chenab river source (shared with Pakistan [m]) - 1,086 km ; Ghaghara river mouth (shared with China [s] and Nepal) - 1,080 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth