BharatNotes
Static GK
India — Geographical Facts
Geographical extremes, area and dimensions, land neighbours, longest rivers, highest peaks, and state rankings for UPSC Prelims.
📋 India at a Glance
Total Area
32,87,263 sq km
7th largest country in the world
North–South Extent (mainland)
~3,214 km
8°4'N to 37°6'N latitude
East–West Extent (mainland)
~2,933 km
68°7'E to 97°25'E longitude
Land Borders
~15,200 km
Shared with 7 countries
Coastline (total) — Revised 2025
11,098.81 km
Officially revised by MoPSW circular, 29 April 2025. Old figure: 7,516.6 km (still in older textbooks).
Mainland Coastline (revised)
~7,870 km
Excl. A&N Islands (3,083.50 km) and Lakshadweep (144.80 km). Gujarat alone: 2,340.62 km — longest state coastline.
Population (2024 estimate)
~1.44 billion
World's most populous country — overtook China in 2023 (UN estimate). Census 2011: 1.21 billion.
Standard Time
IST = UTC +5:30
82.5°E meridian passes through Mirzapur, UP. No daylight saving time.
Time difference with Greenwich
+5 hours 30 minutes
Single time zone for entire country
🧭 Geographical Extremes
Common exam trap: Kanyakumari is the southernmost tip of the mainland. Indira Point (Great Nicobar Island) is the southernmost point of India's territory. Do not confuse the two.
| Direction | Extreme Point | Location | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northernmost (mainland) | Indira Col (also referred to as Siachen area) | Ladakh (Siachen Glacier area) | ~37°6'N |
| Southernmost (mainland) | Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari) | Tamil Nadu | ~8°4'N |
| Southernmost (India overall) | Indira Point | Great Nicobar Island, Andaman & Nicobar | ~6°45'N |
| Easternmost | Kibithu | Anjaw district, Arunachal Pradesh | ~97°25'E |
| Westernmost | Sir Creek / Ghuar Mota | Kutch district, Gujarat | ~68°7'E |
🌐 Land & Maritime Neighbours
| Country | Direction | Border Length | States Sharing Border |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | East | ~4,156 km (longest) | West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram |
| China | North / North-East | ~3,488 km | J&K (Ladakh), Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh |
| Pakistan | West / North-West | ~3,323 km | J&K (Ladakh), Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat |
| Nepal | North | ~1,751 km | Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim |
| Myanmar | East | ~1,643 km | Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram |
| Bhutan | North-East | ~699 km | Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh |
| Afghanistan | North-West | ~106 km (PoK border) | J&K (Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir — claimed by India) |
Maritime neighbours: Sri Lanka (separated by Palk Strait — ~30 km at narrowest) and Maldives (across Laccadive Sea, south of Lakshadweep).
🌊 Major Rivers of India
| # | River | Origin | Drains Into | Length (km) | Key Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ganga | Gangotri Glacier, Uttarakhand | Bay of Bengal | ~2,525 (in India) | National River of India. Ganga Action Plan, 1986. Namami Gange Mission. |
| 2 | Godavari | Trimbak, Nashik (Maharashtra) | Bay of Bengal | ~1,465 | Longest river of peninsular India. "Vridha Ganga" or "Dakshina Ganga". |
| 3 | Krishna | Western Ghats, Mahabaleshwar | Bay of Bengal | ~1,400 | Second-longest river of peninsular India. Nagarjuna Sagar dam is on it. |
| 4 | Yamuna | Yamunotri Glacier, Uttarakhand | Ganga (at Prayagraj) | ~1,376 | Largest tributary of Ganga. Prayagraj (Triveni Sangam): Ganga + Yamuna + Saraswati. |
| 5 | Narmada | Amarkantak, MP | Arabian Sea | ~1,312 | Flows west — unusual for a peninsular river. Natural boundary between North and South India. |
| 6 | Indus | Tibetan Plateau (near Lake Mansarovar) | Arabian Sea (via Pakistan) | ~3,180 (total); ~1,114 in India | Longest river of the subcontinent (total). Mostly flows through Pakistan. Indus Waters Treaty (1960) governs sharing between India and Pakistan. |
| 7 | Brahmaputra | Angsi Glacier, Tibet (as Yarlung Tsangpo) | Bay of Bengal (via Bangladesh as Jamuna) | ~916 in India | Enters India at Arunachal Pradesh. Creates the largest river island — Majuli — in Assam. Forms Brahmaputra Valley. |
| 8 | Mahanadi | Raipur plateau, Chhattisgarh | Bay of Bengal | ~858 | Hirakud Dam (Odisha) — one of India's oldest and longest earthen dams. |
| 9 | Cauvery (Kaveri) | Talakaveri, Coorg (Karnataka) | Bay of Bengal | ~800 | "Ganga of the South". Cauvery water dispute — Karnataka vs Tamil Nadu (resolved by SC, 2018). |
| 10 | Tapti (Tapi) | Satpura Range, MP | Arabian Sea | ~724 | One of the few rivers flowing westward (like Narmada). Surat city is on it. |
📊 State Rankings — Area & Population
| Rank | Largest by Area | Smallest by Area | Most Populous | Least Populous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Rajasthan (3,42,239 sq km) | Goa (3,702 sq km) | Uttar Pradesh (~23.5 cr) | Sikkim (~6.8 lakh) |
| 2nd | Madhya Pradesh (3,08,252 sq km) | Sikkim (7,096 sq km) | Maharashtra (~12.4 cr) | Mizoram (~11.9 lakh) |
| 3rd | Maharashtra (3,07,713 sq km) | Tripura (10,486 sq km) | Bihar (~12.4 cr) | Arunachal Pradesh (~14 lakh) |
| Rank | Largest UT by Area | Smallest UT by Area |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Ladakh (~59,146 sq km) | Lakshadweep (~32 sq km) |
| 2nd | Jammu & Kashmir (~42,241 sq km) | Chandigarh (~114 sq km) |
🏔️ Notable Geographical Firsts & Rankings
| Category | Name | State / Location | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highest peak (India) | Kangchenjunga (8,586 m) | Sikkim–Nepal border | 3rd highest peak in the world. India's highest point within its recognised territory. |
| Largest fresh water lake | Wular Lake | J&K | Largest freshwater lake in India (and Asia). Fed by Jhelum river. |
| Largest brackish water lake | Chilika Lake | Odisha | Largest coastal lagoon in India; Ramsar site. Important for flamingos and Irrawaddy dolphins. India has 96 Ramsar sites (2025) — highest in Asia and 3rd highest globally by count. |
| Largest river island | Majuli | Assam (Brahmaputra) | World's largest river island. UNESCO tentative heritage site. |
| Largest mangrove forest | Sundarbans | West Bengal (India) + Bangladesh | World's largest mangrove delta. UNESCO World Heritage Site. Home of Bengal Tiger. |
| Largest desert | Thar Desert | Rajasthan | Largest hot desert in India; 7th largest hot desert in world. Also called Great Indian Desert. |
| Highest waterfall | Kunchikal Falls | Karnataka (Shimoga) | Highest waterfall in India at ~455 m. On the Varahi river. |
| Longest river dam (earthen) | Hirakud Dam | Odisha (Mahanadi) | ~26 km long; one of the first major multipurpose river valley projects after Independence (1957). |
| Highest dam | Tehri Dam | Uttarakhand (Bhagirathi) | ~261 m high; one of the tallest dams in Asia. Rock and earth-fill dam. |
| Highest tiger population (state) | Madhya Pradesh | Madhya Pradesh | 785 tigers (All India Tiger Estimation 2022). India total: 3,682 tigers (5th cycle, 2022); annual growth rate 6.1%. India hosts >70% of world's wild tigers. MP leads, followed by Karnataka (563) and Uttarakhand (560). |
| Most densely populated state | Bihar | Bihar | ~1,102 persons/sq km (Census 2011). West Bengal is close second. |
| Least densely populated state | Arunachal Pradesh | Arunachal Pradesh | ~17 persons/sq km (Census 2011). |
| Longest coastline (state) | Gujarat | Gujarat | 2,340.62 km — longest state coastline (revised 2025). Includes Gulf of Kutch and Gulf of Khambhat. Old figure: ~1,614 km. |
🌊 Coastline Revision 2025 — Exam Alert
Official revision: India's coastline was remeasured and officially revised from 7,516.6 km → 11,098.81 km by a Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) circular dated 29 April 2025. This is not territorial expansion — it is a measurement methodology upgrade.
| State / UT | Coastline (km) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 3,083.50 | Now the single largest contributor — 1,298 offshore islands now fully included. |
| Gujarat | 2,340.62 | Longest among mainland states. Gulf of Kutch + Gulf of Khambhat. |
| Tamil Nadu | 1,068.69 | Coromandel Coast. |
| Andhra Pradesh | 1,053.07 | — |
| Maharashtra | 877.97 | Konkan Coast. |
| West Bengal | 721.02 | Includes Sundarbans delta. |
| Kerala | 600.15 | Malabar Coast. |
| Odisha | 574.71 | — |
| Karnataka | 343.30 | — |
| Goa | 193.95 | — |
| Lakshadweep | 144.80 | — |
| Daman & Diu | 54.38 | — |
| Puducherry | 42.65 | Enclaves along Tamil Nadu and AP coast. |
| Total: 11,098.81 km | MoPSW Circular, 29 April 2025 | |
Why did it increase? (1) Scale upgraded from 1:4,500,000 to 1:250,000 — captures bays, inlets, and minor irregularities previously smoothed out. (2) 1,298 offshore islands/islets previously excluded are now fully included. (3) Old manual methods replaced by GIS, satellite imagery, and drone mapping. This is the coastline paradox (Richardson effect) — finer measurement always yields a longer line. Old figure 7,516.6 km still appears in Laxmikanth and older NCERTs — identify it as the pre-2025 figure in exams.
For deep geography notes — physical features, drainage systems, climate, soils, and natural vegetation — see the Geography subject pages. For India Mapping practice, use the interactive mapping tool.