Pakistan’s most common physical features are its five main regions, which include the Thar Desert, the Northern Highland, the Western Highland, the Punjab Plain, the Sind Plain and the Baluchian Plateau. Pakistan is located in southern Asia and borders the Arabian Sea. India is east of Pakistan. Afghanistan is west of Pakistan, and China is north of Pakistan.
Pakistan’s five regions also reflect very different climates, being hot and dry in the desert and temperate in the northeast. The north is distinguished by an Arctic climate. Pakistan’s total area is 494,669 square miles. Of that amount, 478,999 square miles is land and 15,670 square miles is water. Pakistan’s total land boundaries, which make up its official borders, are 4,209 miles. Of this amount, Pakistan's common border with Afghanistan is 1,509 miles, and the common border with China is 324. The border with India is 1,809 miles, and 564 miles make up the border with Iran. Pakistan has 649 miles of coastline. Pakistan’s terrain is flat in the east, but it features mountains in the north and northwest. Pakistan’s western terrain is a high plain. Pakistan has 26.02 percent arable land, and 1.05 percent of it is used for permanent crops. A section including 72.93 percent of Pakistan’s land is not usable for agricultural purposes.