Pakistan,officially the
Islamic Republic of Pakistan,
is a sovereign country in South Asia. With a population exceeding 180
million people, it is the sixth most populous country and with an area
covering 796,095 km
2 (
307,374 sq mi),
it is the 36th largest country in the world in terms of area. Located
at the crossroads of the strategically important regions of South Asia,
Central Asia and Western Asia, Pakistan has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi)
coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is
bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west and north, Iran
to the southwest and China in the far northeast. It is separated from
Tajikistan by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, and
also shares a marine border with Oman.