Neighbouring Countries of India

Neighbouring Countries of India

India is one of the ancient civilisations in the world, and over a period, it has achieved multifaceted socio-economic progress. India occupies an important strategic position in South Asia. With a land border of 15,106.7 km and a coastline of almost 7,516.6 km, India shares its land boundaries with Pakistan and Afghanistan in the northwest, China (Tibet), Nepal and Bhutan in the north and Myanmar and Bangladesh in the east. Sri Lanka and the Maldives are the southern neighbours across the sea line. 

Border sharing

The various States of India share their borders with these neighbours. 

• Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat share their borders with Pakistan.
• Ladakh (PoK) shares its border with Afghanistan.
• Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh share their borders with China. 
• Bihar, Uttarakhand, UP, Sikkim and West Bengal share their borders with Nepal. 
• West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam share their borders with Bhutan.
• Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur share their borders with Myanmar.
• West Bengal, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Assam share their borders with Bangladesh.
• Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.
•  Maldives Islands are situated to the south of the Lakshadweep Islands.

Neighbouring countries – Insights 

Pakistan

• Before independence, Pakistan was part of India and got separated in 1947 to form a separate country.
• Islamabad is the capital city of Pakistan
• They have a borderline of almost 3323 km
• Their official language is Urdu
• Their official currency is the Pakistani Rupee
• Currently, Pakistan has four provinces, i.e. Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh and one federal territory, i.e. Islamabad.

Afghanistan

• Afghanistan’s economy is majorly dependent on agriculture
• Kabul is the capital city of Afghanistan 
• Their major industrial activities come from the by-product of agriculture only, such as cotton textiles, woollens, handicrafts etc. 
• Their border length is almost 106 km
• Their official languages are Dari and Pashto
• Their official currency is Afghan Afghani
• The majority of the population of Afghanistan follow Islam religion 
• At present, Afghanistan has 34 provinces
• Afghanistan is located in Central Asia and has a total area of almost 6,52,230 sq km. 

China

• China is one of the fastest-growing economies in terms of scale
• Beijing is the capital city of China 
• China has a vast borderline of almost 3488 km
• Their official language is Mandarin
• Their official currency is the Chinese Yuan
• There are a total of 26 provinces
• China is the world’s most populated country
• China holds almost 95,96,960 sq km of landmass

Nepal

• Mount Everest, the world’s tallest mountain peak, is located in Nepal
• Kathmandu is the capital city of Nepal
• They have a borderline of almost 1751 km
• Their official language is Nepali
• Their official currency is Nepalese Rupee
• At present, there are seven provinces 
• Nepal is situated to the northeast of India
• They extend over an area of 1,47,181 sq km
• Tourism is a major part of the economy
• Their Government is a federal parliamentary republic 

Bhutan

• The majority of the people of Bhutan follow Buddhism and Hinduism

• Thimpu is the capital city of Bhutan
• They have a borderline of almost 699 km
• Their official language is Dzongkha
• Their official currency is Bhutanese Ngultrum
• Currently, there are 20 states spread over an area of almost 38 394 sq km 
• The country has a parliamentary form of Government
• primary sources of the economy are hydropower, agriculture, forestry and tourism
• Bhutan holds a negative position in carbon emissions 
• They measure their growth from the gross national happiness index 

Myanmar

• India is Myanmar’s fourth-largest export market
• Yangon is the capital city of Myanmar
• They have a borderline of almost 1643 km
• Their official language is Burmese
• Their official currency is Burmese Kyat
• Myanmar is located in the western portion of South Asia 
• They extend over an area of almost 6,76,578 sq km
• The presidential republic runs the country with a bicameral legislature

Bangladesh

• Bangladesh came into existence in 1971 when it was freed from Pakistan 
• Before that, it was called East Pakistan 
• Dhaka is the capital city of Bangladesh
• India and Bangladesh share a border of almost 1,43,998 sq km and a coastline of 580 km.
• They have a borderline of almost 4096.7 km
• Their official language is Bengali
• Their official currency is Bangladeshi Taka
• There are a total of eight provinces

Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka is one of the two countries that share the Indian coastline
• Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital, and Columbo are the executive capital city of Sri Lanka  
• They have a sea borderline across all the sides 
• The country is spread over an area of 65,610 sq km
• Their official language is Sinhala and Tamil
• Their official currency is Sri Lankan Rupee
• They have 9 States
•  It is one of the most visited tourist destinations in South Asia 
• Sri Lanka is home to many ethnic societies and religious cultures

Maldives

• The Maldives is located to the south-west of India
• Male is the capital city of Maldives
• It is located in the Indian Ocean-Arabian sea area
• They have a sea borderline across all the sides 
• Their official language is Dhivehi
• Their official currency is Maldivian Rufiyaa
• There is only 1 State in the Maldives 
• The country is spread over 298 sq km only
• The country comprises more than a thousand coral islands
• The majority of its population follows Islam 

Conclusion

After China and Russia, India has the third-largest international border globally. Nine countries share their borders with India, out of which seven share land borders while 2 of them share their sea borders.