India is a large country in southern Asia. It is the second largest country in the world in population. The river valleys of northeastern India are among the most densely populated places in the world. India ranks seventh in the world in area.

India occupies a strategic position in Asia, looking across the seas to Arabia and Africa on the west and Burma , Malaysia and the Indonesian archipelago on the east. Geographically, the Himalayan range keeps India apart from the rest of Asia.

Location India lies to the north of the equator between 8 degree 4 minutes and 37 degree 6 minutes north latitude and 68 degree 7 minutes and 97 degree 25 minutes east longitude. It is bounded on the south-west by the Arabian sea and on the south-east by the Bay of Bengal. On the north, north-east and north-west lie the Himalayan ranges. Kanyakumari constitutes the southern tip of the Indian peninsula where it gets narrower and narrower, loses itself into the Indian Ocean. 

Extent India measures 3214 Kms from north to south and 2933 Kms from east to west with a total land area of 3,287,263 sq kms. It has  aland frontier of 15,200 kms and a coast line of 7516.5 kms. Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep in the Arabian sea are parts of India.

Neighbours India shares its political borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan on the west and Bangladesh and Burma on the east. The northern boundary is made up of the Sinkiang province of China, Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. India is separated from Sri Lanka by  anarrow channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar. 

Physiographic regions The mainland comprises seven regions. 

1. Northern mountains including the Himalayas and the north-eastern mountain ranges,
2. The Indo-Gangetic plain,
3. The desert,
4. Central Highlands and Peninsular plateau,
5. East coast,
6. West coast,
7. Bordering seas and islands.

Mountain ranges They are seven :

1. The Himalayas,
2. The Patkai and other ranges bordering India in the north and north-east,
3. The Vindhyas which separates the Indo-Gangetic plain from the deccan plateau,
4. The Satpura,
5. The Arravali,
6. The Sahyadri which covers the eastern fringe of the west coast plains and 
7. The Eastern Ghats, irregularly scattered on the east coast and forming the boundary on the east coast plain.