Bhutan vs. China
Geography
| Bhutan | China | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Southern Asia, between China and India | Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam |
| Geographic coordinates | 27 30 N, 90 30 E | 35 00 N, 105 00 E |
| Map references | Asia | Asia |
| Area | total: 38,394 sq km land: 38,394 sq km water: 0 sq km | total: 9,596,960 sq km land: 9,326,410 sq km water: 270,550 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Maryland; about one-half the size of Indiana | slightly smaller than the US |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,136 km border countries (2): China 477 km, India 659 km | total: 22,457 km border countries (14): Afghanistan 91 km, Bhutan 477 km, Burma 2129 km, India 2659 km, Kazakhstan 1765 km, North Korea 1352 km, Kyrgyzstan 1063 km, Laos 475 km, Mongolia 4630 km, Nepal 1389 km, Pakistan 438 km, Russia (northeast) 4133 km and Russia (northwest) 46 km, Tajikistan 477 km, Vietnam 1297 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 14,500 km |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| Climate | varies; tropical in southern plains; cool winters and hot summers in central valleys; severe winters and cool summers in Himalayas | extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north |
| Terrain | mostly mountainous with some fertile valleys and savanna | mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Gangkar Puensum 7,570 m lowest point: Drangeme Chhu 97 m mean elevation: 2,220 m | highest point: Mount Everest (highest peak in Asia and highest point on earth above sea level) 8,849 m lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m mean elevation: 1,840 m |
| Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, calcium carbonate | coal, iron ore, helium, petroleum, natural gas, arsenic, bismuth, cobalt, cadmium, ferrosilicon, gallium, germanium, hafnium, indium, lithium, mercury, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, tungsten, antimony, manganese, magnesium, molybdenum, selenium, strontium, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, rare earth elements, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest), arable land |
| Land use | agricultural land: 13.6% (2018 est.) arable land: 2.6% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.3% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 10.7% (2018 est.) forest: 85.5% (2018 est.) other: 0.9% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 54.7% (2018 est.) arable land: 11.3% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 1.6% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 41.8% (2018 est.) forest: 22.3% (2018 est.) other: 23% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 320 sq km (2012) | 690,070 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | violent storms from the Himalayas are the source of the country's Bhutanese name, which translates as Land of the Thunder Dragon; frequent landslides during the rainy season | frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence volcanism: China contains some historically active volcanoes including Changbaishan (also known as Baitoushan, Baegdu, or P'aektu-san), Hainan Dao, and Kunlun although most have been relatively inactive in recent centuries |
| Environment - current issues | soil erosion; limited access to potable water; wildlife conservation; industrial pollution; waste disposal | air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; China is the world's largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; coastal destruction due to land reclamation, industrial development, and aquaculture; deforestation and habitat destruction; poor land management leads to soil erosion, landslides, floods, droughts, dust storms, and desertification; trade in endangered species |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban |
| Geography - note | landlocked; strategic location between China and India; controls several key Himalayan mountain passes | note 1: world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US) and largest country situated entirely in Asia; Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak above sea level note 2: the largest cave chamber in the world is the Miao Room, in the Gebihe cave system at China's Ziyun Getu He Chuandong National Park, which encloses some 10.78 million cu m (380.7 million cu ft) of volume note 3: China appears to have been the center of domestication for two of the world's leading cereal crops: millet in the north along the Yellow River and rice in the south along the lower or middle Yangtze River |
| Total renewable water resources | 78 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 2,840,220,000,000 cubic meters (2017 est.) |
Source: CIA Factbook
