Location:
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia
Geographic coordinates:
8 00 N, 5 00 W
Map references:
Africa
Area:
Area - comparative: Land boundaries:
Coastline: Maritime claims:
Climate: Terrain: Elevation extremes:
Natural resources: Land use:
Irrigated land: Total renewable water resources: Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
Natural hazards: Environment - current issues: Environment - international agreements:
Geography - note:
total:
322,463 sq km
country comparison to the world: 69
land:
318,003 sq km
water:
4,460 sq km
slightly larger than New Mexico
total:
3,458 km
border countries:
Burkina Faso 545 km, Ghana 720 km, Guinea 816 km, Liberia 778 km, Mali 599 km
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]
515 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]
territorial sea:
12 nm
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
continental shelf:
200 nm
tropical along coast, semiarid in far north; three seasons - warm and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May), hot and wet (June to October)
More Climate Details
mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest
lowest point:
Gulf of Guinea 0 m
highest point:
Monts Nimba 1,752 m
petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper, gold, nickel, tantalum, silica sand, clay, cocoa beans, coffee, palm oil, hydropower
arable land:
8.99%
permanent crops:
13.65%
other:
77.36% (2011)
727.5 sq km (2003)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]
81.14 cu km (2011)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]
total:
1.55 cu km/yr (41%/21%/38%)
per capita:
83.07 cu m/yr (2008)
coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible
deforestation (most of the country's forests - once the largest in West Africa - have been heavily logged); water pollution from sewage and industrial and agricultural effluents
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
most of the inhabitants live along the sandy coastal region; apart from the capital area, the forested interior is sparsely populated