Location:
Western Africa, north of Ghana
Geographic coordinates:
13 00 N, 2 00 W
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 274,200 sq km
water: 400 sq km
land: 273,800 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Colorado
Land boundaries:
total: 3,193 km
border countries: Benin 306 km, Cote d'Ivoire 584 km, Ghana 549 km,
Mali 1,000 km, Niger 628 km, Togo 126 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)
Climate:
tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers
Terrain:
mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and
southeast
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Mouhoun (Black Volta) River 200 m
highest point: Tena Kourou 749 m
Natural resources:
manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, antimony,
copper, nickel, bauxite, lead, phosphates, zinc, silver
Land use:
arable land: 12.43%
permanent crops: 0.18%
other: 87.39% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
250 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
recurring droughts
Environment - current issues:
recent droughts and desertification severely affecting agricultural
activities, population distribution, and the economy; overgrazing;
soil degradation; deforestation
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer
Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
Geography - note:
landlocked savanna cut by the three principal rivers of the Black,
Red, and White Voltas