Location:
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea
and Senegal
Geographic coordinates:
12 00 N, 15 00 W
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 36,120 sq km
water: 8,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries:
total: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km
Coastline:
350 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate:
tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season
(June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to
May) with northeasterly harmattan winds
Terrain:
mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the
country 300 m
Natural resources:
fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum
Land use:
arable land: 10.67%
permanent crops: 1.78%
other: 87.55% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
170 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry
season; brush fires
Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying
further inland