Location:
Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola
and South Africa
Geographic coordinates:
22 00 S, 17 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 825,418 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 825,418 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly more than half the size of Alaska
Land boundaries:
total: 3,936 km
border countries: Angola 1,376 km, Botswana 1,360 km, South Africa
967 km, Zambia 233 km
Coastline:
1,572 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate:
desert; hot, dry; rainfall sparse and erratic
Terrain:
mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along coast; Kalahari Desert in
east
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Konigstein 2,606 m
Natural resources:
diamonds, copper, uranium, gold, lead, tin, lithium, cadmium, zinc,
salt, vanadium, natural gas, hydropower, fish
note: suspected deposits of oil, coal, and iron ore
Land use:
arable land: 0.99%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 99.01% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
70 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
prolonged periods of drought
Environment - current issues:
very limited natural fresh water resources; desertification;
wildlife poaching; land degradation has led to few conservation areas
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
first country in the world to incorporate the protection of the
environment into its constitution; some 14% of the land is
protected, including virtually the entire Namib Desert coastal strip