Location:
Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and
Cameroon
Geographic coordinates:
10 00 N, 8 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 923,768 sq km
water: 13,000 sq km
land: 910,768 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly more than twice the size of California
Land boundaries:
total: 4,047 km
border countries: Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger
1,497 km
Coastline:
853 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate:
varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north
Terrain:
southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains
in southeast, plains in north
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m
Natural resources:
natural gas, petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone,
lead, zinc, arable land
Land use:
arable land: 30.96%
permanent crops: 2.79%
other: 66.25% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
2,330 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
periodic droughts; flooding
Environment - current issues:
soil degradation; rapid deforestation; urban air and water
pollution; desertification; oil pollution - water, air, and soil;
has suffered serious damage from oil spills; loss of arable land;
rapid urbanization
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine
Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
the Niger enters the country in the northwest and flows southward
through tropical rain forests and swamps to its delta in the Gulf of
Guinea