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Location:
Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin
and Cameroon
Geographic coordinates:
10 00 N, 8 00 E
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
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