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Geography
Location: Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana
Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 1 10 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 56,790 sq km
land: 54,390 sq km
water: 2,400 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia
Land boundaries:
total: 1,647 km
border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877
km
Coastline: 56 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 30 nm
Climate: tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Terrain: gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pic Agou 986 m
Natural resources: phosphates, limestone, marble
Land use:
arable land: 38%
permanent crops: 7%
permanent pastures: 4%
forests and woodland: 17%
other: 34% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 70 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts
Environment—current issues: deforestation attributable to slash-and-burn agriculture and the use of wood for fuel; recent droughts affecting agriculture
Environment—international
agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements