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Geography
Location: Southern Africa, northeast of Botswana
Geographic coordinates: 20 00 S, 30 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 390,580 sq km
land: 386,670 sq km
water: 3,910 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly larger than Montana
Land boundaries:
total: 3,066 km
border countries: Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South
Africa 225 km, Zambia 797 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March)
Terrain: mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: junction of the Runde and Save rivers 162 m
highest point: Inyangani 2,592 m
Natural resources: coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals
Land use:
arable land: 7%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 13%
forests and woodland: 23%
other: 57% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,930 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare
Environment—current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; land degradation; air and water pollution; the black rhinoceros herd—once the largest concentration of the species in the world—has been significantly reduced by poaching
Environment—international
agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography—note: landlocked