| Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia |
| Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 5 00 W |
| Map references | Africa |
| Area | total: 322,463 sq km land: 318,003 sq km water: 4,460 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than New Mexico |
| Land boundaries | total: 3,458 km border countries (5): Burkina Faso 545 km, Ghana 720 km, Guinea 816 km, Liberia 778 km, Mali 599 km |
| Coastline | 515 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
| Climate | tropical along coast, semiarid in far north; three seasons - warm and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May), hot and wet (June to October) |
| Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest |
| Elevation extremes | mean elevation: 250 m lowest point: Gulf of Guinea 0 m highest point: Monts Nimba 1,752 m |
| Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper, gold, nickel, tantalum, silica sand, clay, cocoa beans, coffee, palm oil, hydropower |
| Land use | agricultural land: 64.8% (2011 est.) arable land: 9.1% (2011 est.) / permanent crops: 14.2% (2011 est.) / permanent pasture: 41.5% (2011 est.) forest: 32.7% (2011 est.) other: 2.5% (2011 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 730 sq km (2012) |
| Population distribution | the population is primarily located in the forested south, with the highest concentration of people residing in and around the cities on the Atlantic coast; most of the northern savanna remains sparsely populated with higher concentrations located along transportation corridors |
| Natural hazards | coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation (most of the country's forests - once the largest in West Africa - have been heavily logged); water pollution from sewage, and from industrial, mining, and agricultural effluents |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note | most of the inhabitants live along the sandy coastal region; apart from the capital area, the forested interior is sparsely populated |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on December 7, 2019
