Rural land area where elevation is below 5 meters (% of total land area) - Country Ranking - Africa

Definition: Rural land area below 5m is the percentage of total land where the rural land elevation is 5 meters or less.

Source: Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)/Columbia University. 2013. Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates Version 2. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.e

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 The Gambia 16.08 2010
2 Seychelles 14.22 2010
3 Guinea-Bissau 6.43 2010
4 Senegal 3.42 2010
5 Cabo Verde 3.27 2010
6 Sierra Leone 2.83 2010
7 Tunisia 1.40 2010
8 Egypt 1.34 2010
9 Mozambique 1.31 2010
10 Eritrea 1.20 2010
11 Mauritius 1.07 2010
12 Mauritania 1.06 2010
13 Guinea 0.91 2010
14 Benin 0.90 2010
15 São Tomé and Principe 0.83 2010
16 Comoros 0.77 2010
17 Madagascar 0.73 2010
18 Djibouti 0.64 2010
19 Ghana 0.51 2010
20 Libya 0.47 2010
21 Nigeria 0.41 2010
22 Togo 0.33 2010
23 Gabon 0.31 2010
24 Somalia 0.27 2010
25 Liberia 0.25 2010
26 Kenya 0.24 2010
27 Equatorial Guinea 0.24 2010
28 Namibia 0.19 2010
29 Morocco 0.17 2010
30 Angola 0.12 2010
31 Côte d'Ivoire 0.12 2010
32 Tanzania 0.08 2010
33 Sudan 0.07 2010
34 South Africa 0.06 2010
35 Cameroon 0.03 2010
36 Dem. Rep. Congo 0.02 2010
37 Algeria 0.02 2010
38 Congo 0.01 2010
39 Ethiopia 0.00 2010
39 Eswatini 0.00 2010
39 Mali 0.00 2010
39 Malawi 0.00 2010

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Development Relevance: Scientists use the terms climate change and global warming to refer to the gradual increase in the Earth's surface temperature that has accelerated since the industrial revolution and especially over the past two decades. Most global warming has been caused by human activities that have changed the chemical composition of the atmosphere through a buildup of greenhouse gases - primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Rising global temperatures will cause sea level rise and alter local climate conditions, affecting forests, crop yields, and water supplies, and may affect human health, animals, and many types of ecosystems.

Limitations and Exceptions: The 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) assessment report concluded that global warming is “unequivocal” and gave the strongest warning yet about the role of human activities. The report estimated that sea levels would rise approximately 49 centimeters over the next 100 years, with a range of uncertainty of 20–86 centimeters. That will lead to increased coastal flooding through direct inundation and a higher base for storm surges, allowing flooding of larger areas and higher elevations. Climate model simulations predict an increase in average surface air temperature of about 2.5°C by 2100 (Kattenberg and others 1996) and increase of “killer” heat waves during the warm season (Karl and others 1997).

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Elevation data used to generate the low elevation coastal zones come from the SRTM3 Enhanced Global Map developed by ISCIENCES. The ISCIENCES digital elevation model was created using NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data processed to 3 arc-seconds (SRTM3).

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual