Algeria vs. Libya
Geography
| Algeria | Libya | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria |
| Geographic coordinates | 28 00 N, 3 00 E | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
| Map references | Africa | Africa |
| Area | total: 2,381,740 sq km land: 2,381,740 sq km water: 0 sq km | total: 1,759,540 sq km land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas | about 2.5 times the size of Texas; slightly larger than Alaska |
| Land boundaries | total: 6,734 km border countries (6): Libya 989 km, Mali 1359 km, Mauritania 460 km, Morocco 1941 km, Niger 951 km, Tunisia 1034 km | total: 4,339 km border countries (6): Algeria 989 km, Chad 1050 km, Egypt 1115 km, Niger 342 km, Sudan 382 km, Tunisia 461 km |
| Coastline | 998 km | 1,770 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 62 nm note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
| Climate | arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
| Terrain | mostly high plateau and desert; Atlas Mountains in the far north and Hoggar Mountains in the south; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Tahat 2,908 m lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m mean elevation: 800 m | highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m mean elevation: 423 m |
| Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
| Land use | agricultural land: 17.4% (2018 est.) arable land: 3.1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.4% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 13.8% (2018 est.) forest: 0.8% (2018 est.) other: 81.8% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 8.8% (2018 est.) arable land: 1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 7.6% (2018 est.) forest: 0.1% (2018 est.) other: 91.1% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 13,600 sq km (2014) | 4,700 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season; droughts | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
| Environment - current issues | air pollution in major cities; soil erosion from overgrazing and other poor farming practices; desertification; dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents is leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean Sea, in particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water | desertification; limited natural freshwater resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, brings water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities; water pollution is a significant problem; the combined impact of sewage, oil byproducts, and industrial waste threatens Libya's coast and the Mediterranean Sea |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Law of the Sea |
| Geography - note | largest country in Africa but 80% desert; canyons and caves in the southern Hoggar Mountains and in the barren Tassili n'Ajjer area in the southeast of the country contain numerous examples of prehistoric art - rock paintings and carvings depicting human activities and wild and domestic animals (elephants, giraffes, cattle) - that date to the African Humid Period, roughly 11,000 to 5,000 years ago, when the region was completely vegetated | note 1: more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert note 2: the volcano Waw an Namus lies in south central Libya in the middle of the Sahara; the caldera is an oasis - the name means "oasis of mosquitoes" - containing several small lakes surrounded by vegetation and hosting various insects and a large diversity of birds |
| Total renewable water resources | 11.667 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 700 million cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | the vast majority of the populace is found in the extreme northern part of the country along the Mediterranean Coast as shown in this population distribution map | well over 90% of the population lives along the Mediterranean coast in and between Tripoli to the west and Al Bayda to the east; the interior remains vastly underpopulated due to the Sahara and lack of surface water as shown in this population distribution map |
Source: CIA Factbook
