Libya vs. Niger
Geography
| Libya | Niger | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria |
| Geographic coordinates | 25 00 N, 17 00 E | 16 00 N, 8 00 E |
| Map references | Africa | Africa |
| Area | total: 1,759,540 sq km land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km | total: 1.267 million sq km land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about 2.5 times the size of Texas; slightly larger than Alaska | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
| Land boundaries | 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 | total: 5,834 km border countries (7): Algeria 951 km, Benin 277 km, Burkina Faso 622 km, Chad 1196 km, Libya 342 km, Mali 838 km, Nigeria 1608 km |
| Coastline | 1,770 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 62 nm note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north | none (landlocked) |
| Climate | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south |
| Terrain | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m mean elevation: 423 m | highest point: Idoukal-n-Taghes 2,022 m lowest point: Niger River 200 m mean elevation: 474 m |
| Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, molybdenum, gypsum, salt, petroleum |
| Land use | 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.) | agricultural land: 35.1% (2018 est.) arable land: 12.3% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 22.7% (2018 est.) forest: 1% (2018 est.) other: 63.9% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 4,700 sq km (2012) | 1,000 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms | recurring droughts |
| Environment - current issues | 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 | overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; contaminated water; inadequate potable water; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction |
| Environment - international agreements | 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 | 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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note | 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 | landlocked; one of the hottest countries in the world; northern four-fifths is desert, southern one-fifth is savanna, suitable for livestock and limited agriculture |
| Total renewable water resources | 700 million cubic meters (2017 est.) | 34.05 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | 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 | majority of the populace is located in the southernmost extreme of the country along the border with Nigeria and Benin as shown in this population distribution map |
Source: CIA Factbook
