Mali vs. Senegal
Geography
| Mali | Senegal | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | interior Western Africa, southwest of Algeria, north of Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, and Burkina Faso, west of Niger | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania |
| Geographic coordinates | 17 00 N, 4 00 W | 14 00 N, 14 00 W |
| Map references | Africa | Africa |
| Area | total: 1,240,192 sq km land: 1,220,190 sq km water: 20,002 sq km | total: 196,722 sq km land: 192,530 sq km water: 4,192 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly smaller than South Dakota; slightly larger than twice the size of Indiana |
| Land boundaries | total: 7,908 km border countries (7): Algeria 1359 km, Burkina Faso 1325 km, Cote d'Ivoire 599 km, Guinea 1062 km, Mauritania 2236 km, Niger 838 km, Senegal 489 km | total: 2,684 km border countries (5): The Gambia 749 km, Guinea 363 km, Guinea-Bissau 341 km, Mali 489 km, Mauritania 742 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 531 km |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| Climate | subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February) | tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (May to November) has strong southeast winds; dry season (December to April) dominated by hot, dry, harmattan wind |
| Terrain | mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast | generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m lowest point: Senegal River 23 m mean elevation: 343 m | highest point: unnamed elevation 2.8 km southeast of Nepen Diaka 648 m lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m mean elevation: 69 m |
| Natural resources | gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, gypsum, granite, hydropower, note, bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited | fish, phosphates, iron ore |
| Land use | agricultural land: 34.1% (2018 est.) arable land: 5.6% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 28.4% (2018 est.) forest: 10.2% (2018 est.) other: 55.7% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 46.8% (2018 est.) arable land: 17.4% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.3% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 29.1% (2018 est.) forest: 43.8% (2018 est.) other: 9.4% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 3,780 sq km (2012) | 1,200 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding | lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; loss of pasture land; inadequate supplies of potable water | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; periodic droughts; seasonal flooding; overfishing; weak environmental protective laws; wildlife populations threatened by poaching |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note | landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan | westernmost country on the African continent; The Gambia is almost an enclave within Senegal |
| Total renewable water resources | 120 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 38.97 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | the overwhelming majority of the population lives in the southern half of the country, with greater density along the border with Burkina Faso as shown in this population distribution map | the population is concentrated in the west, with Dakar anchoring a well-defined core area; approximately 70% of the population is rural as shown in this population distribution map |
Source: CIA Factbook
