Sudan vs. Chad
Geography
| Sudan | Chad | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | north-eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea | Central Africa, south of Libya |
| Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 30 00 E | 15 00 N, 19 00 E |
| Map references | Africa | Africa |
| Area | total: 1,861,484 sq km land: 1,731,671 sq km water: 129,813 sq km | total: 1.284 million sq km land: 1,259,200 sq km water: 24,800 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly less than one-fifth the size of the US | almost nine times the size of New York state; slightly more than three times the size of California |
| Land boundaries | total: 6,819 km border countries (7): Central African Republic 174 km, Chad 1403 km, Egypt 1276 km, Eritrea 682 km, Ethiopia 744 km, Libya 382 km, South Sudan 2158 km note: Sudan-South Sudan boundary represents 1 January 1956 alignment; final alignment pending negotiations and demarcation; final sovereignty status of Abyei region pending negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan | total: 6,406 km border countries (6): Cameroon 1116 km, Central African Republic 1556 km, Libya 1050 km, Niger 1196 km, Nigeria 85 km, Sudan 1403 km |
| Coastline | 853 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 18 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation | none (landlocked) |
| Climate | hot and dry; arid desert; rainy season varies by region (April to November) | tropical in south, desert in north |
| Terrain | generally flat, featureless plain; desert dominates the north | broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Jabal Marrah 3,042 m lowest point: Red Sea 0 m mean elevation: 568 m | highest point: Emi Koussi 3,445 m lowest point: Djourab 160 m mean elevation: 543 m |
| Natural resources | petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold; hydropower | petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, salt |
| Land use | agricultural land: 100% (2018 est.) arable land: 15.7% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 84.2% (2018 est.) forest: 0% (2018 est.) other: 0% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 39.6% (2018 est.) arable land: 3.9% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 35.7% (2018 est.) forest: 9.1% (2018 est.) other: 51.3% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 18,900 sq km (2012) | 300 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | dust storms and periodic persistent droughts | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues |
| Environment - current issues | water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water scarcity and periodic drought; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification; deforestation; loss of biodiversity
| inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste disposal in rural areas and poor farming practices contribute to soil and water pollution; desertification |
| 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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping-London Convention |
| Geography - note | the Nile is Sudan's primary water source; its major tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, meet at Khartoum to form the River Nile which flows northward through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea | note 1: Chad is the largest of Africa's 16 landlocked countries note 2: not long ago - geologically speaking - what is today the Sahara was green savannah teeming with wildlife; during the African Humid Period, roughly 11,000 to 5,000 years ago, a vibrant animal community, including elephants, giraffes, hippos, and antelope lived there; the last remnant of the "Green Sahara" exists in the Lakes of Ounianga (oo-nee-ahn-ga) in northern Chad, a series of 18 interconnected freshwater, saline, and hypersaline lakes now protected as a World Heritage site note 3: Lake Chad, the most significant water body in the Sahel, is a remnant of a former inland sea, paleolake Mega-Chad; at its greatest extent, sometime before 5000 B.C., Lake Mega-Chad was the largest of four Saharan paleolakes that existed during the African Humid Period; it covered an area of about 400,000 sq km (150,000 sq mi), roughly the size of today's Caspian Sea |
| Total renewable water resources | 37.8 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 45.7 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | with the exception of a ribbon of settlement that corresponds to the banks of the Nile, northern Sudan, which extends into the dry Sahara, is sparsely populated; more abundant vegetation and broader access to water increases population distribution in the south extending habitable range along nearly the entire border with South Sudan; sizeable areas of population are found around Khartoum, southeast between the Blue and White Nile Rivers, and througout South Darfur as shown on this population distribution map | the population is unevenly distributed due to contrasts in climate and physical geography; the highest density is found in the southwest, particularly around Lake Chad and points south; the dry Saharan zone to the north is the least densely populated as shown in this population distribution map |
Source: CIA Factbook
