Tunisia vs. Algeria
Geography
| Tunisia | Algeria | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia |
| Geographic coordinates | 34 00 N, 9 00 E | 28 00 N, 3 00 E |
| Map references | Africa | Africa |
| Area | total: 163,610 sq km land: 155,360 sq km water: 8,250 sq km | total: 2,381,740 sq km land: 2,381,740 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Georgia | slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,495 km border countries (2): Algeria 1034 km, Libya 461 km | 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 |
| Coastline | 1,148 km | 998 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 12 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm |
| Climate | temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in south | 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 |
| Terrain | mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara | mostly high plateau and desert; Atlas Mountains in the far north and Hoggar Mountains in the south; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Jebel ech Chambi 1,544 m lowest point: Shatt al Gharsah -17 m mean elevation: 246 m | highest point: Tahat 2,908 m lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m mean elevation: 800 m |
| Natural resources | petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc |
| Land use | agricultural land: 64.8% (2018 est.) arable land: 18.3% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 15.4% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 31.1% (2018 est.) forest: 6.6% (2018 est.) other: 28.6% (2018 est.) | 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.) |
| Irrigated land | 4,590 sq km (2012) | 13,600 sq km (2014) |
| Natural hazards | flooding; earthquakes; droughts | mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season; droughts |
| Environment - current issues | toxic and hazardous waste disposal is ineffective and poses health risks; water pollution from raw sewage; limited natural freshwater resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification | 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 |
| 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, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation | 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 |
| Geography - note | strategic location in central Mediterranean; Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration | 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 |
| Total renewable water resources | 4.615 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 11.667 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | the overwhelming majority of the population is located in the northern half of the country; the south remains largely underpopulated as shown in this population distribution map | 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 |
Source: CIA Factbook
