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Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone
Geographic coordinates: 6 30 N, 9 30 W
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 111,370 sq km
land: 96,320 sq km
water: 15,050 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries:
total: 1,585 km
border countries: Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra
Leone 306 km
Coastline: 579 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 200 nm
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days
and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy
showers
Terrain: mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to
rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 m
Natural resources: iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 3%
permanent pastures: 59%
forests and woodland: 18%
other: 19% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the
Sahara (December to March)
Environment - current issues: tropical rain forest subject
to deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution
of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Desertification, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental
Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation
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