| Location : |
Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia |
| Geographic Coordinates : |
11 30 N, 43 00 E |
| Map References : |
Africa |
| Area : |
total: 23,000 sq km
land: 22,980 sq km
water: 20 sq km |
| Area - Comparative : |
slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
| Land Boundaries : |
total: 516 km
border countries: Eritrea 109 km, Ethiopia 349 km, Somalia 58 km |
| Coastline : |
314 km |
| Maritime Claims : |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
| Climate : |
desert; torrid, dry |
| Terrain : |
coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains |
| Elevation Extremes : |
lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m
highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 m |
| Natural Resources : |
geothermal areas |
| Land Use : |
arable land: 0.04%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 99.96% (2001) |
| Irrigated Land : |
10 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Natural Hazards : |
earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods |
| Environment - Current Issues : |
inadequate supplies of potable water; limited arable land; desertification; endangered species |
| Environment - International Agreements : |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - Note : |
Strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly wasteland; Lac Assal (Lake Assal) is the lowest point in Africa. |
