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Location:
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Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia
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Geographic coordinates:
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8 00 N, 5 00 W
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Map references:
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africa
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Area:
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total: 322,460 sq km
water: 4,460 sq km
land: 318,000 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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slightly larger than New Mexico
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Land boundaries:
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total: 3,110 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 584 km, Ghana 668 km, Guinea 610 km, Liberia 716 km, Mali 532 km
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Coastline:
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515 km
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm
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Climate:
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tropical along coast, semiarid in far north; three seasons - warm and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May), hot and wet (June to October)
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Terrain:
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mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Gulf of Guinea 0 m
highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m
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Natural resources:
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petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper, hydropower
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Land use:
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arable land: 9.75%
permanent crops: 13.84%
other: 76.41% (2001)
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Irrigated land:
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730 sq km (1998 est.)
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Natural hazards:
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coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible
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Environment - current issues:
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deforestation (most of the country's forests - once the largest in West Africa - have been heavily logged); water pollution from sewage and industrial and agricultural effluents
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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Geography - note:
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most of the inhabitants live along the sandy coastal region; apart from the capital area, the forested interior is sparsely populated
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