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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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continental shelf: 200 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 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: 9.28%
permanent crops: 13.84%
other: 76.88% (1998 est.)
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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, Nuclear Test Ban, 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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