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Location:
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Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and South Africa
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Geographic coordinates:
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22 00 S, 17 00 E
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Map references:
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Africa
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Area:
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total: 825,418 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 825,418 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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slightly more than half the size of Alaska
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Land boundaries:
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total: 3,936 km
border countries: Angola 1,376 km, Botswana 1,360 km, South Africa 967 km, Zambia 233 km
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Coastline:
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1,572 km
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Maritime claims:
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contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
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Climate:
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desert; hot, dry; rainfall sparse and erratic
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Terrain:
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mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along coast; Kalahari Desert in east
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Konigstein 2,606 m
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Natural resources:
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diamonds, copper, uranium, gold, lead, tin, lithium, cadmium, zinc, salt, vanadium, natural gas, hydropower, fish
note: suspected deposits of oil, coal, and iron ore
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Land use:
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arable land: 0.99%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 99.01% (1998 est.)
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Irrigated land:
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70 sq km (1998 est.)
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Natural hazards:
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prolonged periods of drought
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Environment - current issues:
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very limited natural fresh water resources; desertification; wildlife poaching; land degradation has led to few conservation areas
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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Geography - note:
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first country in the world to incorporate the protection of the environment into its constitution; some 14% of the land is protected, including virtually the entire Namib Desert coastal strip
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