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Location:
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Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana
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Geographic coordinates:
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4 00 N, 56 00 W
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Map references:
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South America
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Area:
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total: 163,270 sq km
land: 161,470 sq km
water: 1,800 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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slightly larger than Georgia
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Land boundaries:
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total: 1,707 km
border countries: Brazil 597 km, French Guiana 510 km, Guyana 600 km
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Coastline:
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386 km
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Maritime claims:
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exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
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Climate:
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tropical; moderated by trade winds
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Terrain:
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mostly rolling hills; narrow coastal plain with swamps
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: unnamed location in the coastal plain -2 m
highest point: Juliana Top 1,230 m
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Natural resources:
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timber, hydropower, fish, kaolin, shrimp, bauxite, gold, and small amounts of nickel, copper, platinum, iron ore
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Land use:
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arable land: 0.37%
permanent crops: 0.06%
note: there are 95,000 hectares of arable land, 7,000 hectares of permanent crops, and 15,000 hectares of permanent pastures (1998 est.)
other: 99.57%
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Irrigated land:
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490 sq km (1998 est.)
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Natural hazards:
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NA
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Environment - current issues:
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deforestation as timber is cut for export; pollution of inland waterways by small-scale mining activities
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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Geography - note:
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smallest independent country on South American continent; mostly tropical rain forest; great diversity of flora and fauna that, for the most part, is increasingly threatened by new development; relatively small population, mostly along the coast
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