Location:
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Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon |
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Geographic coordinates:
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10 00 N, 8 00 E |
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Map references:
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Africa |
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Area:
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total: 923,768 sq km
land: 910,768 sq km water: 13,000 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly more than twice the size of California |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 4,047 km
border countries: Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km |
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Coastline:
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853 km |
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
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Climate:
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varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north |
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Terrain:
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southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m |
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Natural resources:
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natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land |
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Land use:
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arable land: 31.29%
permanent crops: 2.96% other: 65.75% (2001) |
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Irrigated land:
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2,330 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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periodic droughts; flooding |
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Environment - current issues:
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soil degradation; rapid deforestation; urban air and water pollution; desertification; oil pollution - water, air, and soil; has suffered serious damage from oil spills; loss of arable land; rapid urbanization |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of
the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer
Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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Geography - note:
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the Niger enters the country in the northwest and flows southward through tropical rain forests and swamps to its delta in the Gulf of Guinea |
Nigeria Geography
