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Location:
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Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia
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Geographic coordinates:
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11 30 N, 43 00 E
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Map references:
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Africa
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Area:
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total: 23,000 sq km
land: 22,980 sq km
water: 20 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Massachusetts
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Land boundaries:
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total: 516 km
border countries: Eritrea 109 km, Ethiopia 349 km, Somalia 58 km
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Coastline:
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314 km
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
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Climate:
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desert; torrid, dry
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Terrain:
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coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m
highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 m
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Natural resources:
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geothermal areas, gold, clay, granite, limestone, marble, salt, diatomite, gypsum, pumice, petroleum
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Land use:
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arable land: 0.04%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 99.96% (2005)
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Irrigated land:
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10 sq km (2003)
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Natural hazards:
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earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods
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Environment - current issues:
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inadequate supplies of potable water; limited arable land; desertification; endangered species
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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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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Geography - note:
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strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly wasteland; Lac Assal (Lake Assal) is the lowest point in Africa
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