Geography of Nigeria
Location: | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon |
Geographic coordinates: | 10 00 N, 8 00 E |
Map references: | Africa |
Area: | total: 923,768 sq km land: 910,768 sq km water: 13,000 sq km |
Area - comparative: | slightly more than twice the size of California |
Land boundaries: | total: 4,047 km border countries: Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km |
Coastline: | 853 km |
Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Climate: | varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north |
Terrain: | southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north |
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m |
Natural resources: | natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land |
Land use: | arable land: 33.02% permanent crops: 3.14% other: 63.84% (2005) |
Irrigated land: | 2,820 sq km (2003) |
Natural hazards: | periodic droughts; flooding |
Environment - current issues: | 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 |
Environment - international agreements: | 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, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Geography - note: | 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 |