NamibiaGeography
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Location: |
Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and South Africa
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Geographic coordinates: |
22 00 S, 17 00 E
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Map references: |
Africa
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Area: |
total: 825,418 sq km
land: 825,418 sq km
water: 0 sq km
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Area - comparative: |
slightly more than half the size of Alaska
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Land boundaries: |
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: |
1,572 km
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Maritime claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
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Climate: |
desert; hot, dry; rainfall sparse and erratic
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Terrain: |
mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along coast; Kalahari Desert in east
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Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Konigstein 2,606 m
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Natural resources: |
diamonds, copper, uranium, gold, lead, tin, lithium, cadmium, zinc, salt, hydropower, fish
note: suspected deposits of oil, coal, and iron ore
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Land use: |
arable land: 0.99%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 99.01% (2001)
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Irrigated land: |
70 sq km (1998 est.)
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Natural hazards: |
prolonged periods of drought
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Environment - current issues: |
very limited natural fresh water resources; desertification; wildlife poaching; land degradation has led to few conservation areas
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Environment - international agreements: |
party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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: |
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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More about Namibia:
Introduction
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Military
Transnational Issues
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