Location: Western Africa,
bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo
Geographic
coordinates: 8 00 N, 2 00 W
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 239,460
sq km. land: 230,940 sq km. water: 8,520 sq
km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Oregon
Land Boundaries: total: 2,094 km. border countries: Burkina
Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km.
Coastline: 539
Km.
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM territorial
sea: 12 NM continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic
zone: 200 NM
Climate: tropical; warm and comparatively dry along
southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north.
Terrain: mostly
low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area
Elevation
extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m. highest point: Mount
Afadjato 880 m
Natural resources: gold, timber, industrial diamonds,
bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower.
Land use: arable
land: 15.82% permanent crops: 7.47% other: 76.71% (1998
est.)
Irrigated land: 110 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural
hazards: dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from
January to March; droughts.
Environment - current issues: recurrent
drought in north severely affects agricultural activities; deforestation;
overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching and habitat destruction threatens
wildlife populations; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable
water.
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed,
but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation.
Geography - note:
Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake.
Population:
20,244,154
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account
the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower
life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population
and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by
age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.)
Age
structure: 0-14 years: 40.4% (male 4,116,600; female 4,063,654)
15-64
years: 56.1% (male 5,625,397; female 5,723,786)
65 years and over: 3.5%
(male 338,352; female 376,365) (2002 est.)
Population growth
rate: 1.7% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 28.08 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 10.31 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002
est.)
