Somalia

Location	Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, east of Ethiopia
Geographic coordinates	10 00 N, 49 00 E
Map references	Africa
Area	total: 637,657 sq km land: 627,337 sq km water: 10,320 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries	total: 2,340 km border countries: Djibouti 58 km, Ethiopia 1,600 km, Kenya 682 km
Coastline	3,025 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 200 nm
Climate	principally desert; northeast monsoon (December to February), moderate temperatures in north and hot in south; southwest monsoon (May to October), torrid in the north and hot in the south, irregular rainfall, hot and humid periods (tangambili) between monsoons
Terrain	mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Shimbiris 2,416 m
Natural resources	uranium and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt, natural gas, likely oil reserves
Land use	arable land: 1.64% permanent crops: 0.04% other: 98.32% (2005)
Irrigated land	2,000 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	15.7 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	total: 3.29 cu km/yr (0%/0%/100%) per capita: 400 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	recurring droughts; frequent dust storms over eastern plains in summer; floods during rainy season
Environment - current issues	famine; use of contaminated water contributes to human health problems; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	strategic location on Horn of Africa along southern approaches to Bab el Mandeb and route through Red Sea and Suez Canal