Guinea-Bissau Geography - 2006

Location:
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal

Geographic coordinates:
12 00 N, 15 00 W

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km
water: 8,120 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries:
total: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km

Coastline:
350 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:
tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds

Terrain:
mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m

Natural resources:
fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum

Land use:
arable land: 8.31%
permanent crops: 6.92%
other: 84.77% (2005)

Irrigated land:
250 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements