Area comparison map:

slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas

Land boundaries:
total: 6,734 km
[see also: Land boundaries - total country ranks ]
border countries (7): Libya 989 km, Mali 1359 km, Mauritania 460 km, Morocco 1900 km, Niger 951 km, Tunisia 1034 km, Western Sahara 41 km

Coastline:
998 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm

Climate:
arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer
More Climate Details

Terrain:
mostly high plateau and desert; Atlas Mountains in the far north and Hoggar Mountains in the south; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

Elevation:
mean elevation: 800 m
[see also: Elevation - mean elevation country ranks ]
lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m
highest point: Tahat 2,908 m

Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc

Land use:
agricultural land: 17.4% (2016 est.)
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
arable land: 3.1% (2016 est.)
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 0.4% (2016 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent crops country ranks ]
permanent pasture: 13.8% (2016 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent pasture country ranks ]
forest: 0.8% (2016 est.)
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 81.8% (2016 est.)
[see also: Land use country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
13,600 sq km (2014)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Population distribution:
the vast majority of the populace is found in the extreme northern part of the country along the Mediterranean Coast

Natural hazards:
mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season; droughts

Environment - current issues:
air pollution in major cities; soil erosion from overgrazing and other poor farming practices; desertification; dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents is leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean Sea, in particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
largest country in Africa but 80% desert; canyons and caves in the southern Hoggar Mountains and in the barren Tassili n'Ajjer area in the southeast of the country contain numerous examples of prehistoric art - rock paintings and carvings depicting human activities and wild and domestic animals (elephants, giraffes, cattle) - that date to the African Humid Period, roughly 11,000 to 5,000 years ago, when the region was completely vegetated