Location: | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia |
| Geographic coordinates: | 28 00 N, 3 00 E |
| Map references: | Africa |
| Area: | total: 2,381,740 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 2,381,740 sq km |
| Area - comparative: | slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas |
| Land boundaries: | total: 6,343 km
border countries: Libya 982 km, Mali 1,376 km, Mauritania 463 km, Morocco 1,559 km, Niger 956 km, Tunisia 965 km, Western Sahara 42 km |
| Coastline: | 998 km |
| Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm
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 |
| Terrain: | mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
| Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m
highest point: Tahat 3,003 m |
| Natural resources: | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc |
| Land use: | arable land: 3.22%
permanent crops: 0.25%
other: 96.53% (2001) |
| Irrigated land: | 5,600 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Natural hazards: | mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season |
| Environment - current issues: | 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, 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: | second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan)
Source: CIA World Factbook
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