Geography of Tunisia (original) (raw)

**Location:**Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya

**Geographic coordinates:**34 00 N, 9 00 E

**Map references:**Africa

Area:
_total:_163,610 km�
_land:_155,360 km�
_water:_8,250 km�

**Area - comparative:**slightly larger than Georgia (U.S. state)

Land boundaries:
_total:_1,424 km
_border countries:_Algeria 965 km, Libya 459 km

**Coastline:**1,148 km

Maritime claims:
_contiguous zone:_24 nautical miles
_territorial sea:_12 nautical miles

**Climate:**temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers; desert in south

**Terrain:**mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid south merges into the Sahara

Elevation extremes:
_lowest point:_Shatt al Gharsah -17 m
_highest point:_Jabal ash Shanabi 1,544 m

Natural resources: petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt, arable land

Land use:
_arable land:_19%
_permanent crops:_13%
_permanent pastures:_20%
_forests and woodland:_4%
_other:_44% (1993 est.)

**Irrigated land:**3,850 km� (1993 est.)

**Natural hazards:**NA

**Environment - current issues:**toxic and hazardous waste disposal is ineffective and presents human health risks; water pollution from raw sewage; limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

**Geography - note:**strategic location in central Mediterranean

See also : Tunisia