Guinea-Bissau: Geography#
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal |
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Geographic Coordinates | 12 00 N, 15 00 W 12.0,-15.0 |
Area | total: 36,125 sq km land: 28,120 sq km water: 8,005 sq km [Verified in 8 databases] |
Land boundaries | total: 724 km border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
Coastline | 350 km |
Elevation Extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed elevation in the eastern part of the country 300 m |
Highest Mountains | |
Terrain | mostly low-lying coastal plain with a deeply indented estuarine coastline rising to savanna in east; numerous off-shore islands including the Arquipelago Dos Bijagos consisting of 18 main islands and many small islets |
Natural Hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires |
Natural Resource | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
Land Use | arable land: 8.3% permanent crops: 6.92% other: 84.78% (2011) |
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 |
Irrigated Land | 225.6 sq km (2003) |
Renewable Water Resources | 31 cu km (2011) |
Environment_CurrentIssues | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Large Cities | Bissau; Bafata; Gabu; Bissora; Bolama [Verified] Important Cities |
Geography-note | this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying inland |