Guinea-Bissau: Geography#

LocationWestern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal
Geographic Coordinates12 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 boundariestotal: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km
Coastline350 km
Elevation Extremeslowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed elevation in the eastern part of the country 300 m
Highest Mountains
Terrainmostly 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 Hazardshot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires
Natural Resourcefish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum
Land Usearable land: 8.3%
permanent crops: 6.92%
other: 84.78% (2011)
Climatetropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds
Irrigated Land225.6 sq km (2003)
Renewable Water Resources31 cu km (2011)
Environment_CurrentIssuesdeforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing
Environment - international agreementsparty 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 CitiesBissau; Bafata; Gabu; Bissora; Bolama
[Verified]
Important Cities
Geography-notethis small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying inland