Climate: desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south
Terrain: predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north
Natural resources: uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates
Land use: 3% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 7% meadows and pastures; 2% forest and woodland; 88% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: recurrent drought and desertification severely affecting marginal agricultural activities; overgrazing; soil erosion
Note: landlocked
- People
Population: 7,969,309 (July 1990), growth rate 3.6% (1990)
Birth rate: 52 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 17 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)