_#_Terrain: mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills
_#_Natural resources: iron ore, gypsum, fish, copper, phosphate
_#_Land use: arable land 1%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 38%; forest and woodland 5%; other 56%; includes irrigated NEGL%
_#_Environment: hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; desertification; only perennial river is the Senegal
_*People #_Population: 1,995,755 (July 1991), growth rate 3.1% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 49 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 18 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 94 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 44 years male, 50 years female (1991)