Territorial sea: 12 nm

_#_Climate: temperate; warm, dry, summer precipitation very erratic

_#_Terrain: steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic

_#_Natural resources: salt, basalt rock, pozzolana, limestone, kaolin, fish

_#_Land use: arable land 9%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 6%; forest and woodland NEGL%; other 85%; includes irrigated 1%

_#_Environment: subject to prolonged droughts; harmattan wind can obscure visibility; volcanically and seismically active; deforestation; overgrazing

_#_Note: strategic location 500 km from African coast near major north-south sea routes; important communications station; important sea and air refueling site

_*People #_Population: 386,501 (July 1991), growth rate 3.0% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 48 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1991)