Territorial sea: 12 nm

_#_Disputes: Libya claims about 19,400 km2 in southeastern Algeria

_#_Climate: arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer

_#_Terrain: mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

_#_Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc

_#_Land use: arable land 3%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 13%; forest and woodland 2%; other 82%; includes irrigated NEGL%

_#_Environment: mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; desertification

_#_Note: second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan)

_*People #_Population: 26,022,188 (July 1991), growth rate 2.5% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 32 births/1,000 population (1991)