Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_Disputes: possible claim by Somalia based on unification of ethnic Somalis
_#_Climate: desert; torrid, dry
_#_Terrain: coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains
_#_Natural resources: geothermal areas
_#_Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 9%; forest and woodland NEGL%; other 91%
_#_Environment: vast wasteland
_#_Note: strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia
_*People #_Population: 346,311 (July 1991), growth rate 2.6% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 43 births/1,000 population (1991)