Coastline: 1,906 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 18 nm in the North; 24 nm in the South
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: large section of boundary with Saudi
Arabia not defined; a dispute with Eritrea over sovereignty of the
Hanish Islands in the southern Red Sea has been submitted to
arbitration under the auspices of the International Court of Justice
Climate: mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east
Terrain: narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west
Land use:
arable land: 6%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 30%
forest and woodland: 7%
other: 57%
Irrigated land: 3,100 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: very limited natural fresh water resources;
inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion;
desertification
natural hazards: sandstorms and dust storms in summer
international agreements: party to - Environmental Modification, Law
of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified -
Biodiversity, Climate Change
Geographic note: controls Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the
Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping
lanes