Irrigated land: 930 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season
Environment—current issues: deforestation; inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification; soil contamination and erosion; overfishing, overpopulation in forest region
Environment—international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
People
Population: 7,538,953 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 44% (male 1,640,158; female 1,653,184)
15-64 years: 54% (male 1,974,849; female 2,068,221)
65 years and over: 2% (male 83,859; female 118,682) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.82% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 40.62 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 17.3 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)