Guinea-Bissau Geography - 2004

Location:
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal

Geographic coordinates:
12 00 N, 15 00 W

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 36,120 sq km
water: 8,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries:
total: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km

Coastline:
350 km

Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

Climate:
tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds

Terrain:
mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m

Natural resources:
fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum

Land use:
arable land: 10.67%
permanent crops: 1.78%
other: 87.55% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:
170 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements