Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and
Sudan

15 00 N, 39 00 E

Africa

total: 121,320 sq km
land: 121,320 sq km
water: 0 sq km

slightly larger than Pennsylvania

total: 1,630 km
border countries: Djibouti 113 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km

2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in
Red Sea 1,083 km

NA

hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter
in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually); semiarid
in western hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during June-September
except in coastal desert

dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending
highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the
northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling
plains

lowest point: near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m
highest point: Soira 3,018 m

gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and
natural gas, fish

arable land: 12%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 49%
forests and woodland: 6%
other: 32% (1998 est.)

280 sq km (1993 est.)

frequent droughts and locust storms

deforestation; desertification; soil
erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

strategic geopolitical position along world's
busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of
Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on
24 May 1993