Benin vs. Niger
Geography
| Benin | Niger | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria |
| Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 16 00 N, 8 00 E |
| Map references | Africa | Africa |
| Area | total: 112,622 sq km land: 110,622 sq km water: 2,000 sq km | total: 1.267 million sq km land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,123 km border countries (4): Burkina Faso 386 km, Niger 277 km, Nigeria 809 km, Togo 651 km | total: 5,834 km border countries (7): Algeria 951 km, Benin 277 km, Burkina Faso 622 km, Chad 1196 km, Libya 342 km, Mali 838 km, Nigeria 1608 km |
| Coastline | 121 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm; note: the US does not recognize this claim continental shelf: 200 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm | none (landlocked) |
| Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south |
| Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m mean elevation: 273 m | highest point: Idoukal-n-Taghes 2,022 m lowest point: Niger River 200 m mean elevation: 474 m |
| Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, molybdenum, gypsum, salt, petroleum |
| Land use | agricultural land: 31.3% (2018 est.) arable land: 22.9% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 3.5% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 4.9% (2018 est.) forest: 40% (2018 est.) other: 28.7% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 35.1% (2018 est.) arable land: 12.3% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 22.7% (2018 est.) forest: 1% (2018 est.) other: 63.9% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 230 sq km (2012) | 1,000 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | recurring droughts |
| Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; water pollution; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification (the spread of the desert into agricultural lands in the north is accelerated by regular droughts) | overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; contaminated water; inadequate potable water; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | landlocked; one of the hottest countries in the world; northern four-fifths is desert, southern one-fifth is savanna, suitable for livestock and limited agriculture |
| Total renewable water resources | 26.39 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 34.05 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | the population is primarily located in the south, with the highest concentration of people residing in and around the cities on the Atlantic coast; most of the north remains sparsely populated with higher concentrations of residents in the west at shown in this population distribution map | majority of the populace is located in the southernmost extreme of the country along the border with Nigeria and Benin as shown in this population distribution map |
Source: CIA Factbook
