Eritrea vs. Sudan
Geography
| Eritrea | Sudan | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan | north-eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea |
| Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 39 00 E | 15 00 N, 30 00 E |
| Map references | Africa | Africa |
| Area | total: 117,600 sq km land: 101,000 sq km water: 16,600 sq km | total: 1,861,484 sq km land: 1,731,671 sq km water: 129,813 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly less than one-fifth the size of the US |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,840 km border countries (3): Djibouti 125 km, Ethiopia 1033 km, Sudan 682 km | total: 6,819 km border countries (7): Central African Republic 174 km, Chad 1403 km, Egypt 1276 km, Eritrea 682 km, Ethiopia 744 km, Libya 382 km, South Sudan 2158 km note: Sudan-South Sudan boundary represents 1 January 1956 alignment; final alignment pending negotiations and demarcation; final sovereignty status of Abyei region pending negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan |
| Coastline | 2,234 km (mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km) | 853 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 18 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Climate | hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually, heaviest June to September); semiarid in western hills and lowlands | hot and dry; arid desert; rainy season varies by region (April to November) |
| Terrain | 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 | generally flat, featureless plain; desert dominates the north |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Soira 3,018 m lowest point: near Kulul within the Danakil Depression -75 m mean elevation: 853 m | highest point: Jabal Marrah 3,042 m lowest point: Red Sea 0 m mean elevation: 568 m |
| Natural resources | gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish | petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold; hydropower |
| Land use | agricultural land: 75.1% (2018 est.) arable land: 6.8% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 68.3% (2018 est.) forest: 15.1% (2018 est.) other: 9.8% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 100% (2018 est.) arable land: 15.7% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 84.2% (2018 est.) forest: 0% (2018 est.) other: 0% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 210 sq km (2012) | 18,900 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | frequent droughts, rare earthquakes and volcanoes; locust swarms volcanism: Dubbi (1,625 m), which last erupted in 1861, was the country's only historically active volcano until Nabro (2,218 m) came to life on 12 June 2011 | dust storms and periodic persistent droughts |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing | water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water scarcity and periodic drought; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification; deforestation; loss of biodiversity
|
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Paris Agreement | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note | 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 | the Nile is Sudan's primary water source; its major tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, meet at Khartoum to form the River Nile which flows northward through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea |
| Total renewable water resources | 7.315 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 37.8 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | density is highest in the center of the country in and around the cities of Asmara (capital) and Keren; smaller settlements exist in the north and south as shown in this population distribution map | with the exception of a ribbon of settlement that corresponds to the banks of the Nile, northern Sudan, which extends into the dry Sahara, is sparsely populated; more abundant vegetation and broader access to water increases population distribution in the south extending habitable range along nearly the entire border with South Sudan; sizeable areas of population are found around Khartoum, southeast between the Blue and White Nile Rivers, and througout South Darfur as shown on this population distribution map |
Source: CIA Factbook
