Libya vs. Sudan
Geography
| Libya | Sudan | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria | north-eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea |
| Geographic coordinates | 25 00 N, 17 00 E | 15 00 N, 30 00 E |
| Map references | Africa | Africa |
| Area | total: 1,759,540 sq km land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km | total: 1,861,484 sq km land: 1,731,671 sq km water: 129,813 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about 2.5 times the size of Texas; slightly larger than Alaska | slightly less than one-fifth the size of the US |
| Land boundaries | total: 4,339 km border countries (6): Algeria 989 km, Chad 1050 km, Egypt 1115 km, Niger 342 km, Sudan 382 km, Tunisia 461 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 | 1,770 km | 853 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 62 nm note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 18 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Climate | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior | hot and dry; arid desert; rainy season varies by region (April to November) |
| Terrain | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions | generally flat, featureless plain; desert dominates the north |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m mean elevation: 423 m | highest point: Jabal Marrah 3,042 m lowest point: Red Sea 0 m mean elevation: 568 m |
| Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum | petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold; hydropower |
| Land use | agricultural land: 8.8% (2018 est.) arable land: 1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 7.6% (2018 est.) forest: 0.1% (2018 est.) other: 91.1% (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 | 4,700 sq km (2012) | 18,900 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms | dust storms and periodic persistent droughts |
| Environment - current issues | desertification; limited natural freshwater resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, brings water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities; water pollution is a significant problem; the combined impact of sewage, oil byproducts, and industrial waste threatens Libya's coast and the Mediterranean Sea | 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, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Law of the Sea | 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 | note 1: more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert note 2: the volcano Waw an Namus lies in south central Libya in the middle of the Sahara; the caldera is an oasis - the name means "oasis of mosquitoes" - containing several small lakes surrounded by vegetation and hosting various insects and a large diversity of birds | 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 | 700 million cubic meters (2017 est.) | 37.8 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | well over 90% of the population lives along the Mediterranean coast in and between Tripoli to the west and Al Bayda to the east; the interior remains vastly underpopulated due to the Sahara and lack of surface water 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
