Mali vs. Cote d'Ivoire
Geography
| Mali | Cote d'Ivoire | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | interior Western Africa, southwest of Algeria, north of Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, and Burkina Faso, west of Niger | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia |
| Geographic coordinates | 17 00 N, 4 00 W | 8 00 N, 5 00 W |
| Map references | Africa | Africa |
| Area | total: 1,240,192 sq km land: 1,220,190 sq km water: 20,002 sq km | total: 322,463 sq km land: 318,003 sq km water: 4,460 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly larger than New Mexico |
| Land boundaries | total: 7,908 km border countries (7): Algeria 1359 km, Burkina Faso 1325 km, Cote d'Ivoire 599 km, Guinea 1062 km, Mauritania 2236 km, Niger 838 km, Senegal 489 km | total: 3,458 km border countries (5): Burkina Faso 545 km, Ghana 720 km, Guinea 816 km, Liberia 778 km, Mali 599 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 515 km |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
| Climate | subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February) | tropical along coast, semiarid in far north; three seasons - warm and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May), hot and wet (June to October) |
| Terrain | mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast | mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m lowest point: Senegal River 23 m mean elevation: 343 m | highest point: Monts Nimba 1,752 m lowest point: Gulf of Guinea 0 m mean elevation: 250 m |
| Natural resources | gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, gypsum, granite, hydropower, note, bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited | petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper, gold, nickel, tantalum, silica sand, clay, cocoa beans, coffee, palm oil, hydropower |
| Land use | agricultural land: 34.1% (2018 est.) arable land: 5.6% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 28.4% (2018 est.) forest: 10.2% (2018 est.) other: 55.7% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 64.8% (2018 est.) arable land: 9.1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 14.2% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 41.5% (2018 est.) forest: 32.7% (2018 est.) other: 2.5% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 3,780 sq km (2012) | 730 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding | coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; loss of pasture land; inadequate supplies of potable water | deforestation (most of the country's forests - once the largest in West Africa - have been heavily logged); water pollution from sewage, and from industrial, mining, and agricultural effluents |
| Environment - international agreements | 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban | 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, 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 |
| Geography - note | landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan | most of the inhabitants live along the sandy coastal region; apart from the capital area, the forested interior is sparsely populated |
| Total renewable water resources | 120 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 84.14 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | the overwhelming majority of the population lives in the southern half of the country, with greater density along the border with Burkina Faso as shown in this population distribution map | the population is primarily located in the forested south, with the highest concentration of people residing in and around the cities on the Atlantic coast; most of the northern savanna remains sparsely populated with higher concentrations located along transportation corridors as shown in this population distribution map |
Source: CIA Factbook
