Mali vs. Mauritania
Geography
| Mali | Mauritania | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Senegal and Western Sahara |
| Geographic coordinates | 17 00 N, 4 00 W | 20 00 N, 12 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: 1,030,700 sq km land: 1,030,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico; about six times the size of Florida |
| 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: 5,002 km border countries (4): Algeria 460 km, Mali 2236 km, Morocco 1564 km, Senegal 742 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 754 km |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| Climate | subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February) | desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty |
| Terrain | mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast | mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m lowest point: Senegal River 23 m mean elevation: 343 m | highest point: Kediet Ijill 915 m lowest point: Sebkhet Te-n-Dghamcha -5 m mean elevation: 276 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 | iron ore, gypsum, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold, oil, fish |
| 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: 38.5% (2018 est.) arable land: 0.4% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 38.1% (2018 est.) forest: 0.2% (2018 est.) other: 61.3% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 3,780 sq km (2012) | 450 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind primarily in March and April; periodic droughts |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; loss of pasture land; inadequate supplies of potable water | overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion aggravated by drought are contributing to desertification; limited natural freshwater resources away from the Senegal, which is the only perennial river; locust infestation |
| 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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, 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 | Mauritania is considered both a part of North Africa's Maghreb region and West Africa's Sahel region; most of the population is concentrated in the cities of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and along the Senegal River in the southern part of the country |
| Total renewable water resources | 120 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 11.4 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 | with most of the country being a desert, vast areas of the country, particularly in the central, northern, and eastern areas, are without sizeable population clusters; half the population lives in or around the coastal capital of Nouakchott; smaller clusters are found near the southern border with Mali and Senegal as shown in this population distribution map |
Source: CIA Factbook
