ea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km,
Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km, Zaire 628 km

Coastline: 853 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 18 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: administrative boundary with Kenya does
not coincide with international boundary; administrative boundary
with Egypt does not coincide with international boundary creating
the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km, tensions over
this disputed area began to escalate in 1992 and remain high

Climate: tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season
(April to October)

Terrain: generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and
west
lowest point: Red Sea 0 m
highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m

Natural resources: petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper,
chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold

Land use:
arable land: 5%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 24%
forest and woodland: 20%
other: 51%

Irrigated land: 18,900 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife
populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion;
desertification
natural hazards: dust storms
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test
Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling

Geographic note: largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile
and its tributaries

People
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Population: 31,547,543 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 46% (male 7,389,616; female 7,080,044)
15-64 years: 52% (male 8,219,080; female 8,172,544)
65 years and over: 2% (male 387,961; female 298,298) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.48% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 41.08 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 11.46 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 5.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.3 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.03 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 76 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 55.12 years
male: 54.2 years
female: 56.09 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.89 children bo