Geography (Djibouti)
====================


     Total area:
         22,000 km2
     Land area:
         21,980 km2
     Comparative area:
         slightly larger than Massachusetts
     Land boundaries:
         517 km; Ethiopia 459 km, Somalia 58 km
     Coastline:
         314 km
     Maritime claims:
       Contiguous zone:
         24 nm
       Exclusive economic zone:
         200 nm
       Territorial sea:
         12 nm
     Disputes:
         possible claim by Somalia based on unification of ethnic Somalis
     Climate:
         desert; torrid, dry
     Terrain:
         coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains
     Natural resources:
         geothermal areas
     Land use:
         arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 9%; forest and
         woodland NEGL%; other 91%
     Environment:
         vast wasteland
     Note:
         strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian
         oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia