<item><hi format=bold>Climate:</hi> tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest monsoon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures, lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April)
<item><hi format=bold>Terrain:</hi> central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands
<item><hi format=bold>Natural resources:</hi> petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas
<item><hi format=bold>Land use:</hi>
<list style=hang>
<item>• <hi format=ital>arable land:</hi> 15%
<item>• <hi format=ital>permanent crops:</hi> 1%
<item>• <hi format=ital>meadows and pastures:</hi> 1%
<item>• <hi format=ital>forest and woodland:</hi> 49%
<item>• <hi format=ital>other:</hi> 34%
</list>
<item><hi format=bold>Irrigated land:</hi> 10,180 sq km (1989)
<item>• <hi format=ital>natural hazards:</hi> subject to destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September)
<item>• <hi format=ital>international agreements:</hi> party to—Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber; signed, but not ratified—Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
</list>
<item><hi format=bold>Note:</hi> strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes