Location:

Southern Africa, north of South Africa

Geographic coordinates:

22 00 S, 24 00 E

Map references

Africa

Area:

total: 600,370 sq km
land: 585,370 sq km
water: 15,000 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries:

total: 4,013 km
border countries: Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km

Coastline:

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:

none (landlocked)

Climate:

semiarid; warm winters and hot summers

Terrain:

predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m
highest point: Tsodilo Hills 1,489 m

Natural resources:

diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver

Land use:

arable land: 0.65%
permanent crops: 0.01%
other: 99.34% (2005)

Irrigated land:

10 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

14.7 cu km (2001)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 0.19 cu km/yr (41%/18%/41%)
per capita: 107 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility

Environment - current issues:

overgrazing; desertification; limited fresh water resources

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country