| Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia |
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| Geographic coordinates | 11 30 N, 43 00 E |
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| Zone | Africa |
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| Area | total: 23,000 sq km
land: 22,980 sq km
water: 20 sq km |
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| Land boundaries | total: 516 km
border countries: Eritrea 109 km, Ethiopia 349 km, Somalia 58 km |
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| Coastline | 314 km |
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| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
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| Climate | desert; torrid, dry |
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| Terrain | coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains |
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| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m
highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 m |
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| Natural resources | geothermal areas, gold, clay, granite, limestone, marble, salt, diatomite, gypsum, pumice, petroleum |
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| Irrigated land | 314 km |
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| Natural hazards | earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods |
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Environment -
current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; limited arable land; desertification; endangered species |
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Environment -
international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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| Geography - note | strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly wasteland; Lac Assal (Lake Assal) is the lowest point in Africa |
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