Location: Western Africa, southeast of Algeria    

Geographic coordinates: 16 00 N, 8 00 E          

Area: total: 1.267 million sq km, water: 300 sq km, land: 1,266,700 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Texas            

Border countries: Algeria 956 km, Benin 266 km, Burkina Faso 628 km, Chad 1,175 km, Libya 354 km, Mali 821 km, Nigeria 1,497 km        

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)       

Climate: desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south

Terrain: predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north    

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Niger River 200 m, highest point: MontBagzane 2,022 m   

Natural resources: uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, petroleum          

Land use: arable land: 3.54%, permanent crops: 0.01%, other: 96.45% (2001)  

Natural hazards: recurring droughts        

Environment - current issues: overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction     

Geography - note: landlocked; one of the hottest countries in the world: northern four-fifths is desert, southern one-fifth is savanna, suitable for livestock and limited agriculture.