Size: Total area of 1,030,700 square kilometers includes 400 square kilometers of water.
Topography: Generally flat with vast, arid plains broken by occasional ridges and outcroppings. In center of country, series of scarps facing southwest longitudinally bisect plains; sandstone plateaus, some with isolated peaks, between scarps. Northeast a vast region of dunes.
Climate: Desert climate across northern three-fourths of country with diurnal extremes in temperatures and meager and irregular rainfall. During rainy season (July to September), average rainfall in far south 400 to 600 millimeters; in northern two-thirds, 0 to 100 millimeters. Desert winds throughout year cause frequent sandstorms.
Data as of June 1988