Ubicación: Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia

Cordenadas Geográficas: 26 00 N, 50 33 E

Referencias en el mapa: Middle East

Area:
total: 620 sq km
land: 620 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparativo: 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Fronteras: 0 km

Costa: 161 km

Demandas Marítimas:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined
territorial sea: 12 nm

Clima: arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers

Terreno: mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment

Extremos de Elevación:
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m

Recursos Naturales: oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish

Uso de Tierras:
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 6%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 92% (1993 est.)

Tierras Irrigadas: 10 sq km (1993 est.)

Peligros Naturales: periodic droughts; dust storms

Ambiente - asuntos actuales: desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil refineries, and distribution stations; no natural fresh water resources so that groundwater and sea water are the only sources for all water needs

Ambiente - acuerdos internacionales:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Nota - geografía: close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf which much of Western world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean