<item><hi format=bold>Climate:</hi> tropical along coast, semiarid in far north; three seasons—warm and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May), hot and wet (June to October)
<item><hi format=bold>Terrain:</hi> mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest
<item>• <hi format=ital>meadows and pastures:</hi> 9%
<item>• <hi format=ital>forest and woodland:</hi> 26%
<item>• <hi format=ital>other:</hi> 52%
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<item><hi format=bold>Irrigated land:</hi> 620 sq km (1989 est.)
<item><hi format=bold>Environment:</hi>
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<item>• <hi format=ital>current issues:</hi> deforestation; water pollution from sewage and industrial and agricultural effluents
<item>• <hi format=ital>natural hazards:</hi> coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors
<item>• <hi format=ital>international agreements:</hi> party to—Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified—Biodiversity, Climate Change, Tropical Timber