Western Sahara

Branches

NA

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

males age 15-49: NA males fit for military service: NA

Radio broadcast stations

AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios

NA

Telephone system

sparse and limited system domestic: NA international: tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco

Telephones

2,000

Television broadcast stations

2

Televisions

NA Defense

Agriculture

fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by the nomads)

Budget

revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Currency

1 Moroccan dirham (DH) = 100 centimes

Economic aid

recipient: ODA, $NA

Economic overview

Western Sahara, a territory poor in natural resources and having little rainfall, depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. Most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Incomes and standards of living are substantially below the Moroccan level.

Electricity

capacity: 60,000 kW production: 79 million kWh consumption per capita: 339 kWh (1993)

Exchange rates

Moroccan dirhams (DH) per US$1 - 8.607 (January 1996), 8.540 (1995), 9.203 (1994), 9.299 (1993), 8.538 (1992), 8.707 (1991)

Exports

$NA commodities: phosphates 62% partners: Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts

External debt

$NA

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $NA

GDP composition by sector

agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%

GDP per capita

$NA

GDP real growth rate

NA%

Imports

$NA commodities: fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs partners: Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts

Industrial production growth rate

NA%

Industries

phosphate mining, handicrafts

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

NA%

Labor force

12,000 by occupation: animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50%

Unemployment rate

NA%

Area

total area: 266,000 sq km land area: 266,000 sq km comparative area: about the size of Colorado

Climate

hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew

Coastline

1,110 km

Environment

current issues: sparse water and arable land natural hazards: hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility international agreements: NA

Geographic coordinates

24 30 N, 13 00 W

International disputes

claimed and administered by Morocco, but sovereignty is unresolved and the UN is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue; the UN-administered cease-fire has been in effect since September 1991

Irrigated land

NA sq km

Land boundaries

total: 2,046 km border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km

Land use

arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 19% forest and woodland: 0% other: 81%

Location

Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue

Natural resources

phosphates, iron ore

Terrain

mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed location 463 m

Administrative divisions

none (under defacto control of Morocco)

Capital

none

Data code

WI

Diplomatic representation in US

none

Executive branch

none

International organization participation

none

Name of country

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Western Sahara

Type of government

legal status of territory and question of sovereignty unresolved; territory contested by Morocco and Polisario Front (Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro), which in February 1976 formally proclaimed a government-in-exile of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); territory partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania in April 1976, with Morocco acquiring northern two-thirds; Mauritania, under pressure from Polisario guerrillas, abandoned all claims to its portion in August 1979; Morocco moved to occupy that sector shortly thereafter and has since asserted administrative control; the Polisario's government-in-exile was seated as an OAU member in 1984; guerrilla activities continued sporadically, until a UN-monitored cease-fire was implemented 6 September 1991

US diplomatic representation

none

Age structure

0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA

Birth rate

46.51 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate

18.02 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Arab, Berber

Infant mortality rate

145.82 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Languages

Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 47.01 years male: 46 years female: 48.34 years (1996 est.)

Literacy

NA

Nationality

noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) adjective: Sahrawian, Sahraouian

Net migration rate

-3.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Population

222,631 (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate

2.46% (1996 est.)

Religions

Muslim

Sex ratio

at birth: NA male(s)/female under 15 years: NA male(s)/female 15-64 years: NA male(s)/female 65 years and over: NA male(s)/female all ages: NA male(s)/female

Total fertility rate

6.85 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Airports

total: 12 with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 3 with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5 (1995 est.)

Heliports

1 (1995 est.)

Highways

total: 6,200 km paved: 0 km unpaved: 6,200 km

Ports

Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, El Aaiun

Railways

0 km