Western Sahara

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

1 (2000)

Internet country code

.eh

Internet users

NA

Radio broadcast stations

AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)

Telephone system

general assessment: 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 - main lines in use

about 2,000 (1999 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

0 (1999)

Television broadcast stations

NA

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

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

Currency

Moroccan dirham (MAD)

Currency code

MAD

Debt - external

$NA

Economic aid - recipient

$NA

Economy - overview

Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level.

Electricity - consumption

83.7 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - production

90 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0%

Exchange rates

Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 11.584 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999), 9.604 (1998), 9.527 (1997)

Exports

$NA

Exports - commodities

phosphates 62%

Exports - partners

Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $NA

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: 40% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $NA

GDP - real growth rate

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Imports

$NA

Imports - commodities

fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs

Imports - partners

Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2000)

Industrial production growth rate

NA%

Industries

phosphate mining, handicrafts

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

NA%

Labor force

12,000

Labor force - by occupation

animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50%

Oil - consumption

1,800 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports

NA (2001)

Oil - imports

NA (2001)

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Unemployment rate

NA%

Area

total: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 266,000 sq km

Area - comparative

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

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed location 463 m

Environment - current issues

sparse water and lack of arable land

Environment - international agreements

party to: none of the selected agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geographic coordinates

24 30 N, 13 00 W

Geography - note

the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas

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% other: 100% (1998 est.)

Location

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

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue

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

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

Administrative divisions

none (under de facto control of Morocco)

Capital

none

Country name

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara

Diplomatic representation from the US

none

Diplomatic representation in the US

none

Executive branch

none

Government type

legal status of territory and issue 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),led by President Mohamed ABDELAZIZ; 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

International organization participation

none

Political pressure groups and leaders

none

Suffrage

none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed

Background

Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed.

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

NA%

Age structure

0-14 years: NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% (2003 est.)

Birth rate

NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate

NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Ethnic groups

Arab, Berber

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

NA%

HIV/AIDS - deaths

NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

NA

Infant mortality rate

total: NA% male: NA% female: NA%

Languages

Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic

Life expectancy at birth

total population: NA years male: NA years female: NA years (2003 est.)

Literacy

definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%

Nationality

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

Population

261,794 (July 2003 est.)

Population growth rate

NA% (2003 est.)

Religions

Muslim

Sex ratio

NA (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate

NA children born/woman (2003 est.)

Disputes - international

Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties have rejected other proposals; Mauritanian claims to Western Sahara have been dormant in recent years; Morocco allowed Spanish fishermen to fish temporarily off the coast of Western Sahara after an oil spill soiled Spanish fishing grounds

Airports

11 (2002)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2002)

Highways

total: 6,200 km paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est)

Ports and harbors

Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun)

Railways

0 km

Waterways

none