SELECT EDITION
CATEGORIES
◆ COMMUNICATIONS(7 fields)
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: country code - 212; 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
◆ ECONOMY(38 fields)
Agriculture - products
fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish
Budget
revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA
Currency (code)
Moroccan dirham (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. Incomes in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. The Moroccan Government controls all trade and other economic activities in Western Sahara. Morocco and the EU signed a four-year agreement in July 2006 allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. However, in 2006, the Polisario awarded similar exploration licenses in the disputed territory, which would come into force if Morocco and the Polisario resolve their dispute over Western Sahara.
Electricity - consumption
79.05 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports
0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports
0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production
85 million kWh (2005)
Exchange rates
Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002)
Exports
$NA
Exports - commodities
phosphates 62%
Exports - partners
Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP (official exchange rate)
$NA
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$NA
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: 40%
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$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 (2006)
Industrial production growth rate
NA%
Industries
phosphate mining, handicrafts
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
NA%
Labor force
12,000
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture: 50% industry and services: 50%
Natural gas - consumption
0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - production
0 cu m (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption
1,800 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - exports
NA bbl/day
Oil - imports
NA bbl/day
Oil - production
0 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - proved reserves
0 bbl (1 January 2006)
Population below poverty line
NA%
Unemployment rate
NA%
◆ GEOGRAPHY(18 fields)
Area
total: 266,000 sq km land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 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
Land boundaries
total: 2,046 km border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km
Land use
arable land: 0.02% permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2005)
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
◆ GOVERNMENT(10 fields)
Administrative divisions
none (under de facto control of Morocco)
Capital
none time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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 Organization of African Unity (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
◆ INTRODUCTION(1 fields)
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.
◆ PEOPLE(18 fields)
Age structure
0-14 years: 45.4% (male 88,176/female 85,421) 15-64 years: 52.3% (male 98,345/female 101,895) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 3,705/female 5,075) (2007 est.)
Birth rate
NA
Death rate
NA
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 male: NA female: NA
Literacy
NA
Major infectious diseases
degree of risk: intermediate food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: may be a significant risk in some locations during the transmission season (typically April through November) (2007)
Nationality
noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian
Population
382,617 note: estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries (July 2007 est.)
Population growth rate
NA
Religions
Muslim
Sex ratio
NA
Total fertility rate
NA
◆ TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES(1 fields)
Disputes - international
Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals; several states have extended diplomatic relations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" represented by the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria, while others recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; most of the approximately 102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria
◆ TRANSPORTATION(4 fields)
Airports
9 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways
total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007)
Ports and terminals
Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun)