Western Sahara

Broadcast media

Morocco's state-owned broadcaster, Radio-Television Marocaine (RTM), operates a radio service from Laayoune and relays TV service; a Polisario-backed radio station also broadcasts (2008)

Internet country code

.eh

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 (2008)

Television broadcast stations

NA

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

revenues: $NA | expenditures: $NA

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

NA%

Debt - external

$NA

Economy - overview

Western Sahara has a small market-based economy whose main industries are fishing, phosphate mining, and pastoral nomadism. The territory's arid desert climate makes sedentary agriculture difficult, and Western Sahara imports much of its food. The Moroccan Government administers Western Sahara's economy and is a key source of employment, infrastructure development, and social spending in the territory. Western Sahara's unresolved legal status makes the exploitation of its natural resources a contentious issue between Morocco and the Polisario. Morocco and the EU in December 2013 finalized a four-year agreement allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Oil has never been found in Western Sahara in commercially significant quantities, but Morocco and the Polisario have quarreled over who has the right to authorize and benefit from oil exploration in the territory. Western Sahara's main long-term economic challenge is the development of a more diverse set of industries capable of providing greater employment and income to the territory.

Exchange rates

Moroccan dirhams (MAD) per US dollar - | 8.3798 (2014) | 8.3803 (2013) | 8.6 (2012) | 8.0899 (2011) | 8.4172 (2010)

Exports

$NA

Exports - commodities

phosphates 62% (2012 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP (official exchange rate)

$NA

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$906.5 million (2007 est.) | country comparison to the world: 205

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: NA% | industry: NA% | services: 40% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$2,500 (2007 est.) | country comparison to the world: 196

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

Industrial production growth rate

NA%

Industries

phosphate mining, handicrafts

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

NA%

Labor force

144,000 (2010 est.) | country comparison to the world: 178

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 50% | industry and services: 50% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Taxes and other revenues

NA%

Unemployment rate

NA%

Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy

316,100 Mt (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 189

Crude oil - exports

0 bbl/day (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 210

Crude oil - imports

0 bbl/day (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 148

Crude oil - production

0 bbl/day (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 210

Crude oil - proved reserves

0 bbl (1 January 2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 210

Electricity - consumption

83.7 million kWh (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 202

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 215

Electricity - from fossil fuels

100% of total installed capacity (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 2

Electricity - from hydroelectric plants

0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 213

Electricity - from nuclear fuels

0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 209

Electricity - from other renewable sources

0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 144

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 217

Electricity - installed generating capacity

58,000 kW (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 184

Electricity - production

90 million kWh (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 202

Natural gas - consumption

0 cu m (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 211

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 210

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 81

Natural gas - production

0 cu m (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 148

Natural gas - proved reserves

0 cu m (1 January 2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 207

Refined petroleum products - consumption

1,700 bbl/day (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 189

Refined petroleum products - exports

0 bbl/day (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 145

Refined petroleum products - imports

1,702 bbl/day (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 185

Refined petroleum products - production

0 bbl/day (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 147

Area

total: 266,000 sq km | land: 266,000 sq km | water: 0 sq km | country comparison to the world: 78

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 elevation 805 m

Environment - current issues

sparse water and lack of arable land

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: 2,049 km | border countries (3): Algeria 41 km, Mauritania 1,564 km, Morocco 444 km

Land use

agricultural land: 18.8% | arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; permanent pasture 18.8% | forest: 2.7% | other: 78.5% (2011 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 officially, the territory west of the Moroccan berm falls under de facto Moroccan control; Morocco claims the territory of Western Sahara, the political status of which is considered undetermined by the US Government; portions of the regions Guelmim-Es Smara and Laayoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra as claimed by Morocco lie within Western Sahara; Morocco also claims Oued Eddahab-Lagouira, another region that falls entirely within Western Sahara

Capital

Laayoune (administrative center) | time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) | daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in September

Country name

conventional long form: none | conventional short form: Western Sahara | former: Rio de Oro, Saguia el Hamra, 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, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), based out of refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria, led by President Mohamed ABDELAZIZ

International organization participation

AU, CAN (observer), WFTU (NGOs)

Political pressure groups and leaders

none

Suffrage

none; (residents of Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara participate in Moroccan elections)

Background

Western Sahara is a disputed territory on the northwest coast of Africa bordered by Morocco, Mauritania, and Algeria. After Spain withdrew from its former colony of Spanish Sahara in 1976, Morocco annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara and claimed the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Morocco's sovereignty ended in a 1991 cease-fire and the establishment of a UN peacekeeping operation. As part of this effort, the UN sought to offer a choice to the peoples of the Western Sahara between independence (favored by the Polisario Front) or integration into Morocco. A proposed referendum never took place due to lack of agreement on voter eligibility. The 2,700 km- (1,700 mi-) long defensive sand berm, built by the Moroccans from 1980 to 1987 and running the length of the territory, continues to separate the opposing forces with Morocco controlling the roughly 80 percent of the territory west of the berm. Local demonstrations criticizing the Moroccan authorities occur regularly, and there are periodic ethnic tensions between the native Sahrawi population and Moroccan immigrants. Morocco maintains a heavy security presence in the territory.

Manpower fit for military service

males age 16-49: 79,489 | females age 16-49: 87,362 (2010 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

male: 5,523 | female: 5,429 (2010 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 37.83% (male 109,147/female 106,789) | 15-24 years: 19.63% (male 56,412/female 55,624) | 25-54 years: 33.93% (male 95,296/female 98,391) | 55-64 years: 4.87% (male 12,974/female 14,829) | 65 years and over: 3.75% (male 9,406/female 11,998) (2015 est.)

Birth rate

30.24 births/1,000 population (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 40

Death rate

8.34 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 84

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 40.2% | youth dependency ratio: 36.1% | elderly dependency ratio: 4.1% | potential support ratio: 24.4% (2015 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: 54.7 deaths/1,000 live births | male: 59.61 deaths/1,000 live births | female: 49.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 27

Languages

Standard Arabic (national), Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 62.64 years | male: 60.35 years | female: 65.02 years (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 190

Major urban areas - population

Laayoune 262,000 (2014)

Median age

total: 20.9 years | male: 20.5 years | female: 21.4 years (2015 est.)

Nationality

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

Population

570,866 (July 2013 est.) | note: estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries (July 2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 172

Population growth rate

2.82% (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 12

Religions

Muslim

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female | 0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female | 15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female | 25-54 years: 0.97 male(s)/female | 55-64 years: 0.88 male(s)/female | 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female | total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

Total fertility rate

4 children born/woman (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 38

Urbanization

urban population: 80.9% of total population (2015) | rate of urbanization: 3.27% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Disputes - international

many neighboring states reject Moroccan administration of Western Sahara; 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; approximately 90,000 Sahrawi refugees continue to be sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria, which has hosted Sahrawi refugees since the 1980s

Airports

6 (2013) | country comparison to the world: 174

Airports - with paved runways

total: 3 | 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2013)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 3 | 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 | 914 to 1,523 m: 1 | 1 (2013)

Ports and terminals

major seaport(s): Ad Dakhla, Laayoune (El Aaiun)