Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
Agriculture - products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) |
Airports | 11 (2001) |
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) |
Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado |
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 cease-fire; a referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | none |
Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew |
Coastline | 1,110 km |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
Currency | Moroccan dirham (MAD) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $NA |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none |
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 reject other proposals |
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 (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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 |
Ethnic groups | Arab, Berber |
Exchange rates | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 11.584 (January 2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999), 9.604 (1998), 9.527 (1997) |
Executive branch | none |
Exports | 0 kWh (2000) |
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%-45% (1996 est.) (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W |
Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas |
Highways | total: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | 0 kWh (2000) |
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 |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% |
Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | NA deaths/1,000 live births |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% |
International organization participation | none |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km |
Labor force | 12,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% |
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.) |
Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco |
Map references | Africa |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% |
Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
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 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none |
Population | 256,177 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% |
Population growth rate | NA (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 56,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km |
Religions | Muslim |
Sex ratio | NA |
Suffrage | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed |
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 |
Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | NA% |
Waterways | none |