Western Sahara (2008)

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Western Sahara 2008 year


Administrative divisions	none (under de facto control of Morocco)
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.)
Agriculture - products	fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish
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)
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 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. In April 2007, Morocco presented an autonomy plan for the territory to the UN, which the U.S. considers serious and credible. The Polisario also presented a plan to the UN in 2007. Since August 2007, representatives from the Government of Morocco and the Polisario Front have met three times to negotiate the status of Western Sahara, with a fourth round of negotiations planned for March 2008.
Birth rate	NA 39.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA
Capital	none time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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
Death rate	NA
Debt - external	$NA
Diplomatic representation from the US	none
Diplomatic representation in the US	none
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
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)
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 - 8.2827 (2007), 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003)
Executive branch	none
Exports	0 kWh (2005)
Exports	$NA
Exports	0 cu m (2005 est.)
Exports	0 bbl/day (2004)
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 - composition by sector	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: 40%
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
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports	0 kWh (2005)
Imports	$NA
Imports	0 cu m (2005)
Imports	1,698 bbl/day (2004)
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
Infant mortality rate	total: NA male: NA female: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	NA%
International organization participation	none
Irrigated land	NA
Labor force	12,000
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 50% industry and services: 50%
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)
Languages	Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
Life expectancy at birth	total population: NA male: NA female: NA
Literacy	NA
Location	Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco
Map references	Africa
Maritime claims	contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue
Nationality	noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) adjective: Sahrawi, 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	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 below poverty line	NA%
Population growth rate	NA
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)
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: 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
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
Unemployment rate	NA%

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