Compare Ashmore and Cartier Islands (2001) - Western Sahara (2008)

Compare Ashmore and Cartier Islands (2001) z Western Sahara (2008)

	Ashmore and Cartier Islands (2001)	Western Sahara (2008)

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: 5 sq km land: 5 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle, and East Islets) and Cartier Island	total: 266,000 sq km land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	about eight times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC	about the size of Colorado
Background	These uninhabited islands came under Australian authority in 1931; formal administration began two years later. Ashmore Reef supports a rich and diverse avian and marine habitat; in 1983 it became a National Nature Reserve. Recent geological explorations have indicated promising petroleum formations.	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	tropical	hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew
Coastline	74.1 km	1,110 km
Country name	conventional long form: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands conventional short form: Ashmore and Cartier Islands	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara
Death rate	-	NA
Debt - external	-	$NA
Dependency status	territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of the Environment, Sport, and Territories	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (territory of Australia)	none
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (territory of Australia)	none
Disputes - international	none	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	no economic activity	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: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 3 m	lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed location 463 m
Environment - current issues	NA	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 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
Flag description	the flag of Australia is used	-
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: 40%
GDP - real growth rate	-	NA%
Geographic coordinates	12 14 S, 123 05 E	24 30 N, 13 00 W
Geography - note	Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve established in August 1983	the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
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	0 sq km (1993)	NA
Labor force	-	12,000
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: 50% industry and services: 50%
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 2,046 km border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (all grass and sand)	arable land: 0.02% permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2005)
Languages	-	Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
Legal system	the laws of the Northern Territory of Australia, where applicable, apply	-
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: NA male: NA female: NA
Literacy	-	NA
Location	Southeastern Asia, islands in the Indian Ocean, northwest of Australia	Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco
Map references	Southeast Asia	Africa
Maritime claims	contiguous zone: 12 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM	contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force	-
Nationality	-	noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian
Natural hazards	surrounded by shoals and reefs that can pose maritime 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	fish	phosphates, iron ore
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	none
Population	no indigenous inhabitants note: there are only seasonal caretakers (July 2001 est.)	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
Ports and harbors	none; offshore anchorage only	-
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	low with sand and coral	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%
Waterways	none	-

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