Compare Heard Island and McDonald Islands (2003) - Western Sahara (2004)

Compare Heard Island and McDonald Islands (2003) z Western Sahara (2004)

	Heard Island and McDonald Islands (2003)	Western Sahara (2004)

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 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 412 sq km land: 412 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 266,000 sq km land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly more than two times the size of Washington, DC	about the size of Colorado
Background	These uninhabited, barren, sub-Antarctic islands were transferred from the UK to Australia in 1947. Populated by large numbers of seal and bird species, the islands have been designated a nature preserve.	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.
Birth rate	-	NA births/1,000 population
Budget	-	revenues: NA expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA
Capital	-	none
Climate	antarctic	hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew
Coastline	101.9 km	1,110 km
Country name	conventional long form: Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands conventional short form: Heard Island and McDonald Islands	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
Dependency status	territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Antarctic Division of the Department of the Environment and Heritage	-
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 but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals
Economic aid - recipient	-	NA
Economy - overview	No indigenous economic activity, but the Australian Government allows limited fishing around the islands.	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 (2001)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	-	90 million kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Mawson Peak, on Big Ben 2,745 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 - 9.574 (2003), 11.584 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999)
Executive branch	-	none
Exports	-	NA (2001)
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
Flag description	the flag of Australia is used	-
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - NA
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: NA industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - NA
GDP - real growth rate	-	NA
Geographic coordinates	53 06 S, 72 31 E	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	-	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	-	fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	-	Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2000)
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 (1998 est.)	NA sq km
Labor force	-	12,000
Labor force - by occupation	-	animal husbandry and subsistence farming 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% other: 100% (1998 est.)	arable land: 0.02% permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001)
Languages	-	Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
Legal system	the laws of Australia, where applicable, apply	-
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	islands in the Indian Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica	Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco
Map references	Antarctic Region	Africa
Maritime claims	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM	contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of Australia; Australia conducts fisheries patrols	-
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	NA
Nationality	-	noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) adjective: Sahrawi,Sahrawian, Sahraouian
Natural hazards	Mawson Peak, an active volcano, is on Heard Island	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	uninhabited (July 2003 est.)	267,405 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA
Population growth rate	-	NA
Ports and harbors	none; offshore anchorage only	Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun)
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	Heard Island - 80% ice-covered, bleak and mountainous, dominated by a large massif (Big Ben) and an active volcano (Mawson Peak); McDonald Islands - small and rocky	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	-

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