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Compare Indian Ocean (2004) - Western Sahara (2001)

Compare Indian Ocean (2004) z Western Sahara (2001)

 Indian Ocean (2004)Western Sahara (2001)
 Indian OceanWestern Sahara
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 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways - total:
3

2,438 to 3,047 m:
3 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways - total:
8

1,524 to 2,437 m:
1

914 to 1,523 m:
4

under 914 m:
3 (2000 est.)
Area total: 68.556 million sq km


note: includes Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Flores Sea, Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Java Sea, Mozambique Channel, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Savu Sea, Strait of Malacca, Timor Sea, and other tributary water bodies
total:
266,000 sq km

land:
266,000 sq km

water:
0 sq km
Area - comparative about 5.5 times the size of the US about the size of Colorado
Background The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean). Four critically important access waterways are the Suez Canal (Egypt), Bab el Mandeb (Djibouti-Yemen), Strait of Hormuz (Iran-Oman), and Strait of Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia). The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Indian Ocean south of 60 degrees south. 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 and is not expected to occur until at least 2002.
Budget - revenues:
$NA

expenditures:
$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Capital - none
Climate northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February in the southern Indian Ocean hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew
Coastline 66,526 km 1,110 km
Country name - conventional long form:
none

conventional short form:
Western Sahara

former:
Spanish Sahara
Currency - Moroccan dirham (MAD)
Debt - external - $NA
Diplomatic representation from the US - none
Diplomatic representation in the US - none
Disputes - international some maritime disputes (see littoral states) claimed and administered by Morocco, but sovereignty is unresolved and the UN is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue; the UN-administered cease-fire has been in effect since September 1991
Economic aid - recipient - $NA
Economy - overview The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Western Sahara, a territory poor in natural resources and lacking sufficient rainfall, depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. Most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Incomes and standards of living are substantially below the Moroccan level.
Electricity - consumption - 83.7 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports - 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports - 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - production - 90 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel:
100%

hydro:
0%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Java Trench -7,258 m


highest point: sea level 0 m
lowest point:
Sebjet Tah -55 m

highest point:
unnamed location 463 m
Environment - current issues endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea 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 - 10.590 (January 2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999), 9.604 (1998), 9.527 (1997), 8.716 (1996)
Executive branch - none
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.)
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $NA
GDP - real growth rate - NA%
Geographic coordinates 20 00 S, 80 00 E 24 30 N, 13 00 W
Geography - note major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait -
Heliports - 1 (2000 est.)
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
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
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%

permanent pastures:
19%

forests and woodland:
0%

other:
81%
Languages - Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
Literacy - definition:
NA

total population:
NA%

male:
NA%

female:
NA%
Location body of water between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and Australia Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco
Map references Political Map of the World Africa
Maritime claims - contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue
Military branches - NA
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - NA%
Nationality - noun:
Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)

adjective:
Sahrawian, Sahraouian
Natural hazards occasional icebergs pose navigational hazard in southern reaches 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 oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules phosphates, iron ore
Political pressure groups and leaders - none
Population - 250,559 (July 2001 est.)
Population below poverty line - NA%
Ports and harbors Chennai (Madras; India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Jakarta (Indonesia), Kolkata (Calcutta; India) Melbourne (Australia), Mumbai (Bombay; India), Richards Bay (South Africa) 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
Suffrage - none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign has yet to be 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 surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast
Unemployment rate - NA%
Waterways - none
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