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Compare Paracel Islands (2003) - Western Sahara (2006)

Compare Paracel Islands (2003) z Western Sahara (2006)

 Paracel Islands (2003)Western Sahara (2006)
 Paracel IslandsWestern 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 (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products - fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish
Airports 1 (2002) 11 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways total: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002)
total: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways - total: 8


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 3 (2006)
Area total: NA sq km


land: NA sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 266,000 sq km


land: 266,000 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative NA about the size of Colorado
Background The Paracel Islands are surrounded by productive fishing grounds and by potential oil and gas reserves. In 1932, French Indochina annexed the islands and set up a weather station on Pattle Island; maintenance was continued by its successor, Vietnam. China has occupied the Paracel Islands since 1974, when its troops seized a South Vietnamese garrison occupying the western islands. The islands are claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. 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
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 518 km 1,110 km
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Paracel Islands
conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Western Sahara


former: Spanish Sahara
Death rate - NA deaths/1,000 population
Debt - external - $NA
Diplomatic representation from the US - none
Diplomatic representation in the US - none
Disputes - international occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam 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
Economic aid - recipient - $NA
Economy - overview China announced plans in 1997 to open the islands for tourism. 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 (2003)
Electricity - exports - 0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports - 0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production - 85 million kWh (2003)
Elevation extremes lowest point: South China Sea 0 m


highest point: unnamed location on Rocky Island 14 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 - 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002), 11.303 (2001)
Executive branch - none
Exports - NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities - phosphates 62%
Exports - partners - Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2004)
Fiscal year - calendar year
GDP - composition by sector - agriculture: NA%


industry: NA%


services: 40%
GDP - real growth rate - NA%
Geographic coordinates 16 30 N, 112 00 E 24 30 N, 13 00 W
Geography - note composed of 130 small coral islands and reefs divided into the northeast Amphitrite Group and the western Crescent Group the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas
Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
Imports - NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities - fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs
Imports - partners - Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2004)
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
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%


other: 100% (1998 est.)
arable land: 0.02%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 99.98% (2005)
Languages - Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
Life expectancy at birth - total population: NA years


male: NA years


female: NA years
Literacy - NA
Location Southeastern Asia, group of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea, about one-third of the way from central Vietnam to the northern Philippines Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco
Map references Southeast Asia Africa
Maritime claims NA contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue
Military - note occupied by China -
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $992.2 million
Nationality - noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)


adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian
Natural hazards typhoons 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 none phosphates, iron ore
Political pressure groups and leaders - none
Population no indigenous inhabitants


note: there are scattered Chinese garrisons (July 2003 est.)
273,008 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line - NA%
Population growth rate - NA
Ports and harbors small Chinese port facilities on Woody Island and Duncan Island being expanded -
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 and flat 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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