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Compare Spratly Islands (2008) - Western Sahara (2006)
Compare Spratly Islands (2008) z Western Sahara (2006)
| Spratly Islands (2008) | Western Sahara (2006) | |
 | | |
| 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 | 3 (2007) | 11 (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2006) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2006) |
| Area | total: less than 5 sq km
land: less than 5 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 100 or so islets, coral reefs, and sea mounts scattered over an area of nearly 410,000 sq km of the central South China Sea |
total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | NA | about the size of Colorado |
| Background | The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Brunei has established a fishing zone that overlaps a southern reef but has not made any formal claim. | 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 | 926 km | 1,110 km |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Spratly 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 | all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone that encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands but has not publicly claimed the reef; claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," which has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct"; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands | 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 | Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing. The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is largely unexplored. There are no reliable estimates of potential reserves. Commercial exploitation has yet to be developed. | 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 Southwest Cay 4 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 | 8 38 N, 111 55 E | 24 30 N, 13 00 W |
| Geography - note | strategically located near several primary shipping lanes in the central South China Sea; includes numerous small islands, atolls, shoals, and coral reefs | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas |
| Heliports | 3 (2007) | - |
| 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 | 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% (2005) |
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 reefs and islands in the South China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the southern 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 | Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs of which about 45 are claimed and occupied by China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam | - |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $992.2 million |
| Nationality | - | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
| Natural hazards | typhoons; numerous reefs and shoals pose a serious maritime hazard | 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, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas potential | phosphates, iron ore |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | - | none |
| Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: there are scattered garrisons occupied by personnel of several claimant states |
273,008 (July 2006 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 | 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% |
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