Tromelin Island (2005) | 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 | 1 (2004 est.) | 11 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 1 sq km
land: 1 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 1.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | about the size of Colorado |
Background | First explored by the French in 1776, the island came under the jurisdiction of Reunion in 1814. At present, it serves as a sea turtle sanctuary and is the site of an important meteorological station. | 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 | tropical | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew |
Coastline | 3.7 km | 1,110 km |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tromelin Island local long form: none local short form: Ile Tromelin |
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 | possession of France; administered by the Administrateur Superieur of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | none |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | none |
Disputes - international | claimed by Mauritius | 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 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. 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: unnamed location 7 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 France 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 | 15 52 S, 54 25 E | 24 30 N, 13 00 W |
Geography - note | climatologically important location for forecasting cyclones; wildlife sanctuary (seabirds, tortoises) | 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% (grasses; scattered bushes) (2001) |
arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
Languages | - | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic |
Legal system | the laws of France, 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 | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA |
Nationality | - | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi,Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
Natural hazards | NA | 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, except for visits by scientists (July 2005 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 | low, flat, and sandy; likely volcanic | 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 |