Western Sahara (2001) | Europa Island (2005) | |
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.) | 1 (2004 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.) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
266,000 sq km land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 28 sq km
land: 28 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | about 0.16 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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. | A French possession since 1897, the island is heavily wooded; it is the site of a small military garrison that staffs a weather station. |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
- |
Capital | none | - |
Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | tropical |
Coastline | 1,110 km | 22.2 km |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Europa Island local long form: none local short form: Ile Europa |
Currency | Moroccan dirham (MAD) | - |
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 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 | claimed by Madagascar |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | - |
Economy - overview | 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. | no economic activity |
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:
Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 24 m |
Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | NA |
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 | - |
Flag description | - | the flag of France is used |
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 | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 22 20 S, 40 22 E |
Geography - note | - | wildlife sanctuary |
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 | none |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | - |
International organization participation | none | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 0 sq km (1998 est.) |
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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 19% forests and woodland: 0% other: 81% |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (mangrove forests and woodlands) (2001) |
Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | - |
Legal system | - | the laws of France, where applicable, apply |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
- |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | Southern Africa, island in the Mozambique Channel, about half way between southern Madagascar and southern Mozambique |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
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 | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility | NA |
Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | NEGL |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | - |
Population | 250,559 (July 2001 est.) | no indigenous inhabitants
note: there is a small French military garrison and a few meteorologists; visited by scientists (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Ports and harbors | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) | none; offshore anchorage only |
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 | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | low and flat |
Unemployment rate | NA% | - |
Waterways | none | - |