Western Sahara (2001) | French Southern and Antarctic Lands (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 districts named Ile Crozet, Iles Kerguelen, and Iles Saint-Paul et Amsterdam; excludes "Adelie Land" claim in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
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Agriculture - products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) | - |
Airports | 11 (2000 est.) | none (2001) |
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.) |
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Area | total:
266,000 sq km land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 7,829 sq km
land: 7,829 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen; excludes "Adelie Land" claim of about 500,000 sq km in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US |
Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | slightly less than 1.3 times the size of Delaware |
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. | The Southern Lands consist of two archipelagos, Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen, and two volcanic islands, Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul. They contain no permanent inhabitants and are visited only by researchers studying the native fauna. The Antarctic portion consists of "Adelie Land," a thin slice of the Antarctic continent discovered and claimed by the French in 1840. |
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 | antarctic |
Coastline | 1,110 km | 1,232 km |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form: Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands
conventional short form: French Southern and Antarctic Lands local long form: Territoire des Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises local short form: Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises |
Currency | Moroccan dirham (MAD) | - |
Debt - external | $NA | - |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of France since 1955; administered from Paris by Administrateur Superieur Francois GARDE (since 24 May 2000), assisted by Secretary General Jean-Yves HERMOSO (since NA) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none | none (overseas territory of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none | none (overseas territory of France) |
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 | "Adelie Land" claim in Antarctica is not recognized by the US |
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. | Economic activity is limited to servicing meteorological and geophysical research stations and French and other fishing fleets. The fish catches landed on Iles Kerguelen by foreign ships are exported to France and Reunion. |
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) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Ross on Iles Kerguelen 1,850 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 | 43 00 S, 67 00 E |
Geography - note | - | islands component is widely scattered across remote locations in the southern Indian Ocean |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
6,200 km paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est.) |
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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 | 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% (1998 est.) |
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 | south of Africa, islands in the southern Indian Ocean, about equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia; note - French Southern and Antarctic Lands include Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet, and Iles Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean, along with the French-claimed sector of Antarctica, "Adelie Land"; the US does not recognize the French claim to "Adelie Land" |
Map references | Africa | Antarctic Region |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM from Iles Kerguelen only
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 71 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,815,472 GRT/4,806,161 DWT
ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 5, chemical tanker 13, container 11, liquefied gas 7, petroleum tanker 19, roll on/roll off 11 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 2, France 62, Japan 3, Monaco 1, Norway 5, Sweden 1 (2002 est.) |
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 | Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul are extinct volcanoes |
Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | fish, crayfish |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | - |
Population | 250,559 (July 2001 est.) | no indigenous inhabitants (July 2002 est.)
note: in 2002, there were 145 researchers whose numbers vary from winter (July) to summer (January) |
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 | volcanic |
Unemployment rate | NA% | - |
Waterways | none | none |