Western Sahara (2001) | Svalbard (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
0-14 years: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) | - |
Airports | 11 (2000 est.) | 4 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1523 m: 1 (2002) |
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: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total:
266,000 sq km land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 62,049 sq km
land: 62,049 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island) |
Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
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. | First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five years later it officially took over the territory. |
Birth rate | - | NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $11.5 million
expenditures: $11.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
Capital | none | Longyearbyen |
Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year |
Coastline | 1,110 km | 3,587 km |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen) |
Currency | Moroccan dirham (MAD) | Norwegian krone (NOK) |
Death rate | - | NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | - |
Dependency status | - | territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was awarded to Norway |
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 | despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $8.2 million from Norway (1998) |
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. | Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The treaty of 9 February 1920 gives the 41 signatories equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the past, the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some trapping of seal, polar bear, fox, and walrus. |
Electricity - consumption | 83.7 million kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 58%
hydro: 42% nuclear: 0% other: 0% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 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 | Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998) |
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) | Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 7.9838 (2002), 8.9917 (2001), 8.8018 (2000), 7.7992 (1999), 7.5451 (1998) |
Executive branch | none | chief of state: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991)
head of government: Governor Morten RUUD (since NA November 1998) and Assistant Governor Odd Redar HUMLEGAARD (since NA) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice |
Exports | $NA | $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 Norway is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $NA | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: 40%-45% (1996 est.) |
- |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $NA | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 78 00 N, 20 00 E |
Geography - note | - | northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
6,200 km paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est.) |
total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $NA | $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 | - |
Independence | - | none (territory of Norway) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | - |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: NA%
male: NA% female: NA% |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | NA% |
International organization participation | none | none |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 13 (Svalbard and Jan Mayen) (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA sq km |
Labor force | 12,000 | NA |
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% (no trees, and the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (1998 est.) |
Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | Russian, Norwegian |
Legal system | - | NA |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
NA |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway |
Map references | Africa | Arctic Region |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia
territorial sea: 4 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | demilitarized by treaty (9 February 1920) |
Military branches | NA | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | - |
National holiday | - | 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 | ice floes often block the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic |
Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | coal, copper, iron ore, phosphate, zinc, wildlife, fish |
Net migration rate | - | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | - |
Population | 250,559 (July 2001 est.) | 2,811 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | -0.02% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) | Barentsburg, Longyearbyen, Ny-Alesund, Pyramiden |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 56,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Muslim | - |
Sex ratio | - | NA (2003 est.) |
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 |
general assessment: probably adequate
domestic: local telephone service international: satellite earth station - 1 of unknown type (for communication with Norwegian mainland only) |
Telephones - main lines in use | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | NA | NA |
Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts |
Total fertility rate | - | NA children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | - |
Waterways | none | none |