Western Sahara (2004) | Norfolk Island (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | none (territory of Australia) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry |
Airports | 11 (2003 est.) | 1 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
- |
Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | about 0.2 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 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | NA |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues: $4.6 million
expenditures: $4.8 million (FY99/00) |
Capital | none | name: Kingston
geographic coordinates: 29 03 S, 167 58 E time difference: UTC+11.5 (16.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 1,110 km | 32 km |
Constitution | - | Norfolk Island Act of 1979, as amended in 2005 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
Currency | Moroccan dirham (MAD) | - |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | NA |
Debt - external | NA | $NA |
Dependency status | - | self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Attorney-General's Department |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none | none (territory of Australia) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none | none (territory of Australia) |
Disputes - international | 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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $NA |
Economy - overview | 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. | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. |
Electricity - consumption | 83.7 million kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 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 | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 9.574 (2003), 11.584 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003) |
Executive branch | none | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by the Australian governor general
head of government: Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia |
Exports | NA (2001) | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY91/92) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates 62% | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados |
Exports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | - | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band |
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 | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 29 02 S, 167 57 E |
Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | most of the 32 km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated |
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) | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) |
Imports - commodities | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs | NA |
Imports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2000) | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe (2006) |
Independence | - | none (territory of Australia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | - |
Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | - |
International organization participation | none | UPU |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions |
Labor force | 12,000 | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% | agriculture: 10%
industry and services: 90% |
Land boundaries | total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | English (official), Norfolk - a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian |
Legal system | - | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
NA |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of Australia |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | - |
National holiday | - | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) |
Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi,Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
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 | typhoons (especially May to July) |
Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | fish |
Net migration rate | - | NA |
Political parties and leaders | - | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | none |
Population | 267,405 (July 2004 est.) | 2,114 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | - |
Population growth rate | NA | 0.006% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) |
Religions | Muslim | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.2%, none 18.1% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | NA | NA |
Suffrage | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed | 18 years of age; universal |
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 |
general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia and New Zealand; satellite earth station |
Telephones - main lines in use | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | 0; note - proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 1 (local programming station plus 2 repeaters that air Australian programs by satellite) (2005) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | NA |
Unemployment rate | NA | - |