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Compare Western Sahara (2005) - Antarctica (2001)
Compare Western Sahara (2005) z Antarctica (2001)
| Western Sahara (2005) | Antarctica (2001) | |
 | | |
| 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 (2004 est.) | 19
note: 27 stations, operated by 16 national governments party to the Antarctic Treaty, have aircraft landing facilities for either helicopters and/or fixed-wing aircraft; commercial enterprises operate two additional aircraft landing facilities; helicopter pads are available at 27 stations; runways at 15 locations are gravel, sea-ice, blue-ice, or compacted snow suitable for landing wheeled, fixed-wing aircraft; of these, 1 is greater than 3 km in length, 6 are between 2 km and 3 km in length, 3 are between 1 km and 2 km in length, 3 are less than 1 km in length, and 2 are of unknown length; snow surface skiways, limited to use by ski-equipped, fixed-wing aircraft, are available at another 15 locations; of these, 4 are greater than 3 km in length, 3 are between 2 km and 3 km in length, 2 are between 1 km and 2 km in length, 2 are less than 1 km in length, and 4 are of unknown length; aircraft landing facilities generally subject to severe restrictions and limitations resulting from extreme seasonal and geographic conditions; aircraft landing facilities do not meet ICAO standards; advance approval from the respective governmental or nongovernmental operating organization required for landing (2001 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
- |
| 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.) |
total:
19 over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
14 million sq km land: 14 million sq km (280,000 sq km ice-free, 13.72 million sq km ice-covered) (est.) note: fifth-largest continent, following Asia, Africa, North America, and South America, but larger than Australia and the subcontinent of Europe |
| Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US |
| 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. | Speculation over the existence of a "southern land" was not confirmed until the early 1820s when British and American commercial operators and British and Russian national expeditions began exploring the Peninsula region and areas south of the Antarctic Circle. Not until 1838 was it established that Antarctica was indeed a continent and not just a group of islands. Various "firsts" were achieved in the early 20th century, including: 1902, first balloon flight (by British explorer Robert Falcon SCOTT); 1912, first to the South Pole (five Norwegian explorers under Roald AMUNDSEN); 1928, first fixed-wing aircraft flight (by Australian adventurer/explorer Sir Hubert WILKINS); 1929, first flight over the South Pole (by Americans Richard BYRD and Bernt BALCHEN); and 1935, first transantarctic flight (American Lincoln ELLSWORTH). Following World War II, there was an upsurge in scientific research on the continent. A number of countries have set up year-round research stations on Antarctica. Seven have made territorial claims, but no other country recognizes these claims. In order to form a legal framework for the activities of nations on the continent, an Antarctic Treaty was negotiated that neither denies nor gives recognition to existing territorial claims; signed in 1959, it entered into force in 1961. |
| Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | - |
| 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 | severe low temperatures vary with latitude, elevation, and distance from the ocean; East Antarctica is colder than West Antarctica because of its higher elevation; Antarctic Peninsula has the most moderate climate; higher temperatures occur in January along the coast and average slightly below freezing |
| Coastline | 1,110 km | 17,968 km |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Antarctica |
| Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | - |
| Debt - external | NA | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none | - |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none | - |
| Disputes - international | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals | Antarctic Treaty freezes claims (see Antarctic Treaty Summary in Government type entry); sections (some overlapping) claimed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and UK; the US and most other nations do not recognize the territorial claims of other nations and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia reserve the right to do so); no claims have been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west |
| Economic aid - recipient | 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. | Fishing off the coast and tourism, both based abroad, account for the limited economic activity. Antarctic fisheries in 1998-99 (1 July-30 June) reported landing 119,898 metric tons. Unregulated fishing landed five to six times more than the regulated fishery, and allegedly illegal fishing in antarctic waters in 1998 resulted in the seizure (by France and Australia) of at least eight fishing ships. Companies interested in commercial fishing activities in Antarctica have put forward proposals. The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources determines the recommended catch limits for marine species. A total of 13,193 tourists visited in the 1999-2000 summer, up from the 10,013 who visited the previous year. Nearly all of them were passengers on 24 commercial (nongovernmental) ships and several yachts that made 143 trips during the summer. Most tourist trips lasted approximately two weeks. |
| Electricity - consumption | 83.7 million kWh (2002) | - |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | - |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | - |
| Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (2002) | - |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point:
Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m highest point: Vinson Massif 5,140 m note: the lowest known land point in Antarctica is hidden in the Bentley Subglacial Trench; at its surface is the deepest ice yet discovered and the world's lowest elevation not under sea water |
| Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | in 1998, NASA satellite data showed that the antarctic ozone hole was the largest on record, covering 27 million square kilometers; researchers in 1997 found that increased ultraviolet light coming through the hole damages the DNA of icefish, an antarctic fish lacking hemoglobin; ozone depletion earlier was shown to harm one-celled antarctic marine plants |
| 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 - 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.6256 (2000) | - |
| 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 | - |
| 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 | 90 00 S, 0 00 E |
| Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | the coldest, windiest, highest (on average), and driest continent; during summer, more solar radiation reaches the surface at the South Pole than is received at the Equator in an equivalent period; mostly uninhabitable |
| Heliports | - | 27 stations have helicopter landing facilities (helipads) (2001 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 | - |
| Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
- |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | - |
| International organization participation | none | - |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | NA |
| Irrigated land | NA sq km | 0 sq km (1993) |
| 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
note: see entry on International disputes |
| Land use | arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (ice 98%, barren rock 2%) |
| Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | - |
| Legal system | - | Antarctica is administered through meetings of the consultative member nations. Decisions from these meetings are carried out by these member nations (within their areas) in accordance with their own national laws. US law, including certain criminal offenses by or against US nationals, such as murder, may apply extra-territorially. Some US laws directly apply to Antarctica. For example, the Antarctic Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. section 2401 et seq., provides civil and criminal penalties for the following activities, unless authorized by regulation of statute: the taking of native mammals or birds; the introduction of nonindigenous plants and animals; entry into specially protected areas; the discharge or disposal of pollutants; and the importation into the US of certain items from Antarctica. Violation of the Antarctic Conservation Act carries penalties of up to $10,000 in fines and one year in prison. The National Science Foundation and Department of Justice share enforcement responsibilities. Public Law 95-541, the US Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, as amended in 1996, requires expeditions from the US to Antarctica to notify, in advance, the Office of Oceans and Polar Affairs, Room 5801, Department of State, Washington, DC 20520, which reports such plans to other nations as required by the Antarctic Treaty. For more information, contact Permit Office, Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia 22230; telephone: (703) 292-8030, or see their website at www.nsf.gov. |
| 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 | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | continent mostly south of the Antarctic Circle |
| Map references | Africa | Antarctic Region |
| Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | none; twenty of 27 Antarctic consultative nations have made no claims to Antarctic territory (although Russia and the US have reserved the right to do so) and do not recognize the claims of the other nations; also see the Disputes - international entry |
| Military - note | - | the Antarctic Treaty prohibits any measures of a military nature, such as the establishment of military bases and fortifications, the carrying out of military maneuvers, or the testing of any type of weapon; it permits the use of military personnel or equipment for scientific research or for any other peaceful purposes |
| Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, 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 | katabatic (gravity-driven) winds blow coastward from the high interior; frequent blizzards form near the foot of the plateau; cyclonic storms form over the ocean and move clockwise along the coast; volcanism on Deception Island and isolated areas of West Antarctica; other seismic activity rare and weak; large icebergs may calve from ice shelf |
| Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | iron ore, chromium, copper, gold, nickel, platinum and other minerals, and coal and hydrocarbons have been found in small uncommercial quantities; none presently exploited; krill, finfish, and crab have been taken by commercial fisheries |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | none | - |
| Population | 273,008 (July 2005 est.) | no indigenous inhabitants, but there are seasonally staffed research stations
note: approximately 29 nations, all signatory to the Antarctic Treaty, send personnel to perform seasonal (summer) and year-round research on the continent and in its surrounding oceans; the population of persons doing and supporting science on the continent and its nearby islands south of 60 degrees south latitude (the region covered by the Antarctic Treaty) varies from approximately 4,000 in summer to 1,000 in winter; in addition, approximately 1,000 personnel including ship's crew and scientists doing onboard research are present in the waters of the treaty region; Summer (January) population - 3,687 total; Argentina 302, Australia 201, Belgium 13, Brazil 80, Bulgaria 16, Chile 352, China 70, Finland 11, France 100, Germany 51, India 60, Italy 106, Japan 136, South Korea 14, Netherlands 10, NZ 60, Norway 40, Peru 28, Poland 70, Russia 254, South Africa 80, Spain 43, Sweden 20, UK 192, US 1,378 (1998-99); Winter (July) population - 964 total; Argentina 165, Australia 75, Brazil 12, Chile 129, China 33, France 33, Germany 9, India 25, Japan 40, South Korea 14, NZ 10, Poland 20, Russia 102, South Africa 10, UK 39, US 248 (1998-99); year-round stations - 42 total; Argentina 6, Australia 4, Brazil 1, Chile 4, China 2, Finland 1, France 1, Germany 1, India 1, Italy 1, Japan 1, South Korea 1, NZ 1, Norway 1, Poland 1, Russia 6, South Africa 1, Spain 1, Ukraine 1, UK 2, US 3, Uruguay 1 (1998-99); Summer-only stations - 32 total; Argentina 3, Australia 4, Bulgaria 1, Chile 7, Germany 1, India 1, Japan 3, NZ 1, Peru 1, Russia 3, Sweden 2, UK 5 (1998-99); in addition, during the austral summer some nations have numerous occupied locations such as tent camps, summer-long temporary facilities, and mobile traverses in support of research (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA | - |
| Population growth rate | NA | - |
| Ports and harbors | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) | there are no developed ports and harbors in Antarctica; most coastal stations have offshore anchorages, and supplies are transferred from ship to shore by small boats, barges, and helicopters; a few stations have a basic wharf facility US coastal stations include McMurdo (77 51 S, 166 40 E), Palmer (64 43 S, 64 03 W); government use only except by permit (see Permit Office under "Legal System"); offshore anchorage is sparse and intermittent |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM NA, FM 2, shortwave 1
note: information for US bases only (1998) |
| Radios | - | NA |
| 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 |
general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: NA |
| Telephones - main lines in use | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | 0
note: information for US bases only (2001) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | NA |
| Television broadcast stations | NA | 1 (the US Navy Antarctic Support Group operates a cable system with six channels for the American Forces Antarctic Network-McMurdo)
note: information for US bases only (2000) |
| Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | about 98% thick continental ice sheet and 2% barren rock, with average elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 meters; mountain ranges up to 5,140 meters; ice-free coastal areas include parts of southern Victoria Land, Wilkes Land, the Antarctic Peninsula area, and parts of Ross Island on McMurdo Sound; glaciers form ice shelves along about half of the coastline, and floating ice shelves constitute 11% of the area of the continent |
| Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | - |
| Unemployment rate | NA | - |
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