Compare Western Sahara (2005) - British Indian Ocean Territory (2008)

Compare Western Sahara (2005) z British Indian Ocean Territory (2008)

	Western Sahara (2005)	British Indian Ocean Territory (2008)

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.)	1 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.)	total: 1 over 3,047 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: 54,400 sq km land: 60 sq km; Diego Garcia 44 sq km water: 54,340 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago of 55 islands
Area - comparative	about the size of Colorado	land area is about 0.3 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.	Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.
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	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline	1,110 km	698 km
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT
Death rate	NA deaths/1,000 population	-
Debt - external	NA	-
Dependency status	-	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
Diplomatic representation from the US	none	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	none	none (overseas territory of the UK)
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	Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia; in 2001, the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago, evicted in 1967 and 1973 and now residing chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation; in May 2006, the High Court of London reversed U.K. Government's 2004 orders of council that banned habitation on the islands; a small group of Chagossians visited Diego Garcia in April 2006; repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of Diego Garcia that restricts access to the largest viable island in the chain
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.	All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where a joint UK-US military facility is located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installation are performed by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the native Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. The territory makes money by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps.
Electricity - consumption	83.7 million kWh (2002)	NA kWh
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2002)	-
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2002)	-
Electricity - production	90 million kWh (2002)	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed location 463 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 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 - 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.6256 (2000)	-
Executive branch	none	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Leigh TURNER (since July 2006); Administrator Tony HUMPHRIES (since February 2005); note - both reside in the UK and are represented by the officer commanding British Forces on Diego Garcia cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch
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	-	white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag
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	6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E
Geography - note	the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas	archipelago of 55 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility
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	-
Irrigated land	NA sq km	0 sq km
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: 0.02% permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)
Languages	Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic	-
Legal system	-	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply
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	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia
Map references	Africa	Political Map of the World
Maritime claims	contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016
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	NA
Natural resources	phosphates, iron ore	coconuts, fish, sugarcane
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	-
Population	273,008 (July 2005 est.)	no indigenous inhabitants note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960s and 1970s; in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in November 2004, there were approximately 4,000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia
Population below poverty line	NA	-
Population growth rate	NA	-
Ports and harbors	Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun)	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
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: separate facilities for military and public needs are available domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: country code (Diego Garcia) - 246; international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use	about 2,000 (1999 est.)	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	0 (1999)	-
Television broadcast stations	NA	1 (1997)
Terrain	mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast	flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation)
Total fertility rate	NA children born/woman	-
Unemployment rate	NA	-

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