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Compare Western Sahara (2005) - Moldova (2002)

Compare Western Sahara (2005) z Moldova (2002)

 Western Sahara (2005)Moldova (2002)
 Western SaharaMoldova
Administrative divisions none (under de facto control of Morocco) 9 counties (judetele, singular - judetul), 1 municipality* (municipiul), 1 autonomous territorial unit** (unitate teritoriala autonoma), and 1 territorial unit*** (unitate teritoriala); Balti, Cahul, Chisinau, Chisinau*, Edinet, Gagauzia**, Lapusna, Orhei, Soroca, Stinga Nistrului***, Tighina, Ungheni
Age structure 0-14 years: NA


15-64 years: NA


65 years and over: NA
0-14 years: 21.7% (male 490,414; female 472,912)


15-64 years: 68.2% (male 1,451,962; female 1,572,561)


65 years and over: 10.1% (male 165,860; female 280,838) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; beef, milk
Airports 11 (2004 est.) 30 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways total: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.)
total: 7


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 3


under 914 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 (2004 est.)
total: 23


2,438 to 3,047 m: 4


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 14 (2002)
Area total: 266,000 sq km


land: 266,000 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 33,843 sq km


land: 33,371 sq km


water: 472 sq km
Area - comparative about the size of Colorado slightly larger than Maryland
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. Formerly ruled by Romania, Moldova became part of the Soviet Union at the close of World War II. Although independent from the USSR since 1991, Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory east of the Dniester River supporting the Slavic majority population, mostly Ukrainians and Russians, who have proclaimed a "Transnistria" republic. One of the poorest nations in Europe, Moldova became the first former Soviet state to elect a Communist as its president in 2001.
Birth rate NA births/1,000 population 13.82 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: NA


expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA
revenues: $536 million


expenditures: $594 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.)
Capital none Chisinau
Climate hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew moderate winters, warm summers
Coastline 1,110 km 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution - new constitution adopted 28 July 1994; replaces old Soviet constitution of 1979
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Western Sahara


former: Spanish Sahara
conventional long form: Republic of Moldova


conventional short form: Moldova


local long form: Republica Moldova


local short form: none


former: Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova; Moldavia
Currency - Moldovan leu (MDL)
Death rate NA deaths/1,000 population 12.64 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external NA $1.3 billion (2002)
Diplomatic representation from the US none chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela Hyde SMITH


embassy: 103 Mateevici Street, Chisinau MD-2009


mailing address: use embassy street address; pouch address - American Embassy Chisinau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7080


telephone: [373] (2) 23-37-72


FAX: [373] (2) 23-30-44
Diplomatic representation in the US none chief of mission: Ambassador Mihai MANOLI


chancery: 2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 667-1130


FAX: [1] (202) 667-1204
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 Moldovan difficulties with break-away Transnistria region inhibit establishment of a joint customs regime with Ukraine to curtail smuggling, arms transfers, and other illegal activities
Economic aid - recipient NA $100 million (2000)
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. Moldova enjoys a favorable climate and good farmland but has no major mineral deposits. As a result, the economy depends heavily on agriculture, featuring fruits, vegetables, wine, and tobacco. Moldova must import all of its supplies of oil, coal, and natural gas, largely from Russia. Energy shortages contributed to sharp production declines after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. As part of an ambitious reform effort, Moldova introduced a convertible currency, freed all prices, stopped issuing preferential credits to state enterprises, backed steady land privatization, removed export controls, and freed interest rates. The government entered into agreements with the World Bank and the IMF to promote growth and reduce poverty. The economy returned to positive growth, of 2.1% in 2000 and 6.1% in 2001. Growth remained strong in 2002, in part because of the reforms and because of starting from a small base. Further reforms are in doubt because of strong political forces backing government controls. The economy remains vulnerable to higher fuel prices, poor agricultural weather, and the scepticism of foreign investors.
Electricity - consumption 83.7 million kWh (2002) 3.655 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2002) 630 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2002) 1.2 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production 90 million kWh (2002) 3.317 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel: 90%


hydro: 10%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m


highest point: unnamed location 463 m
lowest point: Dniester River 2 m


highest point: Dealul Balanesti 430 m
Environment - current issues sparse water and lack of arable land heavy use of agricultural chemicals, including banned pesticides such as DDT, has contaminated soil and groundwater; extensive soil erosion from poor farming methods
Environment - international agreements party to: none of the selected agreements


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
Ethnic groups Arab, Berber Moldovan/Romanian 64.5%, Ukrainian 13.8%, Russian 13%, Jewish 1.5%, Bulgarian 2%, Gagauz and other 5.2% (1989 est.)


note: internal disputes with ethnic Slavs in the Transnistrian region
Exchange rates Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.6256 (2000) lei per US dollar - 12.8579 (October 2001), 12.4342 (2000), 10.5158 (1999), 5.3707 (1998), 4.6236 (1997); note - lei is the plural form of leu
Executive branch none chief of state: President Vladimir VORONIN (since 4 April 2001)


head of government: Prime Minister Vasile TARLEV (since 15 April 2001), First Deputy Prime Minister Vasile IOVV (since NA 2002), Deputy Prime Minister Stefan ODAGIU (since NA 2002)


cabinet: selected by prime minister, subject to approval of Parliament


elections: president elected by Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 4 April 2001 (next to be held NA 2005); note - presidential elections were scheduled for December 2000, but in July 2000, Parliament canceled direct, popular elections; Parliament's failure to chose a new president in December 2000 led to early parliamentary elections in February 2001; prime minister designated by the president, upon consultation with Parliament; note - within 15 days from designation, the prime minister-designate must request a vote of confidence from the Parliament regarding his/her work program and entire cabinet; prime minister designated 15 April 2001, cabinet received a vote of confidence 19 April 2001


election results: Vladimir VORONIN elected president; parliamentary votes - Vladimir VORONIN 71, Dumitru BRAGHIS 15, Valerian CHRISTEA 3; Vasile TARLEV designated prime minister; parliamentary votes of confidence - 75 of 101
Exports NA $590 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities phosphates 62% foodstuffs, textiles, and machinery (2001)
Exports - partners Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts Russia 43%, Ukraine 10.1%, Italy 8.1%, Germany 7.2%, Romania 6.7% (2001)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description - same color scheme as Romania - three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; emblem in center of flag is of a Roman eagle of gold outlined in black with a red beak and talons carrying a yellow cross in its beak and a green olive branch in its right talons and a yellow scepter in its left talons; on its breast is a shield divided horizontally red over blue with a stylized ox head, star, rose, and crescent all in black-outlined yellow
GDP - purchasing power parity - $11 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: NA


industry: NA


services: 40% (1996 est.)
agriculture: 28%


industry: 23%


services: 49% (2000)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - NA purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate NA 4% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 24 30 N, 13 00 W 47 00 N, 29 00 E
Geography - note the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas landlocked; well endowed with various sedimentary rocks and minerals including sand, gravel, gypsum, and limestone
Highways total: 6,200 km


paved: 1,350 km


unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est)
total: 20,000 km


paved: 13,900 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads)


unpaved: 6,100 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA


highest 10%: NA
lowest 10%: 2%


highest 10%: 31% (1997)
Illicit drugs - limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for CIS consumption; transshipment point for illicit drugs from Southwest Asia via Central Asia to Russia, Western Europe, and possibly the US; widespread crime and underground economic activity
Imports NA $980 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs mineral products and fuel 32%, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles (2000)
Imports - partners Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts Ukraine 18%, Russia 15.1%, Romania 13.1%, Germany 10.5%, Italy 6.4% (2001)
Independence - 27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate NA 9% (2002 est.)
Industries phosphate mining, handicrafts food processing, agricultural machinery, foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, hosiery, sugar, vegetable oil, shoes, textiles
Infant mortality rate total: NA


male: NA


female: NA
42.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) NA 5.5% (2002 est.)
International organization participation none ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - 2 (1999)
Irrigated land NA sq km 3,070 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch - Supreme Court; Constitutional Court (the sole authority for constitutional judicature)
Labor force 12,000 1.7 million (1998) (1998)
Labor force - by occupation animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% agriculture 40%, industry 14%, services 46% (1998) (1998)
Land boundaries total: 2,046 km


border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km
total: 1,389 km


border countries: Romania 450 km, Ukraine 939 km
Land use arable land: 0.02%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 99.98% (2001)
arable land: 54.08%


permanent crops: 12.1%


other: 33.82% (1998 est.)
Languages Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian (official), Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)
Legal system - based on civil law system; Constitutional Court reviews legality of legislative acts and governmental decisions of resolution; it is unclear if Moldova accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction but accepts many UN and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) documents
Legislative branch - unicameral Parliament or Parlamentul (101 seats; parties and electoral blocs, as well as independent candidates, elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: last held 25 February 2001 (next to be held NA 2005)


election results: percent of vote by party - PCM 50.1%, Braghis Alliance 13.4%, PPCD 8.2%, other parties 28.3%; seats by party - PCM 71, Braghis Alliance 19, PPCD 11
Life expectancy at birth total population: NA years


male: NA years


female: NA years
total population: 64.74 years


male: 60.39 years


female: 69.31 years (2002 est.)
Literacy definition: NA


total population: NA%


male: NA%


female: NA%
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 96%


male: 99%


female: 94% (1989 est.)
Location Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania
Map references Africa Europe
Maritime claims contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue none (landlocked)
Military branches - Ground Forces (includes Air and Air Defense Forces), Republic Security Forces (includes paramilitary Internal Troops and Border Troops)
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $6 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - 0.4% (FY01)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49: 1,172,714 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49: 929,316 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 42,268 (2002 est.)
National holiday - Independence Day, 27 August (1991)
Nationality noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)


adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian
noun: Moldovan(s)


adjective: Moldovan
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 landslides (57 cases in 1998)
Natural resources phosphates, iron ore lignite, phosphorites, gypsum, arable land, limestone
Net migration rate - -0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines - natural gas 310 km (1992)
Political parties and leaders - Braghis Alliance [Dumitru BRAGHIS]; Communist Party or PCM [Vladimir VORONIN, first chairman]; Popular Christian Democratic Party or PPCD [Iurie ROSCA]; Social Democratic Union (composed of Braghis Alliance and the Democratic Party of Moldova) [leader NA]
Political pressure groups and leaders none NA
Population 273,008 (July 2005 est.) 4,434,547 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line NA 80% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate NA 0.09% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) none
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) AM 7, FM 50, shortwave 3 (1998)
Radios - 3.22 million (1997)
Railways - total: 1,328 km


broad gauge: 1,328 km 1.520-m gauge (2001)
Religions Muslim Eastern Orthodox 98%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist and other 0.5% (2000)
Sex ratio NA at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female


total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
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: inadequate, outmoded, poor service outside Chisinau, some effort to modernize is under way


domestic: new subscribers face long wait for service; mobile cellular telephone service being introduced


international: service through Romania and Russia via landline; satellite earth stations - Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik
Telephones - main lines in use about 2,000 (1999 est.) 627,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 0 (1999) 2,200 (1997)
Television broadcast stations NA 1 (plus 30 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea
Total fertility rate NA children born/woman 1.71 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate NA 8% (roughly 25% of working age Moldovans are employed abroad) (2002 est.)
Waterways - 424 km (1994)
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