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Compare Western Sahara (2006) - Indian Ocean (2001)

Compare Western Sahara (2006) z Indian Ocean (2001)

 Western Sahara (2006)Indian Ocean (2001)
 Western SaharaIndian Ocean
Administrative divisions none (under de facto control of Morocco) -
Age structure 0-14 years: NA


15-64 years: NA


65 years and over: NA (2006 est.)		 -
Agriculture - products fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish -
Airports 11 (2006) -
Airports - with paved runways total: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2006)		 -
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 8


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 3 (2006)		 -
Area total: 266,000 sq km


land: 266,000 sq km


water: 0 sq km		 total:
68.556 million sq km

note:
includes Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Mozambique Channel, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Strait of Malacca, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative about the size of Colorado about 5.5 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. The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean). Four critically important access waterways are the Suez Canal (Egypt), Bab el Mandeb (Djibouti-Yemen), Strait of Hormuz (Iran-Oman), and Strait of Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia). The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Indian Ocean south of 60 degrees south.
Birth rate NA births/1,000 population -
Budget revenues: $NA


expenditures: $NA		 -
Capital none


time difference: UTC 0 (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 northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February in the southern Indian Ocean
Coastline 1,110 km 66,526 km
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Western Sahara


former: Spanish Sahara		 -
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 some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
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. The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
Electricity - consumption 83.7 million kWh (2003) -
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2003) -
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2003) -
Electricity - production 85 million kWh (2003) -
Elevation extremes lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m


highest point: unnamed location 463 m		 lowest point:
Java Trench -7,258 m

highest point:
sea level 0 m
Environment - current issues sparse water and lack of arable land endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea
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 - 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002), 11.303 (2001) -
Executive branch none -
Exports NA bbl/day -
Exports - commodities phosphates 62% -
Exports - partners Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2004) -
Fiscal year calendar year -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: NA%


industry: NA%


services: 40%		 -
GDP - real growth rate NA% -
Geographic coordinates 24 30 N, 13 00 W 20 00 S, 80 00 E
Geography - note the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%		 -
Imports NA bbl/day -
Imports - commodities fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs -
Imports - partners Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2004) -
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 -
Labor force 12,000 -
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 50%


industry and services: 50%		 -
Land boundaries total: 2,046 km


border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km		 -
Land use arable land: 0.02%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 99.98% (2005)		 -
Languages Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic -
Life expectancy at birth total population: NA years


male: NA years


female: NA years		 -
Literacy NA -
Location Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco body of water between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and Australia
Map references Africa World
Maritime claims contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue -
Military expenditures - dollar figure $992.2 million -
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 occasional icebergs pose navigational hazard in southern reaches
Natural resources phosphates, iron ore oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules
Political pressure groups and leaders none -
Population 273,008 (July 2006 est.) -
Population below poverty line NA% -
Population growth rate NA -
Ports and harbors - Chennai (Madras; India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Jakarta (Indonesia), Kolkata (Calcutta; India) Melbourne (Australia), Mumbai (Bombay; India), Richards Bay (South Africa)
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM 0, 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		 -
Telephones - main lines in use about 2,000 (1999 est.) -
Telephones - mobile cellular 0 (1999) -
Television broadcast stations NA -
Terrain mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge
Total fertility rate NA children born/woman -
Unemployment rate NA% -
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