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Compare Western Sahara (2007) - Svalbard (2007)

Compare Western Sahara (2007) z Svalbard (2007)

 Western Sahara (2007)Svalbard (2007)
 Western SaharaSvalbard
Administrative divisions none (under de facto control of Morocco) -
Age structure 0-14 years: 45.4% (male 88,176/female 85,421)


15-64 years: 52.3% (male 98,345/female 101,895)


65 years and over: 2.3% (male 3,705/female 5,075) (2007 est.)
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); fish -
Airports 9 (2007) 4 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2007)
total: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 6


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 2 (2007)
total: 3


under 914 m: 3 (2007)
Area total: 266,000 sq km


land: 266,000 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 61,020 sq km


land: 61,020 sq km


water: 0 sq km


note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island)
Area - comparative about the size of Colorado slightly smaller than West Virginia
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. First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five years later it officially took over the territory.
Birth rate NA NA
Budget revenues: $NA


expenditures: $NA
revenues: $25.07 million


expenditures: $NA (2004 est.)
Capital none


time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
name: Longyearbyen


geographic coordinates: 78 13 N, 15 33 E


time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)


daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Climate hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year
Coastline 1,110 km 3,587 km
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Western Sahara


former: Spanish Sahara
conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen)
Death rate NA NA
Debt - external $NA -
Dependency status - territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was awarded to Norway
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; several states have extended diplomatic relations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" represented by the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria, while others recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; most of the approximately 102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone
Economic aid - recipient $NA $8.2 million from Norway (1998)
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. Incomes in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. The Moroccan Government controls all trade and other economic activities in Western Sahara. Morocco and the EU signed a four-year agreement in July 2006 allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. However, in 2006, the Polisario awarded similar exploration licenses in the disputed territory, which would come into force if Morocco and the Polisario resolve their dispute over Western Sahara. Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The treaty of 9 February 1920 gave the 41 signatories equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the past, the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some hunting of seal, reindeer, and fox.
Electricity - consumption 79.05 million kWh (2005) -
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2005) -
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2005) -
Electricity - production 85 million kWh (2005) -
Elevation extremes lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m


highest point: unnamed location 463 m
lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 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 Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998)
Exchange rates Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002) Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 6.4117 (2006), 6.4425 (2005), 6.7408 (2004), 7.0802 (2003), 7.9838 (2002)
Executive branch none chief of state: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991)


head of government: Governor Per SEFLAND (since 1 October 2005); Assistant Governor Rune Baard HANSEN (since 2003)


elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice
Exports NA bbl/day $197.6 million (2004)
Exports - commodities phosphates 62% -
Exports - partners Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) -
Fiscal year calendar year -
Flag description - the flag of Norway is used
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: NA%


industry: NA%


services: 40%
-
GDP - real growth rate NA% NA%
Geographic coordinates 24 30 N, 13 00 W 78 00 N, 20 00 E
Geography - note the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area; site of future seed repository under construction by the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Norwegian Government
Heliports - 1 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
-
Imports NA bbl/day $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 (2006) -
Independence - none (territory of Norway)
Industrial production growth rate NA% -
Industries phosphate mining, handicrafts -
Infant mortality rate total: NA


male: NA


female: NA
total: NA


male: NA


female: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices) NA% -
International organization participation none none
Irrigated land NA NA
Labor force 12,000 NA
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
0 km
Land use arable land: 0.02%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 99.98% (2005)
arable land: 0%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 100% (no trees; the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (2005)
Languages Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic Norwegian, Russian
Legal system - the laws of Norway, where applicable, apply
Life expectancy at birth total population: NA


male: NA


female: NA
total population: NA


male: NA


female: NA
Literacy NA NA
Location Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway
Map references Africa Arctic Region
Maritime claims contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue territorial sea: 4 nm


exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia
Military - note - demilitarized by treaty on 9 February 1920
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 ice floes often block the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic
Natural resources phosphates, iron ore coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, fish
Net migration rate - NA
Political pressure groups and leaders none -
Population 382,617


note: estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries (July 2007 est.)
2,214 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% -
Population growth rate NA -0.007% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) AM 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998)
Religions Muslim -
Sex ratio NA NA (2007 est.)
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: probably adequate


domestic: local telephone service


international: country code - 47-790; satellite earth station - 1 of unknown type (for communication with Norwegian mainland only)
Telephones - main lines in use about 2,000 (1999 est.) NA
Telephones - mobile cellular 0 (1999) -
Television broadcast stations NA NA
Terrain mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts
Total fertility rate NA NA
Unemployment rate NA% -
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