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Compare Western Sahara (2008) - Algeria (2004)
Compare Western Sahara (2008) z Algeria (2004)
| Western Sahara (2008) | Algeria (2004) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | 48 provinces (wilayas, singular - wilaya); Adrar, Ain Defla, Ain Temouchent, Alger, Annaba, Batna, Bechar, Bejaia, Biskra, Blida, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Bouira, Boumerdes, Chlef, Constantine, Djelfa, El Bayadh, El Oued, El Tarf, Ghardaia, Guelma, Illizi, Jijel, Khenchela, Laghouat, Mascara, Medea, Mila, Mostaganem, M'Sila, Naama, Oran, Ouargla, Oum el Bouaghi, Relizane, Saida, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes, Skikda, Souk Ahras, Tamanghasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen |
| 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: 29.9% (male 4,893,971; female 4,705,933)
15-64 years: 65.5% (male 10,593,840; female 10,443,300) 65 years and over: 4.6% (male 703,420; female 788,860) (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish | wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle |
| Airports | 9 (2007) | 137 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2007) |
total: 52
over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 27 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| 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: 85
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 26 914 to 1,523 m: 38 under 914 m: 19 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 2,381,740 sq km
land: 2,381,740 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas |
| 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. In April 2007, Morocco presented an autonomy plan for the territory to the UN, which the U.S. considers serious and credible. The Polisario also presented a plan to the UN in 2007. Since August 2007, representatives from the Government of Morocco and the Polisario Front have met three times to negotiate the status of Western Sahara, with a fourth round of negotiations planned for March 2008. | After more than a century of rule by France, Algerians fought through much of the 1950s to achieve independence in 1962. Algeria's primary political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), has dominated politics ever since. Many Algerians in the subsequent generation were not satisfied, however, and moved to counter the FLN's centrality in Algerian politics. The surprising first round success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the December 1991 balloting spurred the Algerian army to intervene and postpone the second round of elections to prevent what the secular elite feared would be an extremist-led government from assuming power. The army began a crack down on the FIS that spurred FIS supporters to begin attacking government targets. The government later allowed elections featuring pro-government and moderate religious-based parties, but did not appease the activists who progressively widened their attacks. The fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense fighting between 1992-1998 and which resulted in over 100,000 deaths - many attributed to indiscriminate massacres of villagers by extremists. The government gained the upper hand by the late-1990s and FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded in January 2000. However, small numbers of armed militants persist in confronting government forces and conducting ambushes and occasional attacks on villages. The army placed Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA in the presidency in 1999 in a fraudulent election but claimed neutrality in his 2004 landslide reelection victory. A number of longstanding problems continue to face BOUTEFLIKA in his second term, including the ethnic minority Berbers' ongoing autonomy campaign, large-scale unemployment, a shortage of housing, unreliable electrical and water supplies, government inefficiencies and corruption, and the continuing - although significantly degraded - activities of extremist militants. Algeria must also diversify its petroleum-based economy, which has yielded a large cash reserve but which has not been used to redress Algeria's many social and infrastructure problems. Algeria assumed a two-year seat on the UN Security Council in January 2004. |
| Birth rate | NA 39.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 17.76 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues: $25.49 billion
expenditures: $22.87 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.8 billion (2003 est.) |
| Capital | none
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Algiers |
| Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer |
| Coastline | 1,110 km | 998 km |
| Constitution | - | 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3 November 1988, 23 February 1989, and 28 November 1996 |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form: People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
conventional short form: Algeria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash Sha'biyah local short form: Al Jaza'ir |
| Currency | - | Algerian dinar (DZD) |
| Death rate | NA | 4.61 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Debt - external | $NA | $22.71 billion (2003 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none | chief of mission: Ambassador Richard W. ERDMAN
embassy: 4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers mailing address: B. P. 408, Alger-Gare, 16030 Algiers telephone: [213] (21) 691-425/255/186 FAX: [213] (21) 69-39-79 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
chancery: 2137 Wyoming Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2174 |
| 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 | Algeria supports the exiled Sahrawi Polisario Front and rejects Moroccan administration of Western Sahara; Algeria's border with Morocco remains an irritant to bilateral relations; each nation has accused the other of harboring militants and arms smuggling; in an attempt to improve relations afer unilaterally imposing a visa requirement on Algerians in the early 1990s, Morocco lifted the requirement in mid-2004 - a gesture not reciprocated by Algeria; Algeria remains concerned about armed bandits operating throughout the Sahel who sometimes destabilize southern Algerian towns; dormant disputes include Libyan claims of about 32,000 sq km still reflected on its maps of southeastern Algeria and the FLN's assertions of a claim to Chirac Pastures in southeastern Morocco |
| Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $182 million (2001 est.) |
| 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. | The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the economy, accounting for roughly 60% of budget revenues, 30% of GDP, and over 95% of export earnings. Algeria has the seventh-largest reserves of natural gas in the world and is the second-largest gas exporter; it ranks 14th in oil reserves. Economic policy reforms supported by the IMF and debt rescheduling from the Paris Club in the past decade have helped improve Algeria's financial and macroeconomic indicators. Because of sustained high oil prices in the past three years, Algeria's finances have further benefited from substantial trade surpluses and record foreign exchange reserves. Real GDP has risen due to higher oil output and increased government spending. The government's continued efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector, however, has had little success in reducing high unemployment and improving living standards. Structural reform within the economy moves ahead slowly. |
| Electricity - consumption | 79.05 million kWh (2005) | 22.9 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 340 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 275 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 85 million kWh (2005) | 24.69 billion kWh (2001) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m
highest point: Tahat 3,003 m |
| Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | soil erosion from overgrazing and other poor farming practices; desertification; dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents is leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean Sea, in particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | Arab, Berber | Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%
note: almost all Algerians are Berber in origin, not Arab; the minority who identify themselves as Berber live mostly in the mountainous region of Kabylie east of Algeirs; the Berbers are also Muslim but identify with their Berber rather than Arab cultural heritage; Berbers have long agitated, sometimes violently, for autonomy; the government is unlikely to grant autonomy but has offered to begin sponsoring teaching Berber language in schools |
| Exchange rates | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.2827 (2007), 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003) | Algerian dinars per US dollar - 77.395 (2003), 79.6819 (2002), 77.215 (2001), 75.2598 (2000), 66.5739 (1999) |
| Executive branch | none | chief of state: President Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA (since 28 April 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Ahmed OUYAHIA (since 9 May 2003) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 8 April 2004 (next to be held NA April 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA reelected president for second term; percent of vote - Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA 85%, Ali BENFLIS 6.4%, Abdallah DJABALLAH 5% |
| Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | phosphates 62% | petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97% |
| Exports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) | Italy 19.5%, US 18.5%, France 13.6%, Spain 11.2%, Canada 6.2%, Belgium 5.1%, Brazil 4.9% (2003) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | - | two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white; a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent centered over the two-color boundary; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam (the state religion) |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $196 billion (2003 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 40% |
agriculture: 10.2%
industry: 56.5% services: 33.4% (2003) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $6,000 (2003 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 7.4% (2003 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 28 00 N, 3 00 E |
| Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan) |
| Heliports | - | 1 (2003 est.) |
| Highways | - | total: 104,000 km
paved: 71,656 km (including 640 km of expressways) unpaved: 32,344 km (1999) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 26.8% (1995) |
| Imports | 1,698 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs | capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods |
| Imports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) | France 30.9%, Italy 9.6%, Spain 6.1%, Germany 5.5%, China 4.6%, Turkey 4.1% (2003) |
| Independence | - | 5 July 1962 (from France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 6% (2003 est.) |
| Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing |
| Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 32.16 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 36.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 28.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 3.5% (2003 est.) |
| International organization participation | none | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BIS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
| Irrigated land | NA | 5,600 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court or Court Supreme |
| Labor force | 12,000 | 9.6 million (2003) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 50%
industry and services: 50% |
agriculture 14%, industry 13.4%, construction and public works 10%, trade 14.6%, government 32%, other 16% (2003 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
total: 6,343 km
border countries: Libya 982 km, Mali 1,376 km, Mauritania 463 km, Morocco 1,559 km, Niger 956 km, Tunisia 965 km, Western Sahara 42 km |
| Land use | arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2005) |
arable land: 3.22%
permanent crops: 0.25% other: 96.53% (2001) |
| Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects |
| Legal system | - | socialist, based on French and Islamic law; judicial review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed of various public officials, including several Supreme Court justices; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | - | bicameral Parliament consists of the National People's Assembly or Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani (389 seats - changed from 380 seats in the 2002 elections; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Council of Nations (Senate) (144 seats; one-third of the members appointed by the president, two-thirds elected by indirect vote; members serve six-year terms; the constitution requires half the council to be renewed every three years)
elections: National People's Assembly - last held 30 May 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); Council of Nations (Senate) - last held 30 December 2003 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: National People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FLN 199, RND 48, Islah 43, MSP 38, PT 21, FNA 8, EnNahda 1, PRA 1, MEN 1, independents 29; Council of Nations - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party NA |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 72.74 years
male: 71.22 years female: 74.34 years (2004 est.) |
| Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 70% male: 78.8% female: 61% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia |
| Map references | Africa | Africa |
| Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 59 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 837,676 GRT/929,847 DWT
by type: bulk 9, cargo 16, chemical tanker 6, liquefied gas 10, petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 9, short-sea/passenger 4, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: United Kingdom 4 registered in other countries: 4 (2004 est.) |
| Military branches | - | People's National Army (ANP; includes Ground Forces), Algerian National Navy (ANN), Air Force (QJA), Territorial Air Defense |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $2,196.6 million (2003) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.5% (2003) |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 9,311,747 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 5,675,739 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 373,235 (2004 est.) |
| National holiday | - | Revolution Day, 1 November (1954) |
| Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
noun: Algerian(s)
adjective: Algerian |
| 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 | mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season |
| Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc |
| Net migration rate | - | -0.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | condensate 1,344 km; gas 85,946 km; liquid petroleum gas 2,213 km; oil 6,496 km (2004) |
| Political parties and leaders | - | Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa TOUATI]; Democratic National Rally or RND [Ahmed OUYAHIA, chairman]; Islamic Salvation Front or FIS (outlawed April 1992) [Ali BELHADJ and Dr. Abassi MADANI, Rabeh KEBIR (self-exiled in Germany)]; National Entente Movement or MEN [Ali BOUKHAZNA]; National Liberation Front or FLN [Abdelaziz BELKHADEM, secretary general (also serves as Foreign Minister)]; National Reform Movement or Islah (formerly MRN) [Abdellah DJABALLAH]; National Renewal Party or PRA [Yacine TERKMANE]; Progressive Republican Party [Khadir DRISS]; Rally for Culture and Democracy or RCD [Said SAADI, secretary general]; Renaissance Movement or EnNahda Movement [Fatah RABEI]; Social Liberal Party or PSL [Ahmed KHELIL]; Socialist Forces Front or FFS [Hocine Ait AHMED, secretary general (self-exiled in Switzerland)]; Society of Peace Movement or MSP [Boujerra SOLTANI]; Workers Party or PT [Louisa HANOUN]
note: a law banning political parties based on religion was enacted in March 1997 |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | none | The Algerian Human Rights League or LADH or LADDH [Yahia Ali ABDENOUR]; SOS Disparus [Nacera DUTOUR]; Somoud [Ali MERABET] |
| 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.) |
32,129,324 (July 2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 23% (1999 est.) |
| Population growth rate | NA | 1.28% (2004 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Beni Saf, Dellys, Djendjene, Ghazaouet, Jijel, Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda, Tenes |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 25, FM 1, shortwave 8 (1999) |
| Railways | - | total: 3,973 km
standard gauge: 2,888 km 1.435-m gauge (283 km electrified) narrow gauge: 1,085 km 1.055-m gauge (2003) |
| Religions | Muslim | Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1% |
| Sex ratio | NA | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2004 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: telephone density in Algeria is very low, not exceeding five telephones per 100 persons; the number of fixed main lines increased in the last few years to a little more than 2,000,000, but only about two-thirds of these have subscribers; much of the infrastructure is outdated and inefficient
domestic: good service in north but sparse in south; domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations (20 additional domestic earth stations are planned) international: country code - 213; 5 submarine cables; microwave radio relay to Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia; coaxial cable to Morocco and Tunisia; participant in Medarabtel; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik, and 1 Arabsat (1998) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | 2,199,600 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | 1,447,310 (2003) |
| Television broadcast stations | NA | 46 (plus 216 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
| Total fertility rate | NA | 2.04 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA% | 26.2% (2003 est.) |
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