Western Sahara (2008) | Dhekelia (2007) | |
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.) |
- |
Agriculture - products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish | - |
Airports | 9 (2007) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (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) |
- |
Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 130.8 sq km
note: area surrounds three Cypriot enclaves |
Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | about three-quarters 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. 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. | By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers - Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The larger of these is the Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Eastern Sovereign Base Area. |
Birth rate | NA 39.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
- |
Capital | none
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Episkopi Cantonment; located in Akrotiri
geographic coordinates: 34 40 N, 32 51 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 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 | temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters |
Coastline | 1,110 km | 27.5 km |
Constitution | - | Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form: Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Dhekelia |
Death rate | NA | - |
Debt - external | $NA | - |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of UK; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus |
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; 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 | - |
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. 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. | Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Dhekelia. All food and manufactured goods must be imported. |
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 |
- |
Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | netting and trapping of small migrant songbirds in the spring and autumn |
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 - 8.2827 (2007), 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003) | Cypriot pounds per US dollar - 0.46019 (2006), 0.4641 (2005), 0.4686 (2004), 0.5174 (2003), 0.6107 (2002) |
Executive branch | none | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Administrator Air Vice-Marshal Richard LACEY (since 26 April 2006); note - reports to the British Ministry of Defense elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the administrator is appointed by the monarch |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (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 the UK is used |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 40% |
- |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | - |
Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 34 59 N, 33 45 E |
Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
- |
Imports | 1,698 bbl/day (2004) | - |
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) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | - |
Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | none |
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 |
total: NA |
Land use | arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2005) |
- |
Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | English, Greek |
Legal system | - | the Sovereign Base Area Administration has its own court system to deal with civil and criminal matters; laws applicable to the Cypriot population are, as far as possible, the same as the laws of the Republic of Cyprus |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
- |
Literacy | NA | - |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | on the southeast coast of Cyprus near Famagusta |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | - |
Military - note | - | includes Dhekelia Garrison and Ayios Nikolaos Station connected by a roadway |
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 | - |
Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | - |
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.) |
no indigenous personnel
note: approximately 2,200 resident military personnel; there are another 5,000 British citizens who are families of military personnel or civilian staff on both the bases of Akrotiri and Dhekelia; Cyprus citizens work on the base but do not live there |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | NA | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM NA, FM 1 (located in Akrotiri), shortwave NA (British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides Radio 1 and Radio 2 service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia) (2006) |
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 | 0 (British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia) (2006) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | - |
Total fertility rate | NA | - |
Unemployment rate | NA% | - |