Western Sahara (2008) | Europa Island (2003) | |
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.) |
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Agriculture - products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish | - |
Airports | 9 (2007) | 1 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2007) |
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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: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 28 sq km
land: 28 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | about 0.16 times 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. | A French possession since 1897, the island is heavily wooded; it is the site of a small military garrison that staffs a weather station. |
Birth rate | NA 39.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
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Capital | none
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | tropical |
Coastline | 1,110 km | 22.2 km |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Europa Island local long form: none local short form: Ile Europa |
Death rate | NA | - |
Debt - external | $NA | - |
Dependency status | - | possession of France; administered by a high commissioner of the Republic, resident in Reunion |
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 | claimed by Madagascar |
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. | no economic activity |
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: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 24 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 |
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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) | - |
Executive branch | none | - |
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 France is used |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 40% |
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GDP - real growth rate | NA% | - |
Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 22 20 S, 40 22 E |
Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | wildlife sanctuary |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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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 | - |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | - |
International organization participation | none | - |
Irrigated land | NA | 0 sq km (1998 est.) |
Labor force | 12,000 | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 50%
industry and services: 50% |
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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% (mangrove forests and woodlands) (1998 est.) |
Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | - |
Legal system | - | the laws of France, where applicable, apply |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
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Literacy | NA | - |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | Southern Africa, island in the Mozambique Channel, about one-half of the way from southern Madagascar to southern Mozambique |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
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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 | NA |
Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | NEGL |
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 inhabitants
note: there is a small French military garrison and a few meteorologists; visited by scientists (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | NA | - |
Ports and harbors | - | none; offshore anchorage only |
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 |
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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 | low and flat |
Total fertility rate | NA | - |
Unemployment rate | NA% | - |
Waterways | - | none |