Compare Western Sahara (2008) - Mauritius (2008)

Compare Western Sahara (2008) z Mauritius (2008)

	Western Sahara (2008)	Mauritius (2008)

Administrative divisions	none (under de facto control of Morocco)	9 districts and 3 dependencies; Agalega Islands, Black River, Cargados Carajos Shoals, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka, Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Riviere du Rempart, Rodrigues, Savanne
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: 23.5% (male 147,808/female 146,270) 15-64 years: 69.8% (male 436,043/female 437,441) 65 years and over: 6.7% (male 32,475/female 50,845) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish	sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish
Airports	9 (2007)	5 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2007)	total: 2 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 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: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Area	total: 266,000 sq km land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 2,040 sq km land: 2,030 sq km water: 10 sq km note: includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), and Rodrigues
Area - comparative	about the size of Colorado	almost 11 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.	Although known to Arab and Malay sailors as early as the 10th century, Mauritius was first explored by the Portuguese in 1505; it was subsequently held by the Dutch, French, and British before independence was attained in 1968. A stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record, the country has attracted considerable foreign investment and has earned one of Africa's highest per capita incomes. Recent poor weather, declining sugar prices, and declining textile and apparel production, have slowed economic growth, leading to some protests over standards of living in the Creole community.
Birth rate	NA 39.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	15.26 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA	revenues: $1.34 billion expenditures: $1.642 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2007 est.)
Capital	none time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: Port Louis geographic coordinates: 20 09 S, 57 29 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew	tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May)
Coastline	1,110 km	177 km
Constitution	-	12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara	conventional long form: Republic of Mauritius conventional short form: Mauritius local long form: Republic of Mauritius local short form: Mauritius
Death rate	NA	6.88 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$NA	$2.583 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	none	chief of mission: Ambassador Cesar CABRERA embassy: 4th Floor, Rogers House, John Kennedy Street, Port Louis mailing address: international mail: P. O. Box 544, Port Louis; US mail: American Embassy, Port Louis, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2450 telephone: [230] 202-4400 FAX: [230] 208-9534
Diplomatic representation in the US	none	chief of mission: Ambassador Usha JEETAH chancery: 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 441, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-1491, 1492 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0983
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	Mauritius claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius; claims French-administered Tromelin Island
Economic aid - recipient	$NA	$31.93 million (2005)
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.	Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been in the order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in more equitable income distribution, increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure. The economy rests on sugar, tourism, textiles and apparel, and financial services, and is expanding into fish processing, information and communications technology, and hospitality and property development. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 15% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on creating vertical and horizontal clusters of development in these sectors. Mauritius has attracted more than 32,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India, South Africa, and China. Investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Mauritius, with its strong textile sector, has been well poised to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Electricity - consumption	79.05 million kWh (2005)	1.973 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	85 million kWh (2005)	2.122 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed location 463 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Piton 828 m
Environment - current issues	sparse water and lack of arable land	water pollution, degradation of coral reefs
Environment - international agreements	party to: none of the selected agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Arab, Berber	Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2%
Exchange rates	Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.2827 (2007), 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003)	Mauritian rupees per US dollar - 31.798 (2007), 31.656 (2006), 29.496 (2005), 27.499 (2004), 27.902 (2003)
Executive branch	none	chief of state: President Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH (since 7 October 2003); Vice President Abdool Raouf BUNDHUN (since 25 February 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM (since 5 July 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly for five-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 25 February 2002 (next to be held in 2007); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president, responsible to the National Assembly election results: Karl OFFMANN elected president and Raouf BUNDHUN elected vice president; percent of vote by the National Assembly - NA%; note - Karl OFFMANN stepped down on 30 September 2003
Exports	0 bbl/day (2004)	0 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	phosphates 62%	clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses, fish
Exports - partners	Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006)	UK 32.5%, France 15.1%, UAE 11.4%, US 8.3%, Madagascar 4.8% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 July - 30 June
Flag description	-	four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, yellow, and green
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: 40%	agriculture: 4.8% industry: 25% services: 70.1% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	NA%	5.5% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	24 30 N, 13 00 W	20 17 S, 57 33 E
Geography - note	the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas	the main island, from which the country derives its name, is of volcanic origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	-	consumer and transshipment point for heroin from South Asia; small amounts of cannabis produced and consumed locally; significant offshore financial industry creates potential for money laundering, but corruption levels are relatively low and the government appears generally to be committed to regulating its banking industry
Imports	1,698 bbl/day (2004)	21,380 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs	manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals
Imports - partners	Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006)	France 14.3%, India 13.6%, China 8.6%, South Africa 7.3% (2006)
Independence	-	12 March 1968 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	4.7% (2007 est.)
Industries	phosphate mining, handicrafts	food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing, mining, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery, tourism
Infant mortality rate	total: NA male: NA female: NA	total: 14.14 deaths/1,000 live births male: 16.72 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	NA%	9.1% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	none	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	NA	220 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	-	Supreme Court
Labor force	12,000	550,000 (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 50% industry and services: 50%	agriculture and fishing 14%, construction and industry 36%, transportation and communication 7%, trade, restaurants, hotels 16%, finance 3%, other services 24% (1995)
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: 49.02% permanent crops: 2.94% other: 48.04% (2005)
Languages	Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic	Creole 80.5%, Bhojpuri 12.1%, French 3.4%, English (official; spoken by less than 1% of the population), other 3.7%, unspecified 0.3% (2000 census)
Legal system	-	based on French civil law system with elements of English common law in certain areas; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Legislative branch	-	unicameral National Assembly (70 seats; 62 members elected by popular vote, 8 appointed by the election commission to give representation to various ethnic minorities; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 3 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - AS 38, MSM/MMM 22, OPR 2; appointed seats - AS 4, MSM/MMM 2, OPR 2
Life expectancy at birth	total population: NA male: NA female: NA	total population: 72.88 years male: 68.92 years female: 76.9 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	NA	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 84.4% male: 88.4% female: 80.5% (2000 census)
Location	Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco	Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar
Map references	Africa	Political Map of the World
Maritime claims	contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue	measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Merchant marine	-	total: 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 19,417 GRT/19,700 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, passenger/cargo 2, refrigerated cargo 1 foreign-owned: 2 (India 2) (2007)
Military branches	-	no regular military forces; National Police Force, Special Mobile Force, National Coast Guard (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	0.3% (2006 est.)
National holiday	-	Independence Day, 12 March (1968)
Nationality	noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian	noun: Mauritian(s) adjective: Mauritian
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	cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards
Natural resources	phosphates, iron ore	arable land, fish
Net migration rate	-	-0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders	-	Alliance Sociale or AS [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM] (governing coalition - includes MLD, MMSM, MR, MSD, PMXD); Mauritian Labor Party or MLP [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM]; Mauritian Militant Movement or MMM [Paul BERENGER]; Mauritian Socialist Militant Movement or MMSM [Madan DOLLOO]; Militant Socialist Movement or MSM [Nando BODHA]; Mouvement Republicain or MR [Jayarama VALAYDEN]; Parti Mauricien Xavier Duval or PMXD [Xavier Luc DUVAL]; Rodrigues Movement or MR [Joseph (Nicholas) Von MALLY]; Rodrigues Peoples Organization or OPR [Serge CLAIR]
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	various labor unions
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.)	1,250,882 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	10% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate	NA	0.798% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 4, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2001)
Religions	Muslim	Hindu 48%, Roman Catholic 23.6%, Muslim 16.6%, other Christian 8.6%, other 2.5%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.4% (2000 census)
Sex ratio	NA	at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.011 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.997 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.639 male(s)/female total population: 0.971 male(s)/female (2007 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: small system with good service domestic: monopoly over fixed-line services terminated in 2005; fixed-line teledensity roughly 30 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular services launched in 1989 with teledensity in 2006 exceeding 60 per 100 persons international: country code - 230; landing point for the SAFE submarine cable that provides links to Asia and South Africa where it connects to the SAT-3/WASC submarine cable that provides further links to parts of East Africa, and Europe; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); new microwave link to Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several countries
Telephones - main lines in use	about 2,000 (1999 est.)	357,300 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	0 (1999)	772,400 (2006)
Television broadcast stations	NA	2 (plus several repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast	small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau
Total fertility rate	NA	1.94 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	9.2% (2007 est.)

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