Morocco virtually annexed the
northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976,
and claimed 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 the territory's final status has been repeatedly
postponed. In April 2007, UN-sponsored talks between representatives
from the Government of Morocco and the Polisario Front to negotiate the
status of Western Sahara, which stalled in April 2008, resumed in August
2009. Rabat has put forward an autonomy proposal for the territory,
which would allow for some local administration while maintaining
Moroccan sovereignty. The Polisario, with Algeria's support, demands a
popular referendum that includes the option of independence.
Geography ::Western Sahara
Location:
Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco
Geographic coordinates:
24 30 N, 13 00 W
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 266,000 sq km
land:
266,000 sq km
water:
0 sq km
Area - comparative:
about the size of Colorado
Land boundaries:
total: 2,046 km
border countries:
Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km
Coastline:
1,110 km
Maritime claims:
contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue
Climate:
Current Weather
hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew
Terrain:
mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point:
unnamed elevation 805 m
Natural resources:
phosphates, iron ore
Land use:
arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops:
0%
other:
99.98% (2005)
Irrigated land:
NA
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
Environment - current issues:
sparse water and lack of arable land
Environment - international agreements:
party to: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas
People ::Western Sahara
Population:
491,519
1
note:estimate
is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and
migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring
countries (July 2010 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 39.2% (male 97,380/female 95,348)
15-64 years:
57.3% (male 138,749/female 142,721)
65 years and over:
3.5% (male 7,610/female 9,711) (2010 est.)
Median age:
total: 20.1 years
male:
19.7 years
female:
20.6 years (2010 est.)
Population growth rate:
3.169% NA (2010 est.)
Birth rate:
32.56 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 42
Death rate:
9.13 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)
Urbanization:
urban population: 81% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization:
4% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.78 male(s)/female
total population:
0.98 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 61.97 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 34
male:
67.13 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
56.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 60.74 years
83
male:
58.57 years
female:
62.99 years (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate:
4.37 children born/woman (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 39
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA
Nationality:
noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective:
Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian
Ethnic groups:
Arab, Berber
Religions:
Muslim
Languages:
Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
Literacy:
NA
Government ::Western Sahara
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form:
Western Sahara
former:
Rio de Oro, Saguia el Hamra, Spanish Sahara
Government type:
legal status of territory
and issue of sovereignty unresolved; territory contested by Morocco and
Polisario Front (Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el
Hamra and Rio de Oro), which in February 1976 formally proclaimed a
government-in-exile of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), near
Tindouf, Algeria, led by President Mohamed ABDELAZIZ; territory
partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania in April 1976 when Spain
withdrew, with Morocco acquiring northern two-thirds; Mauritania, under
pressure from Polisario guerrillas, abandoned all claims to its portion
in August 1979; Morocco moved to occupy that sector shortly thereafter
and has since asserted administrative control; the Polisario's
government-in-exile was seated as an Organization of African Unity (OAU)
member in 1984; Morocco between 1980 and 1987 built a fortified sand
berm delineating the roughly 80 percent of Western Sahara west of the
barrier that currently is controlled by Morocco; guerrilla activities
continued sporadically until a UN-monitored cease-fire was implemented
on 6 September 1991 (Security Council Resolution 690) by the United
Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO)
Capital:
none
time difference:
UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
none (territory west of the berm under de facto Moroccan control)
Suffrage:
none; (residents of Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara participate in Moroccan elections)
Executive branch:
none
Political pressure groups and leaders:
none
International organization participation:
WFTU
Diplomatic representation in the US:
none
Diplomatic representation from the US:
none
Economy ::Western Sahara
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.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$900 million (2007 est.)
03
GDP (official exchange rate):
$NA
GDP - real growth rate:
NA%
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$2,500 (2007 est.)
3
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry:
NA%
services:
40% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
12,000 (2005 est.)
14
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 50%
industry and services:
50% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%:
NA%
Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures:
$NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
NA%
Agriculture - products:
fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish
Industries:
phosphate mining, handicrafts
Industrial production growth rate:
NA%
Electricity - production:
90 million kWh (2007 est.)
92
Electricity - consumption:
83.7 million kWh (2007 est.)
93
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
19
Oil - consumption:
2,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
83
Oil - exports:
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
67
Oil - imports:
1,702 bbl/day (2007 est.)
8
Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
06
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
11
Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
19
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
05
Natural gas - proved reserves:
0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
19
Exports:
$NA
Exports - commodities:
phosphates 62%
Imports:
$NA
Imports - commodities:
fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs
Debt - external:
$NA
Exchange rates:
Moroccan dirhams (MAD) per US dollar - 8.1081 (2009), 7.526 (2008), 8.3563 (2007), 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005)
Communications ::Western Sahara
Telephones - main lines in use:
about 2,000 (1999 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
0 (1999)
22
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
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)
Television broadcast stations:
NA
Internet country code:
.eh
Transportation ::Western Sahara
Airports:
6 (2009)
0
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m:
3 (2009)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m:
1
914 to 1,523 m:
1
under 914 m:
1 (2009)
Ports and terminals:
Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun)
Military ::Western Sahara
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 76,483
females age 16-49:
83,988 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 5,376
female:
5,280 (2010 est.)
Transnational Issues ::Western Sahara
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
