Western Sahara Population: 538,811
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| Background | |
| Western Sahara is a disputed territory on the northwest coast of Africa bordered by Morocco, Mauritania, and Algeria. After Spain withdrew from its former colony of Spanish Sahara in 1976, Morocco annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara and claimed the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Morocco's sovereignty ended in a 1991 cease-fire and the establishment of a UN peacekeeping operation. As part of this effort, the UN sought to offer a choice to the peoples of the Western Sahara between independence (favored by the Polisario Front) or integration into Morocco. A proposed referendum never took place due to lack of agreement on voter eligibility. The 2,700 km- (1,700 mi-) long defensive sand berm, built by the Moroccans from 1980 to 1987 and running the length of the territory, continues to separate the opposing forces with Morocco controlling the roughly 80 percent of the territory west of the berm. Ethnic tensions in Western Sahara occasionally erupt into violence requiring a Moroccan security force response. |
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| Geography | |
| The waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | |
| Location: | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco |
| Geographic coordinates: | 24 30 N, 13 00 W |
| Area: | total: 266,000 sq km land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km Size comparison: 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: | 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 |
| Current Environment Issues: | sparse water and lack of arable land |
| International Environment Agreements: | party to: none of the selected agreements |
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| People | |
| Population: | 538,811 (July 2013 est.) note: estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries (July 2013 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 38.4% (male 104,539/female 102,315) 15-24 years: 19.7% (male 53,536/female 52,814) 25-54 years: 33.5% (male 88,716/female 91,874) 55-64 years: 4.7% (male 11,870/female 13,518) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 8,616/female 11,013) (2013 est.) population pyramid: |
| Median age: | total: 20.5 years male: 20 years female: 21 years (2012 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 3.027% (2012 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 31.65 births/1,000 population (2012 est.) |
| Death rate: | 8.8 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | |
| 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 (2011 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 58.96 deaths/1,000 live births male: 64.02 deaths/1,000 live births female: 53.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 61.52 years male: 59.3 years female: 63.82 years (2012 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 4.15 children born/woman (2013 est.) |
| 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 |
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| Government | |
| 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, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), near Tindouf, Algeria, led by President Mohamed ABDELAZIZ |
| Capital: | none time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in July |
| Administrative divisions: | none (territory west of the berm under de facto Moroccan control) |
| Independence: | |
| National holiday: | |
| Constitution: | |
| Legal system: | |
| Suffrage: | none; (residents of Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara participate in Moroccan elections) |
| Executive branch: | none |
| Legislative branch: | |
| Judicial branch: | |
| Political parties and leaders: | |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | none |
| International organization participation: | AU, CAN (observer), WFTU (NGOs) |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | none |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | none |
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| Economy | |
| Western Sahara has a small market-based economy whose main industries are fishing, phosphate mining, and pastoral nomadism. The territory's arid desert climate makes sedentary agriculture difficult, and Western Sahara imports much of its food. The Moroccan Government administers Western Sahara's economy and is a key source of employment, infrastructure development, and social spending in the territory. Western Sahara's unresolved legal status makes the exploitation of its natural resources a contentious issue between Morocco and the Polisario. Morocco and the EU in July 2006 signed a four-year agreement allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara, but this agreement was terminated in 2011. Oil has never been found in Western Sahara in commercially significant quantities, but Morocco and the Polisario have quarreled over who has the right to authorize and benefit from oil exploration in the territory. Western Sahara's main long-term economic challenge is the development of a more diverse set of industries capable of providing greater employment and income to the territory. | |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | GDP (purchasing power parity): $906.5 million (2007 est.) |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | GDP (official exchange rate): $NA |
| GDP - real growth rate: | NA% |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | GDP - per capita (PPP): $2,500 (2007 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: 40% (2007 est.) |
| Labor force: | 144,000 (2010 est.) |
| 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% |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA% |
| Budget: | revenues: $NA expenditures: $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 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 199 |
| Electricity - consumption: | 83.7 million kWh (2009 est.) |
| Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2010 est.) |
| Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - imports: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - proved reserves: | 0 cu m (1 January 2012 est.) |
| 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 - 8.689 (2012) 8.0899 (2011) 8.4172 (2010) 8.0571 (2009) 7.526 (2008) |
| Fiscal year: | calendar year |
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| Communications | |
| Telephones in use: | |
| Cellular Phones in use: | |
| 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: | |
| Television broadcast stations: | |
| Internet country code: | .eh |
| Internet hosts: | |
| Internet users: | |
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| Transportation | |
| Airports: | 6 (2012) country comparison to the world: 174 |
| Airports (paved runways): | total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2012) |
| Airports (unpaved runways): | total: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2012) |
| Roadways: | |
| Ports and terminals: | Ad Dakhla, Laayoune (El Aaiun) |
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| Military | |
| Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 79,489 females age 16-49: 87,362 (2010 est.) |
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