CIA World Fact Book, 2004/Western Sahara

! 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.

! Location: ! Geographic coordinates: ! Map references: ! Area: water: 0 sq km land: 266,000 sq km ! Area - comparative: ! Land boundaries: border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km ! Coastline: ! Maritime claims: ! Climate: ! Terrain: ! Elevation extremes: highest point: unnamed location 463 m ! Natural resources: ! Land use: permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) ! Irrigated land: ! Natural hazards: ! Environment - current issues: ! Environment - international agreements: signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements ! Geography - note:
 * Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco
 * 24 30 N, 13 00 W
 * Africa
 * total: 266,000 sq km
 * about the size of Colorado
 * total: 2,046 km
 * 1,110 km
 * contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue
 * hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew
 * mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast
 * lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
 * phosphates, iron ore
 * arable land: 0.02%
 * NA sq km
 * hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility
 * sparse water and lack of arable land
 * party to: none of the selected agreements
 * the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas

! Population: ! Age structure: 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA ! Population growth rate: ! Birth rate: ! Death rate: ! Sex ratio: ! Infant mortality rate: male: NA female: NA ! Life expectancy at birth: male: NA years female: NA years ! Total fertility rate: ! HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: ! HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: ! HIV/AIDS - deaths: ! Nationality: adjective: Sahrawi,Sahrawian, Sahraouian ! Ethnic groups: ! Religions: ! Languages: ! Literacy: total population: NA male: NA female: NA
 * 267,405 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: NA
 * NA
 * NA births/1,000 population
 * NA deaths/1,000 population
 * NA
 * total: NA
 * total population: NA years
 * NA children born/woman
 * NA
 * NA
 * NA
 * noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
 * Arab, Berber
 * Muslim
 * Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
 * definition: NA

! Country name: conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara ! Government type: ! Capital: ! Administrative divisions: ! Suffrage: ! Executive branch: ! Political pressure groups and leaders: ! International organization participation: ! Diplomatic representation in the US: ! Diplomatic representation from the US:
 * conventional long form: none
 * 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),led by President Mohamed ABDELAZIZ; territory partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania in April 1976, 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 OAU member in 1984; guerrilla activities continued sporadically, until a UN-monitored cease-fire was implemented 6 September 1991
 * none
 * none (under de facto control of Morocco)
 * none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed
 * none
 * none
 * none
 * none
 * none

! Economy - overview: ! GDP: ! GDP - real growth rate: ! GDP - per capita: ! GDP - composition by sector: industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.) ! Population below poverty line: ! Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: NA ! Inflation rate (consumer prices): ! Labor force: ! Labor force - by occupation: ! Unemployment rate: ! Budget: expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA ! Agriculture - products: ! Industries: ! Industrial production growth rate: ! Electricity - production: ! Electricity - consumption: ! Electricity - exports: ! Electricity - imports: ! Oil - production: ! Oil - consumption: ! Oil - exports: ! Oil - imports: ! Exports: ! Exports - commodities: ! Exports - partners: ! Imports: ! Imports - commodities: ! Imports - partners: ! Debt - external: ! Economic aid - recipient: ! Currency: ! Currency code: ! Exchange rates: ! Fiscal year:
 * 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. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level.
 * purchasing power parity - NA
 * NA
 * purchasing power parity - NA
 * agriculture: NA
 * NA
 * lowest 10%: NA
 * NA
 * 12,000
 * animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50%
 * NA
 * revenues: NA
 * fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads)
 * phosphate mining, handicrafts
 * NA
 * 90 million kWh (2001)
 * 83.7 million kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 1,800 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA
 * phosphates 62%
 * Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts
 * NA
 * fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs
 * Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2000)
 * NA
 * NA
 * Moroccan dirham (MAD)
 * MAD
 * Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 9.574 (2003), 11.584 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999)
 * calendar year

! Telephones - main lines in use: ! Telephones - mobile cellular: ! Telephone 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: ! Radios: ! Television broadcast stations: ! Televisions: ! Internet country code: ! Internet Service Providers (ISPs): ! Internet users:
 * about 2,000 (1999 est.)
 * 0 (1999)
 * general assessment: sparse and limited system
 * AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)
 * 56,000 (1997)
 * NA
 * 6,000 (1997)
 * .eh
 * 1 (2000)
 * NA

! Highways: paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) ! Ports and harbors: ! Airports: ! Airports - with paved runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.) ! Airports - with unpaved runways: 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)
 * total: 6,200 km
 * Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun)
 * 11 (2003 est.)
 * total: 3
 * total: 8

! Military expenditures - dollar figure: ! Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
 * NA
 * NA
 * }