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Western Sahara (continued) Total fertility rate: 7.3 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun—Saharan(s), Moroccan(s); adjective—Saharan, Moroccan

Ethnic divisions: Arab and Berber

Religion: Muslim

Language: Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic

Literacy: 20% among Moroccans, 5% among Saharans (est.)

Labor force: 12,000; 50% animal husbandry and subsistence farming

Organized labor: NA

Government

Long-form name: none

Type: legal status of territory and question of sovereignty unresolved; territory contested by Morocco and Polisario Front (Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro); 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 continue to the present

Capital: none

Administrative divisions: none (under de facto control of Morocco)

Leaders: none

Diplomatic representation: none

Economy

Overview: Western Sahara, a territory poor in natural resources and having little rainfall, has a per capita GDP of just a few hundred dollars. Fishing and phosphate mining are the principal industries and sources of income. Most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government.

GDP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Exports: $8 million (f.o.b., 1982 est.); commodities—phosphates 62%; partners—Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts

Imports: $30 million (c.i.f., 1982 est.); commodities—fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs; partners—Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%

Electricity: 60,000 kW capacity; 79 million kWh produced, 425 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: phosphate, fishing, handicrafts

Agriculture: practically none; some barley is grown in nondrought years; fruit and vegetables are grown in the few oases; food imports are essential; camels, sheep, and goats are kept by the nomadic natives; cash economy exists largely for the garrison forces

Aid: NA

Currency: Moroccan dirham (plural—dirhams); 1 Moroccan dirham (DH) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Moroccan dirhams (DH) per US$1—8.093 (January 1990), 8.488 (1989), 8.209 (1988), 8.359 (1987), 9.104 (1986), 10.062 (1985)

Fiscal year: NA

Communications

Highways: 6,100 km total; 1,350 km surfaced, 4,750 km improved and unimproved earth roads and tracks

Ports: El Aaiun, Ad Dakhla

Airports: 16 total, 14 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 6 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: sparse and limited system; tied into Morocco's system by radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations linked to Rabat, Morocco; 2,000 telephones; stations—2 AM, no FM, 2 TV

Defense Forces

Branches: NA

Military manpower: NA

Defense expenditures: NA  Western Samoa



Geography

Total area: 2,860 km²; land area: 2,850 km²

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Rhode Island

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 403 km

Maritime claims:
 * Extended economic zone: 200 nm
 * Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; rainy season (October to March), dry season (May to October)

Terrain: narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior

Natural resources: hardwood forests, fish

Land use: 19% arable land; 24% permanent crops; NEGL% meadows and pastures; 47% forest and woodland; 10% other

Environment: subject to occasional typhoons; active volcanism

Note: located 4,300 km southwest of Honolulu in the South Pacific Ocean about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand

People

Population: 186,031 (July 1990), growth rate 2.3% (1990)

Birth rate: 34 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: -5 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 48 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 69 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 4.6 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun—Western Samoan(s); adjective—Western Samoan  338