ARCHIVE // EH // 1991

Western Sahara

1991 Edition — disputed

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Communications
Airports [time series]
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
Roadways (Highways) [time series]
6,100 km total; 1,350 km surfaced, 4,750 km improved and unimproved earth roads and tracks
Ports [time series]
El Aaiun, Ad Dakhla
Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]
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
Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]
NA
Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]
$NA, NA% of GDP
Manpower availability [time series]
NA
Economy
Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]
limited largely to subsistence agriculture; 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
Budget [time series]
revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]
Moroccan dirham (plural--dirhams); 1 Moroccan dirham (DH) = 100 centimes
Economic aid [time series]
NA
Electricity [time series]
60,000 kW capacity; 79 million kWh produced, 425 kWh per capita (1989)
Exchange rates [time series]
Moroccan dirhams (DH) per US$1--8.071 (January 1991), 8.242 (1990), 8.488 (1989), 8.209 (1988), 8.359 (1987), 9.104 (1986), 10.062 (1985)
Exports [time series]
$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
Debt - external (External debt) [time series]
$NA
Fiscal year [time series]
NA
Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]
$NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate NA%
Imports [time series]
$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
Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]
growth rate NA%
Industries [time series]
phosphate, fishing, handicrafts
Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]
NA%
Economic overview (Overview) [time series]
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.
Unemployment rate [time series]
NA%
Geography
Climate [time series]
hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore currents produce fog and heavy dew
Coastline [time series]
1,110 km
Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]
slightly smaller than Colorado
Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]
claimed and administered by Morocco, but sovereignty is unresolved and guerrilla fighting continues in the area
Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]
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 arable land
Land boundaries [time series]
2,046 km total; Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km
Land use [time series]
arable land NEGL%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 19%; forest and woodland 0%; other 81%
Maritime claims [time series]
contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue
Natural resources [time series]
phosphates, iron ore
Terrain [time series]
mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast
Area (Total area) [time series]
266,000 km2; land area: 266,000 km2
Government
Administrative divisions [time series]
none (under de facto control of Morocco)
Capital [time series]
none
Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]
none
Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]
none
Country name (Long-form name) [time series]
none
International organization participation (Member of) [time series]
none
Government type (Type) [time series]
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), which in February 1976 formally proclaimed a government in exile of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); 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 sporadically.
People
Birth rate [time series]
48 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate [time series]
23 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]
Arab and Berber
Infant mortality rate [time series]
177 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Labor force [time series]
12,000; 50% animal husbandry and subsistence farming
Languages (Language) [time series]
Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
Life expectancy at birth [time series]
39 years male, 41 years female (1991)
Literacy [time series]
NA% (male NA%, female NA%)
Nationality [time series]
noun--Saharan(s), Moroccan(s); adjective--Saharan, Moroccan
Net migration rate [time series]
1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)
Organized labor [time series]
NA
Population [time series]
196,737 (July 1991), growth rate 2.6% (1991)
Religions (Religion) [time series]
Muslim
Total fertility rate [time series]
7.3 children born/woman (1991)