ARCHIVE // EH // 1994

Western Sahara

1994 Edition — disputed

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Communications
Airports [time series]
total: 14 usable: 14 with permanent-surface runways: 3 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 5
Roadways (Highways) [time series]
total: 6,200 km unpaved: gravel 1,450 km; improved, unimproved earth, tracks 4,750 km
Ports [time series]
El Aaiun, Ad Dakhla
Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]
sparse and limited system; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, troposcatter, and 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations linked to Rabat, Morocco; 2,000 telephones; broadcast 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
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]
1 Moroccan dirham (DH) = 100 centimes
Economic aid [time series]
$NA
Electricity [time series]
capacity: 60,000 kW production: 79 million kWh consumption per capita: 425 kWh (1989)
Exchange rates [time series]
Moroccan dirhams (DH) per US$1 - 9.669 (January 1994), 9.299 (1993), 8.538 (1992), 8.707 (1991), 8.242 (1990), 8.488 (1989)
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
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 mining, fishing, handicrafts
Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]
NA%
Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (National product) [time series]
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $60 million (1991 est.)
Real GDP per capita (National product per capita) [time series]
$300 (1991 est.)
Real GDP growth rate (National product real growth rate) [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 roughly $300. Pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining are the principal sources of income for the population. 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
Area [time series]
total area: 266,000 sq km land area: 266,000 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Colorado
Climate [time series]
hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew
Coastline [time series]
1,110 km
Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]
current issues: sparse water and arable land 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 international agreements: NA
Disputes - international (International disputes) [time series]
claimed and administered by Morocco, but sovereignty is unresolved and the UN is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue; the UN-administered cease-fire has been currently in effect since September 1991
Irrigated land [time series]
NA sq km
Land boundaries [time series]
total 2,046 km, Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km
Land use [time series]
arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 19% forest and woodland: 0% other: 81%
Location [time series]
Northern Africa, along the Atlantic Ocean, between Morocco and Mauritania
Map references [time series]
Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
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
Government
Administrative divisions [time series]
none (under de facto control of Morocco)
Capital [time series]
none
Digraph [time series]
WI
Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation in US) [time series]
none
Executive branch [time series]
none
International organization participation (Member of) [time series]
none
Country name (Names) [time series]
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Western Sahara
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 continued sporadically, until a UN-monitored cease-fire was implemented 6 September 1991
Diplomatic representation from the US (US diplomatic representation) [time series]
none
People
Birth rate [time series]
47.22 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate [time series]
19.04 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]
Arab, Berber
Infant mortality rate [time series]
152.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Labor force [time series]
12,000 by occupation: animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50%
Languages [time series]
Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
Life expectancy at birth [time series]
total population: 45.59 years male: 44.66 years female: 46.83 years (1994 est.)
Literacy [time series]
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%
Nationality [time series]
noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) adjective: Sahrawian, Sahraouian
Net migration rate [time series]
-3.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Population [time series]
211,877 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate [time series]
2.5% (1994 est.)
Religions [time series]
Muslim
Total fertility rate [time series]
6.96 children born/woman (1994 est.)