ARCHIVE // EH // 2003

Western Sahara

2003 Edition — disputed

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
View Intelligence Dossier Back to 2003 CSV Excel Print All Years
Communications
Internet users (Internet Service Providers (ISPs)) [time series]
1 (2000)
Internet country code [time series]
.eh
Internet users [time series]
NA
Broadcast media (Radio broadcast stations) [time series]
AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)
Telecommunication systems (Telephone system) [time series]
general assessment: sparse and limited system domestic: NA international: tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco
Telephones - fixed lines (Telephones - main lines in use) [time series]
about 2,000 (1999 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular [time series]
0 (1999)
Broadcast media (Television broadcast stations) [time series]
NA
Economy
Agricultural products (Agriculture - products) [time series]
fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads)
Budget [time series]
revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]
Moroccan dirham (MAD)
Exchange rates (Currency code) [time series]
MAD
Debt - external [time series]
$NA
Economic aid (Economic aid - recipient) [time series]
$NA
Economic overview (Economy - overview) [time series]
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.
Electricity - consumption [time series]
83.7 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports [time series]
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports [time series]
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production [time series]
90 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source [time series]
fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0%
Exchange rates [time series]
Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 11.584 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999), 9.604 (1998), 9.527 (1997)
Exports [time series]
$NA
Exports - commodities [time series]
phosphates 62%
Exports - partners [time series]
Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts
Fiscal year [time series]
calendar year
Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]
purchasing power parity - $NA
GDP - composition, by sector of origin (GDP - composition by sector) [time series]
agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: 40% (1996 est.)
Real GDP per capita (GDP - per capita) [time series]
purchasing power parity - $NA
Real GDP growth rate (GDP - real growth rate) [time series]
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share [time series]
lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports [time series]
$NA
Imports - commodities [time series]
fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs
Imports - partners [time series]
Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2000)
Industrial production growth rate [time series]
NA%
Industries [time series]
phosphate mining, handicrafts
Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]
NA%
Labor force [time series]
12,000
Labor force - by occupation [time series]
animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50%
Oil - consumption [time series]
1,800 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports [time series]
NA (2001)
Oil - imports [time series]
NA (2001)
Oil - production [time series]
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line [time series]
NA%
Unemployment rate [time series]
NA%
Geography
Area [time series]
total: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 266,000 sq km
Area - comparative [time series]
about the size of 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
Elevation (Elevation extremes) [time series]
lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed location 463 m
Environment - current issues [time series]
sparse water and lack of arable land
International environmental agreements (Environment - international agreements) [time series]
party to: none of the selected agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geographic coordinates [time series]
24 30 N, 13 00 W
Geography - note [time series]
the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas
Irrigated land [time series]
NA sq km
Land boundaries [time series]
total: 2,046 km border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km
Land use [time series]
arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)
Location [time series]
Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco
Map references [time series]
Africa
Maritime claims [time series]
contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue
Natural hazards [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
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
Country name [time series]
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara
Diplomatic representation from the US [time series]
none
Diplomatic representation in the US [time series]
none
Executive branch [time series]
none
Government type [time series]
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
International organization participation [time series]
none
Political parties (Political pressure groups and leaders) [time series]
none
Suffrage [time series]
none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed
Introduction
Background [time series]
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.
Military
Military expenditures - dollar figure [time series]
$NA
Military expenditures (Military expenditures - percent of GDP) [time series]
NA%
People
Age structure [time series]
0-14 years: NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% (2003 est.)
Birth rate [time series]
NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate [time series]
NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Ethnic groups [time series]
Arab, Berber
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate [time series]
NA%
HIV/AIDS - deaths [time series]
NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS [time series]
NA
Infant mortality rate [time series]
total: NA% male: NA% female: NA%
Languages [time series]
Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
Life expectancy at birth [time series]
total population: NA years male: NA years female: NA years (2003 est.)
Literacy [time series]
definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%
Nationality [time series]
noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) adjective: Sahrawian, Sahraouian
Population [time series]
261,794 (July 2003 est.)
Population growth rate [time series]
NA% (2003 est.)
Religions [time series]
Muslim
Sex ratio [time series]
NA (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate [time series]
NA children born/woman (2003 est.)
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international [time series]
Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties have rejected other proposals; Mauritanian claims to Western Sahara have been dormant in recent years; Morocco allowed Spanish fishermen to fish temporarily off the coast of Western Sahara after an oil spill soiled Spanish fishing grounds
Transportation
Airports [time series]
11 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways [time series]
total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways [time series]
total: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2002)
Roadways (Highways) [time series]
total: 6,200 km paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est)
Ports (Ports and harbors) [time series]
Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun)
Railways [time series]
0 km
Waterways [time series]
none