@node Geography (Western Sahara)
@section Geography (Western Sahara)

@display

Location:
  Northern Africa, along the Atlantic Ocean, between Morocco and Mauritania
Map references:
  Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
 total area:
  266,000 km2
 land area:
  266,000 km2
 comparative area:
  slightly smaller than Colorado
Land boundaries:
  total 2,046 km, Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km
Coastline:
  1,110 km
Maritime claims:
  contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue
International disputes:
  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
Climate:
  hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and
  heavy dew
Terrain:
  mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising
  to small mountains in south and northeast
Natural resources:
  phosphates, iron ore
Land use:
 arable land:
  0%
 permanent crops:
  0%
 meadows and pastures:
  19%
 forest and woodland:
  0%
 other:
  81%
Irrigated land:
  NA km2
Environment:
  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



@end display

@node People (Western Sahara)
@section People (Western Sahara)

@display

Population:
  206,629 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  2.52% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  47.54 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  19.57 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  -2.79 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  155.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  44.88 years
 male:
  43.98 years
 female:
  46.06 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  7.01 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:  noun:
  Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
 adjective:
  Sahrawian, Sahraouian
Ethnic divisions:
  Arab, Berber
Religions:
  Muslim
Languages:
  Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
Literacy:
 total population:
  NA%
 male:
  NA%
 female:
  NA%
Labor force:
  12,000
 by occupation:
  animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50%



@end display

@node Government (Western Sahara)
@section Government (Western Sahara)

@display

Names:
 conventional long form:
  none
 conventional short form:
  Western Sahara
Digraph:
  WI
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), 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
Capital:
  none
Administrative divisions:
  none (under de facto control of Morocco)
Leaders:
  none
Member of:
  none
Diplomatic representation in US:
  none
US diplomatic representation:
  none



@end display

@node Economy (Western Sahara)
@section Economy (Western Sahara)

@display

Overview:
  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.
National product:
  GDP - exchange rate conversion - $60 million (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate:
  NA%
National product per capita:
  $300 (1991 est.)
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 mining, fishing, handicrafts
Agriculture:
  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
Economic aid:
  NA
Currency:
  1 Moroccan dirham (DH) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates:
  Moroccan dirhams (DH) per US$1 - 9.034 (January 1993), 8.538 (1992), 8.707
  (1991), 8.242 (1990), 8.488 (1989), 8.209 (1988)
Fiscal year:
  NA



@end display

@node Communications (Western Sahara)
@section Communications (Western Sahara)

@display

Highways:
  6,200 km total; 1,450 km surfaced, 4,750 km improved and unimproved earth
  roads and tracks
Ports:
  El Aaiun, Ad Dakhla
Airports:
 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
Telecommunications:
  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



@end display

@node Defense Forces (Western Sahara)
@section Defense Forces (Western Sahara)

@display

Branches:
  NA
Manpower availability:
  NA
Defense expenditures:
  exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP



@end display