• Index to The World FactBook 1995
• UMSL Government Documents
• UMSL Libraries

 Match 260   DB Rec# - 7,712  Dataset-WOFACT

Title         :Western Sahara 
Text          : 
                                 Western Sahara 
 
                                    Geography 
 
Location: 
    Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and 
    Morocco 
Map references: 
    Africa 
Area: 
  total area: 
    266,000 sq km 
  land area: 
    266,000 sq km 
  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 sq km 
Environment: 
  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 
 
                                     People 
 
Population: 
    217,211 (July 1995 est.) 
Age structure: 
  0-14 years: 
    NA 
  15-64 years: 
    NA 
  65 years and over: 
    NA 
Population growth rate: 
    2.48% (1995 est.) 
Birth rate: 
    46.9 births/1,000 population (1995 est.) 
Death rate: 
    18.52 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.) 
Net migration rate: 
    -3.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.) 
Infant mortality rate: 
    148.95 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.) 
Life expectancy at birth: 
  total population: 
    46.31 years 
  male: 


    45.34 years 
  female: 
    47.59 years (1995 est.) 
Total fertility rate: 
    6.91 children born/woman (1995 est.) 
Nationality: 
  noun: 
    Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) 
  adjective: 
    Sahrawian, Sahraouian 
Ethnic divisions: 
    Arab, Berber 
Religions: 
    Muslim 
Languages: 
    Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic 
Literacy: 
    NA% 
Labor force: 
    12,000 
  by occupation: 
    animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% 
 
                                   Government 
 
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) 
Executive branch: 
    none 
Member of: 
    none 
Diplomatic representation in US: 
    none 
US diplomatic representation: 
    none 
 
                                     Economy 
 


Overview: 
    Western Sahara, a territory poor in natural resources and having little 
    rainfall, depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as 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. Incomes and standards of living 
    are substantially below the Moroccan level. 
National product: 
    GDP $NA 
National product real growth rate: 
    NA% 
National product per capita: 
    $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: 
  capacity: 
    60,000 kW 
  production: 
    79 million kWh 
  consumption per capita: 
    339 kWh (1993) 
Industries: 
    phosphate mining, handicrafts 
Agriculture: 
    limited largely to subsistence agriculture and fishing; 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 


 
                                     Economy 
Exchange rates: 
    Moroccan dirhams (DH) per US$1 - 8.892 (January 1995), 9.203 (1994), 9.299 
    (1993), 8.538 (1992), 8.707 (1991), 8.242 (1990) 
Fiscal year: 
    NA 
 
                                 Transportation 
 
Railroads: 
    0 km 
Highways: 
  total: 
    6,200 km 
  unpaved: 
    gravel 1,450 km; improved, unimproved earth, tracks 4,750 km 
Ports: 
    Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, El Aaiun 
Airports: 
  total: 
    14 
  with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 
    3 
  with paved runways under 914 m: 
    3 
  with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 
    1 
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 
    7 
 
                                 Communications 
 
Telephone system: 
    2,000 telephones; sparse and limited system 
  local: 
    NA 
  intercity: 
    NA 
  international: 
    tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, troposcatter, and 2 
    INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth stations linked to Rabat, Morocco 
Radio: 
  broadcast stations: 
    AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 
  radios: 
    NA 
Television: 
  broadcast stations: 
    2 
  televisions: 
    NA 
 
                                 Defense Forces 
 
Branches: 
    NA 
Defense expenditures: 
    $NA, NA% of GDP 

This publication is also available online from the CIA (http://www.odci.gov/cia) as 1995 World Factbook (http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/95fact/index.html).

The printed version of this item can be found under the title:
The World Factbook 1995,
SuDoc No: PREX 3.15:995

Select this link for contact information about the
UM-St. Louis Librarians maintaining this site. 
Updated: March 12, 1996