Access to THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 provided courtesy of
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======================================================
National Trade Data Bank
ITEM ID     : CI WOFACT WO0259
DATE        : Oct 28, 1994
 
AGENCY      : CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
PROGRAM     : WORLD FACTBOOK
TITLE       : World Factbook: Western Sahara
 
Source key      : CI 
Program key     : CI WOFACT 
Update sched.   : Annually         
Data type       : TEXT 
End year        : 1994
Date of record  : 19941020
Keywords 3      :  
Keywords 3      : | Western Sahara 
 
 
                              Western Sahara
 
 
                                 Geography
 
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 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:
     211,877 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     2.5% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     47.22 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     19.04 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     -3.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     152.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     45.59 years
male:
     44.66 years
female:
     46.83 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     6.96 children born/woman (1994 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%
 
                                Government
 
Names:
conventional long form:
     none
 
 
conventional short form:
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, 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:
capacity:
     60,000 kW
production:
     79 million kWh
consumption per capita:
     425 kWh (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 - 9.669 (January 1994), 9.299 (1993),
     8.538 (1992), 8.707 (1991), 8.242 (1990), 8.488 (1989)
Fiscal year:
     NA
 
                              Communications
 
Highways:
total:
     6,200 km
unpaved:
     gravel 1,450 km; improved, unimproved earth, tracks 4,750 km
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
 
                              Defense Forces
 
Branches:
     NA
Defense expenditures:
     $NA, NA% of GDP
 
 
 
===========================================================================
This section of THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 produced by the United States
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was derived from the US Dept. of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Division's NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK (NTDB) CD-ROM,
November, 1994, SuDoc No. C 1.88:994/11/v.1-2 / Presented by Raleigh Muns,
(srcmuns@umslvma.umsl.edu) University of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries.