Statistical information Western Sahara 2017

Western Sahara in the World

Western Sahara - Introduction 2017

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Background: Western Sahara is a disputed territory on the northwest coast of Africa bordered by Morocco Mauritania and Algeria. After Spain withdrew from its former colony of Spanish Sahara in 1976 Morocco annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara and claimed the rest of the territory in 1979 following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Morocco's sovereignty ended in a 1991 cease-fire and the establishment of a UN peacekeeping operation. As part of this effort the UN sought to offer a choice to the peoples of Western Sahara between independence (favored by the Polisario Front) or integration into Morocco. A proposed referendum never took place due to lack of agreement on voter eligibility. The 2,700 km- (1700 mi-) long defensive sand berm built by the Moroccans from 1980 to 1987 and running the length of the territory continues to separate the opposing forces with Morocco controlling the roughly 80 percent of the territory west of the berm. Local demonstrations criticizing the Moroccan authorities occur regularly and there are periodic ethnic tensions between the native Sahrawi population and Moroccan immigrants. Morocco maintains a heavy security presence in the territory.

Western Sahara - Geography 2017

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Location: Northern Africa bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between Mauritania and Morocco

Geographic coordinates: 24 30 N 13 00 W

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 266,000 km²
Land: 266,000 km²
Water: 0 km²
Rank: 79
Comparative: about the size of Colorado

Land boundaries
Total: 2,049 km
Border countries: (3) Algeria 41 km; Mauritania 1564 km; Morocco 444 km

Coastline: 1110 km

Maritime claims: contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue

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

Elevation
Mean elevation: 256 m
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m: highest point: unnamed elevation 805 m

Natural resources: phosphates iron ore

Land use

Land use
Agricultural land: 18.8%

arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pasture: 18.8%

Forest: 2.7%
Other: 78.5%

Irrigated land: 0 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

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

Geography
Note: the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas

Western Sahara - People 2017

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Population
Distribution: most of the population lives in the two-thirds of the area west of the berm (Moroccan-occupied) that divides the territory; about 40% of that populace resides in Laayoune: 603,253
Note: estimate is based on projections by age sex fertility mortality and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries
Rank: 169
Growth rate: 2.7% (2017 est.)
Growth rate rank: 14
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Sahrawi Sahraoui
Adjective: Sahrawi Sahrawian Sahraouian

Ethnic groups: Arab Berber

Languages: Standard Arabic (national) Hassaniya Arabic Moroccan Arabic

Religions: Muslim

Demographic profile:

Western Sahara is a disputed territory; 85% is under Moroccan control. It was inhabited almost entirely by Sahrawi pastoral nomads until the mid-20th century. Their traditional vast migratory ranges based on following unpredictable rainfall did not coincide with colonial and later international borders. Since the 1930s most Sahrawis have been compelled to adopt a sedentary lifestyle and to live in urban settings as a result of fighting the presence of minefields job opportunities in the phosphate industry prolonged drought the closure of Western Sahara’s border with Mauritania from 1979-2002 and the construction of the defensive berm separating Moroccan- and Polisario-controlled (Sahrawi liberalization movement) areas. Morocco supported rapid urbanization to facilitate surveillance and security.
Today more than 80% of Western Sahara’s population lives in urban areas; more than 40% live in the administrative center Laayoune. Moroccan immigration has altered the composition and dramatically increased the size of Western Sahara’s population. Morocco maintains a large military presence in Western Sahara and has encouraged its citizens to settle there offering bonuses pay raises and food subsidies to civil servants and a tax exemption in order to integrate Western Sahara into the Moroccan Kingdom and Sahrawis contend to marginalize the native population.
Western Saharan Sahrawis have been migrating to Europe principally to former colonial ruler Spain since the 1950s. Many who moved to refugee camps in Tindouf Algeria also have migrated to Spain and Italy usually alternating between living in cities abroad with periods back at the camps. The Polisario claims that the population of the Tindouf camps is about 155,000 but this figure may include thousands of Arabs and Tuaregs from neighboring countries. Because international organizations have been unable to conduct an independent census in Tindouf the UNHCR bases its aid on a figure of 90,000 refugees. Western Saharan coastal towns emerged as key migration transit points (for reaching Spain’s Canary Islands) in the mid-1990s when Spain’s and Italy’s tightening of visa restrictions and EU pressure on Morocco and other North African countries to control illegal migration pushed sub-Saharan African migrants to shift their routes to the south.

Age structure

Age structure
0-14 years: 37.24%
15-24 years: 19.53%
25-54 years: 34.33%
55-64 years: 5.03%
65 years and over: 3.87% (2017 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 45
Youth dependency ratio: 41.4
Elderly dependency ratio: 3.7
Potential support ratio: 27.1

Median age
Total: 21.3 years
Male: 20.8 years
Female: 21.8 years
Rank: 182

Population growth rate: 2.7% (2017 est.)
Rank: 14

Birth rate: 29.3 births/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 42

Death rate: 8.1 deaths/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 89

Net migration rate

Population distribution: most of the population lives in the two-thirds of the area west of the berm (Moroccan-occupied) that divides the territory; about 40% of that populace resides in Laayoune

Urbanization
Urban population: 81.1% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 2.87% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: Laayoune 262,000 (2014)

Environment
Current issues: sparse water and lack of arable land

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.04 male/female
0-14 years: 1.02 male/female
15-24 years: 1.01 male/female
25-54 years: 0.97 male/female
55-64 years: 0.87 male/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male/female
Total population: 0.99 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 51.9 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 56.7 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 46.9 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 27

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 63.4 years
Male: 61.1 years
Female: 65.8 years
Rank: 192

Total fertility rate: 3.86 children born/woman (2017 est.)
Rank: 40

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment

Western Sahara - Government 2017

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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Western Sahara
Former: Rio de Oro Saguia el Hamra Spanish Sahara
Etymology: self-descriptive name specifying the territory's western location on the African continent's vast desert

Government type: 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) near Tindouf Algeria was led by President Mohamed ABDELAZIZ until his death in May 2016; current President Brahim GHALI elected in July 2016; territory partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania in April 1976 when Spain withdrew 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 Organization of African Unity (OAU) member in 1984 - Morocco between 1980 and 1987 built a fortified sand berm delineating the roughly 80 percent of Western Sahara west of the barrier that currently is controlled by Morocco; guerrilla activities continued sporadically until a UN-monitored cease-fire was implemented on 6 September 1991 (Security Council Resolution 690) by the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO)

Capital: Laayoune (administrative center)
Time difference: UTC 0
Daylight saving time: +1hr begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions: none officially; the territory west of the Moroccan berm falls under de facto Moroccan control; Morocco claims the territory of Western Sahara the political status of which is considered undetermined by the US Government; portions of the regions Guelmim-Es Smara and Laayoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra as claimed by Morocco lie within Western Sahara; Morocco also claims Oued Eddahab-Lagouira another region that falls entirely within Western Sahara

Dependent areas

Independence

National holiday

Constitution

Legal system

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: none; (residents of Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara participate in Moroccan elections)

Executive branch: none

Legislative branch

Judicial branch

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: AU CAN (observer) WFTU (NGOs)

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none
From the us: none

Flag description

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage

Western Sahara - Economy 2017

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Economy overview:

Western Sahara has a small market-based economy whose main industries are fishing phosphate mining and pastoral nomadism. The territory's arid desert climate makes sedentary agriculture difficult and Western Sahara imports much of its food. The Moroccan Government administers Western Sahara's economy and is a key source of employment infrastructure development and social spending in the territory.
Western Sahara's unresolved legal status makes the exploitation of its natural resources a contentious issue between Morocco and the Polisario. Morocco and the EU in December 2013 finalized a four-year agreement allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco including disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara.
Oil has never been found in Western Sahara in commercially significant quantities but Morocco and the Polisario have quarreled over who has the right to authorize and benefit from oil exploration in the territory. Western Sahara's main long-term economic challenge is the development of a more diverse set of industries capable of providing greater employment and income to the territory. However following King MOHAMMED VI’s November 2015 visit to Western Sahara the Government of Morocco announced a series of investments aimed at spurring economic activity in the region while the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises announced a $609 million investment initiative in the region in March 2015.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $906.5 million (2007 est.)
Rank: 204

Real gdp growth rate: NA%

Real gdp per capita: $2,500 (2007 est.)
Rank: 198

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: NA%
Industry: NA%
Services: 40%

Agriculture products: fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels sheep goats (kept by nomads); fish

Industries: phosphate mining handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 144,000 (2010 est.)
Rank: 178
By occupation agriculture: 50%
By occupation industry and services: 50%

Labor force

Unemployment rate: NA%

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $N/A
Expenditures: $N/A
Surplus or deficit: NA%

Taxes and other revenues: NA%

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: NA%

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $N/A
Commodities: phosphates 62% (2012 est.)

Imports: $N/A
Commodities: fuel for fishing fleet foodstuffs

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $N/A

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:

Moroccan dirhams (MAD) per US dollar -
9.7787 (2016)
9.7351 (2015)
9.7351 (2014 est.)
8.3798 (2013 est.)
8.6 (2012 est.)

Western Sahara - Energy 2017

Western Sahara - Communication 2017

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Telephones

Telephone system
General assessment: sparse and limited system
International: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay tropospheric scatter and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat linked to Rabat Morocco (2015)

Broadcast media: Morocco's state-owned broadcaster Radio-Television Marocaine (RTM) operates a radio service from Laayoune and relays TV service; a Polisario-backed radio station also broadcasts (2008)

Internet
Country code: .eh

Broadband fixed subscriptions

Western Sahara - Military 2017

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Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups

Western Sahara - Transportation 2017

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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 6 (2013)
Rank: 174
With paved runways total: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 3
With unpaved runways total: 3
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 1

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Ad Dakhla Laayoune

Western Sahara - Transnational issues 2017

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Disputes international
Rank: li>a href='../rankorder/rankorderguide.html'>Guide to Country Comparisons: many neighboring states reject Moroccan administration of Western Sahara; several states have extended diplomatic relations to the 'Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic' represented by the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria while others recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; approximately 90,000 Sahrawi refugees continue to be sheltered in camps in Tindouf Algeria which has hosted Sahrawi refugees since the 1980s

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs

Western Sahara
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