Background: 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 cease-fire; a referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed and is not expected to occur until at least 2002.

Area
Total: 266,000 km²
Land: 266,000 km²
Comparative: 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

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
Extremes lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
Extremes highest point: 463 m

Natural resources:

Land use
Arable land: 0%
Permanent crops: 0%
Permanent pastures: 19%
Forests and woodland: 0%
Other: 81%

Irrigated land: NA

Population:
Growth rate:

Nationality
Noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
Adjective: Sahrawian, Sahraouian

Ethnic groups: Arab, Berber

Languages: Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic

Religions: Muslim

Age structure
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate:

Birth rate:

Death rate:

Net migration rate: -3.94 migrant(s)/1000 population (1996 est.)
3.62 migrants/1000 population 1995 est. Infant Mortality Rate:

Environment
Current issues: sparse water and arable land
Current issues 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

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 47.01 years (1996 est.), 46.31 years (1995 est.)
Male: 46 years 91,996 est.), 45.34 years (1995 est.)
Female: 48.34 years (1996 est.), 47.59 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate:

Literacy: definition:NA

Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Western Sahara

Government 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

International organization participation: None

Flag description: Three equal horizontal bands of black (top), white and green with a centered yellow emblem consisting of a moon and a five-pointed star. On the host side there is a red triangle

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. GDP NA

Real gdp growth rate: NA

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity_ NA

Agriculture products: 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

Industries:

Industrial production growth rate: Growth rate NA

Labor force: 12,000
By occupation: Animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50%

Unemployment rate: NA

Budget
Revenues: NA
Expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA

Fiscal year: NA

Exports: total value. $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: total value:$30 million (c.i.f., 1982 est.)
Commodities:
Partners: Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts

Debt external: NA

Exchange rates: Moroccan dirhams (DH) per US$1_8.607 (January 1996), 8.540 (1995), 9.203 (1994), 9.299 (1993), 8.538 (1992), 8.707 (1991), 8.242 (1990)

Electricity
Capacity: 60,000 kW
Production: 79 million kWh
Consumption per capita: 339 kWh (1993)

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