Background: Morocco annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976 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 UN-brokered cease-fire and the nearly 1700 mile-long defensive sand berm built by the Moroccans from 1980 to 1987 separates the opposing forces with Morocco controlling the roughly 80 percent of the territory west of the berm. A UN-organized referendum on the territory's final status has been repeatedly postponed. The UN since 2007 has sponsored intermittent talks between representatives of the Government of Morocco and the Polisario Front to negotiate the status of Western Sahara. Morocco has put forward an autonomy proposal for the territory which would allow for some local administration while maintaining Moroccan sovereignty. The Polisario with Algeria's support demands a popular referendum that includes the option of independence. Ethnic tensions in Western Sahara occasionally erupt into violence requiring

Geographic coordinates: 24 30 N 13 00 W

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 266,000 km²
Rank: 78
Land: 266,000 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: about the size of Colorado

Land boundaries
Total: 2,046 km
Border countries: (3) Algeria 42 km; Mauritania 1561 km; Morocco 443 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
Extremes lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
Extremes highest point: unnamed elevation 805 m

Natural resources: phosphates iron ore

Land use
Arable land: 0.02%
Permanent crops: 0%
Other: 99.98% (2005)

Irrigated land: NA

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

Population: 507,160 (July 2011 est.)
Rank: 171
Note: estimate is based on projections by age sex fertility mortality and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries
Growth rate: 3.097% (2011 est.)
Growth rate rank: 9
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Sahrawi Sahraoui
Adjective: Sahrawi Sahrawian Sahraouian

Ethnic groups: Arab Berber

Languages: Hassaniya Arabic Moroccan Arabic

Religions: Muslim

Age structure
0-14 years: 38.9%
15-64 years: 57.5% (male 143,808/female 147,823)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 7,918/female 10,114) (2011 est.)

Median age
Total: 20.3 years
Male: 19.8 years
Female: 20.8 years (2011 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.097% (2011 est.)
Rank: 9

Birth rate: 32.1 births/1000 population (2011 est.)
Rank: 40

Death rate: 8.96 deaths/1000 population (July 2011 est.)
Rank: 71

Urbanization
Urban population: 82% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 3.5% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Environment
Current issues: sparse water and lack of arable land
International agreements party to: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.04 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 60.44 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 34
Male: 65.55 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 55.13 deaths/1000 live births (2011 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 61.13 years
Rank: 184
Male: 58.94 years
Female: 63.41 years (2011 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.3 children born/woman (2011 est.)
Rank: 36

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Education expenditures: NA

Literacy: NA

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education: NA

Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Western Sahara
Former: Rio de Oro Saguia el Hamra Spanish Sahara

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 the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) near Tindouf Algeria led by President Mohamed ABDELAZIZ; 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: none
Time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in July

Administrative divisions: none (territory west of the berm under de facto Moroccan control)

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

Executive branch: none

International organization participation: AU WFTU

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

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 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 July 2006 signed a four-year agreement allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco including the 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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $900 million (2007 est.)
Rank: 202

Real gdp growth rate: NA%

Real gdp per capita: $2,500 (2007 est.)
Rank: 179

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: NA%
Industry: NA%
Services: 40% (2007 est.)

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: 177
By occupation agriculture: 50%
By occupation industry and services: 50% (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

Budget
Revenues: $NA
Expenditures: $NA

Inflation rate consumer prices: NA%

Exports: $NA
Commodities: phosphates 62%

Imports: $NA
Commodities: fuel for fishing fleet foodstuffs

Debt external: $NA

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 90 million kWh (2008 est.)
Production rank: 196
Consumption: 83.7 million kWh (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 196
Exports: 0 kWh (2009 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2009 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2009 est.)
Production rank: 143
Consumption: 0 m³ (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 143
Exports: 0 m³ (2009 est.)
Exports rank: 205
Imports: 0 m³ (2009 est.)
Imports rank: 203
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2011 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 205

Telephones
Main lines in use: NA (2010)
Mobile cellular: NA (2010)

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

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

Airports: 6 (2010)
Rank: 174
With paved runways total: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 3 (2010)
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 (2010)

Ports and terminals: Ad Dakhla Laayoune (El Aaiun)

Disputes international: 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; most of the approximately 102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf Algeria