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 the 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.

Geographic coordinates: 24 30 N 13 00 W

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

Land boundaries
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 highest point: unnamed elevation 805 m

Natural resources: phosphates iron ore

Land use
Permanent crops: 0%
Other: 99.98% (2011)

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: 554,795 (July 2013 est.)
Rank: 172
Growth rate: 2.89% (2014 est.)
Growth rate rank: 15
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Adjective: Sahrawi Sahrawian Sahraouian

Ethnic groups: Arab Berber

Languages: Standard Arabic (national) Hassaniya Arabic Moroccan Arabic

Religions: Muslim

Age structure
15-24 years: 19.7% (male 54,970/female 54,217)
25-54 years: 33.7% (male 91,986/female 95,114)
55-64 years: 4.8% (male 12,408/female 14,159)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 9,002/female 11,497) (2014 est.)

Dependency ratios
Youth dependency ratio: 37.1 %
Elderly dependency ratio: 3.8 %
Potential support ratio: 26.1 (2014 est.)

Median age
Male: 20.3 years
Female: 21.3 years (2014 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.89% (2014 est.)
Rank: 15

Birth rate: 30.71 births/1000 population (2014 est.)
Rank: 40

Death rate: 8.49 deaths/1000 population (2014 est.)
Rank: 79

Urbanization
Rate of urbanization: 3.49% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: Laayoune 237,000 (2011)

Environment
Current issues: sparse water and lack of arable land

Sex ratio
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 27
Male: 61.04 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 50.93 deaths/1000 live births (2014 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 189
Male: 60 years
Female: 64.63 years (2014 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.07 children born/woman (2014 est.)
Rank: 38

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

Literacy: NA

Country name
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) based out of refugee camps near Tindouf Algeria led by President Mohamed ABDELAZIZ

Capital: Laayoune (administrative center)
Time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr begins last Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in September

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 CAN (observer) WFTU (NGOs)

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 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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $906.5 million (2007 est.)
Rank: 207

Real gdp growth rate: NA%

Real gdp per capita: $2,500 (2007 est.)
Rank: 184

Gdp composition by sector of origin
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: 178
By occupation industry and services: 50% (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

Budget
Expenditures: $N/A

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: NA%

Exports: $N/A
Commodities: phosphates 62%

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

Debt external: $N/A

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 90 million kWh (2010 est.)
Production rank: 202
Consumption: 83.7 million kWh (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 201
Exports: 0 kWh (2012 est.)
Exports rank: 213
Imports: 0 kWh (2012 est.)
Imports rank: 215
Installed generating capacity: 58,000 kW (2010 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 185
Generation sources fossil fuels: 100% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 42
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 205
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 209
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 141

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 145
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 206
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 142
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2013 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 207

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products production rank: 209
Products consumption: 1948 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 188
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products exports rank: 144
Products imports: 1702 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 184

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Production rank: 209
Consumption: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 209
Exports: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Exports rank: 208
Imports: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 79
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2013 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 207

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 316,700 Mt (2011 est.)

Telephone 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 (2008)

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

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; approximately 90,000 Sahrawi refugees continue to be sheltered in camps in Tindouf Algeria which has hosted Sahrawi refugees since the 1980s