_#_Disputes: claims and administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty is unresolved; armed conflict in Western Sahara; Spain controls five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco—the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which Morocco contests, and the islands of Penon de Alhucemas, Penon de Velez de la Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas
_#_Climate: Mediterranean, becoming more extreme in the interior
_#_Terrain: mostly mountains with rich coastal plains
_#_Natural resources: phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead, zinc, fish, salt
_#_Land use: arable land 18%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 28%; forest and woodland 12%; other 41%; includes irrigated 1%
_#_Environment: northern mountains geologically unstable and subject to earthquakes; desertification
_#_Note: strategic location along Strait of Gibraltar
_*People #_Population: 26,181,889 (July 1991), growth rate 2.1% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 30 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)