:West Bank Defense Forces
Branches:
NA
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, NA; NA fit for military service
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP
:Western Sahara Geography
Total area:
266,000 km2
Land area:
266,000 km2
Comparative area:
slightly smaller than Colorado
Land boundaries:
2,046 km total; Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km
Coastline:
1,110 km
Maritime claims:
contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue
Disputes:
claimed and administered by Morocco, but sovereignty is unresolved and the
UN is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue; the UN-administered
cease-fire has been currently in effect since September 1991
Climate:
hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore 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
Natural resources:
phosphates, iron ore
Land use:
arable land NEGL%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 19%; forest and
woodland 0%; other 81%
Environment:
hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring;
widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting
visibility; sparse water and arable land
:Western Sahara People
Population:
201,467 (July 1992), growth rate 2.6% (1992)
Birth rate:
48 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
20 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
-2 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
159 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
43 years male, 45 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
7.1 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s); adjective - Sahrawian, Sahraouian
Ethnic divisions:
Arab and Berber
Religions:
Muslim
Languages:
Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
Literacy:
NA% (male NA%, female NA%)
Labor force:
12,000; 50% animal husbandry and subsistence farming
Organized labor:
NA
:Western Sahara Government
Long-form name:
none
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)
Leaders:
none
Member of:
none
Diplomatic representation:
none
:Western Sahara Economy
Overview:
Western Sahara, a territory poor in natural resources and having little
rainfall, has a per capita GDP of roughly $300. Pastoral nomadism, fishing,
and phosphate mining are 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.
GDP:
$60 million, per capita $300; real growth rate NA% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
NA%
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports:
$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:
$30 million (c.i.f., 1982 est.)
commodities:
fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs
partners:
Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are
included in overall Moroccan accounts
External debt:
$NA
Industrial production:
growth rate NA%
Electricity:
60,000 kW capacity; 79 million kWh produced, 425 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries:
phosphate, fishing, handicrafts
Agriculture:
limited largely to subsistence agriculture; 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
Economic aid:
NA
Currency:
Moroccan dirham (plural - dirhams); 1 Moroccan dirham (DH) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates:
Moroccan dirhams (DH) per US$1 - 8.889 (March 1992), 8.071 (1991), 8.242
(1990), 8.488 (1989), 8.209 (1988), 8.359 (1987)
Fiscal year:
NA