| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara
former: Spanish Sahara |
| Capital: |
none |
| Location: |
Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
24 30 N, 13 00 W |
| Area: |
total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
about the size of Colorado |
| Land
Boundaries: |
total: 2,046 km
border countries: 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 |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
phosphates, iron ore |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
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 of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), led by President Mohamed ABDELAZIZ; 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 |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
none (under de facto control of Morocco) |
| Independence |
|
| National
Holiday: |
|
| Constitution: |
|
| Legal
System; |
|
| Suffrage |
none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed |
| Executive
Branch: |
none |
| Legislative
Branch: |
|
| Judicial
Branch: |
|
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
none |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
273,008 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA |
| Median age: |
|
| Nationality: |
noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
| Ethnic groups: |
Arab, Berber |
| Religions: |
Muslim |
| Languages: |
Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
about 2,000 (1999 est.) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
0 (1999) |
| 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 |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
NA |
| Internet country
code: |
.eh |
| Internet hosts: |
|
| Internet users: |
NA |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
|
| Highways: |
total: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km
unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) |
| Waterways: |
|
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) |
| Merchant marine: |
|
| Airports: |
11 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
