astures 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