aritime claims: contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue

International 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 in
effect since September 1991

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
lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m

Natural resources: phosphates, iron ore

Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 19%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 81%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
current issues: sparse water and arable land
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
international agreements: NA

People
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Population: 222,631 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 2.46% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 46.51 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 18.02 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: NA male(s)/female
under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 145.82 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 47.01 years
male: 46 years
female: 48.34 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.85 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawian, Sahraouian

Ethnic divisions: Arab, Berber

Religions: Muslim

Languages: Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic

Literacy: NA

Government
----------

Name of country:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara

Data code: WI

Type of government: 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