rt form: Western Sahara

Data code: WI

Government 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)

Suffrage: none; a UN sponsored voter identification campaign has
yet to be completed

Executive branch: none

International organization participation: none

Diplomatic representation in the US: none

Diplomatic representation from the US: none

Economy

Economy--overview: Western Sahara, a territory poor in natural
resources and lacking sufficient rainfall, depends on pastoral
nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as 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. Incomes and standards of
living are substantially below the Moroccan level.

GDP: purchasing power parity--$NA

GDP--real growth rate: NA%

GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$NA

GDP--composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: 40%-45% (1996 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 12,000

Labor force--by occupation: animal husbandry and subsistence
farming 50%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: phosphate mining, handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity--production: 85 million kWh (1996)

Electricity--production