Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in
East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel
Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish
residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities,
such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small
power plants
Electricity - consumption:
NA kWh
Electricity - imports:
NA kWh
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
Exports:
$301 million f.o.b.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Exports - commodities:
olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone
Exports - partners:
Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006)
Imports:
$2.44 billion c.i.f.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Imports - commodities:
food, consumer goods, construction materials
Imports - partners:
Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:
$1.4 billion; (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.)
Debt - external:
$NA
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$4.461 billion (2005)
Currency (code):
new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD)
Currency code:
ILS; JOD
Exchange rates:
new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - 4.14 (2007), 4.4565
(2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003)
Communications
West Bank
Telephones - main lines in use:
350,400 (includes Gaza Strip) (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
1.026 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2007)
Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL
are responsible for fixed line services; the Palestinian JAWAL
company provides cellular services
international: country code - 970 (2004)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 0, FM 25, shortwave 0 (2008)
Radios:
NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999)
Television broadcast stations:
30 (2008)
Televisions:
NA; note - many Palestinian households have televisions (1999)
Internet country code:
.ps; note - same as Gaza Strip
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
8 (1999)
Internet users:
355,500 (includes Gaza Strip) (2007)
Transportation
West Bank
Airports:
3 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Roadways:
total: 5,147 km
paved: 5,147 km
note: includes Gaza Strip (2006)
Military
West Bank
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 29,866
female: 28,372 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:
NA
Transnational Issues
West Bank
Disputes - international:
West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status
subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent
status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel
continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along
parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew
from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005;
since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision
Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor
ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated
incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the
region
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 722,000 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA))
(2007)
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008
======================================================================
@Western Sahara
Introduction
Western Sahara
Background:
Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara
(formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in
1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the
Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991
UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status
has been repeatedly postponed. In April 2007, Morocco presented an
autonomy plan for the territory to the UN, which the U.S. considers
serious and credible. The Polisario also presented a plan to the UN
in 2007. Since June 2007, representatives from the Government of
Morocco and the Polisario Front have met four times to negotiate the
status of Western Sahara.
Geography
Western Sahara
Location:
Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between
Mauritania and Morocco
Geographic coordinates:
24 30 N, 13 00 W
Map references:
Africa
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
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed elevation 805 m
Natural resources:
phosphates, iron ore
Land use:
arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 99.98% (2005)
Irrigated land:
NA
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
Environment - current issues:
sparse water and lack of arable land
Environment - international agreements:
party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas
People
Western Sahara
Population:
393,831
note: estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility,
mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data
from neighboring countries (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 45.1% (male 90,306/female 87,498)
15-64 years: 52.6% (male 101,730/female 105,313)
65 years and over: 2.3% (male 3,786/female 5,198) (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.868% NA (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
39.95 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
11.74 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
NA
Infant mortality rate:
total: 71.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 71.22 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 71.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 53.92 years NA
male: 51.64 years NA
female: 56.31 years NA (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
NA 5.69 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA
Nationality:
noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian
Ethnic groups:
Arab, Berber
Religions:
Muslim
Languages:
Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
Literacy:
NA
Government
Western Sahara
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara
former: Spanish Sahara
Government 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 Organization of
African Unity (OAU) member in 1984; guerrilla activities continued
sporadically until a UN-monitored cease-fire was implemented on 6
September 1991 (Security Council Resolution 690) by the United
Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara or MINURSO
Capital:
none
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
none (under de facto control of Morocco)
Suffrage:
none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed
Executive branch:
none
Political pressure groups and leaders:
none
International organization participation:
WFTU
Diplomatic representation in the US:
none
Diplomatic representation from the US:
none
Economy
Western Sahara
Economy - overview:
Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate
mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The
territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural
production, and most of the food for the urban population must be
imported. Incomes in Western Sahara are substantially below the
Moroccan level. The Moroccan Government controls all trade and other
economic activities in Western Sahara. Morocco and the EU signed a
four-year agreement in July 2006 allowing European vessels to fish
off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the
coast of Western Sahara. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed
contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which
has angered the Polisario. However, in 2006 the Polisario awarded
similar exploration licenses in the disputed territory, which would
come into force if Morocco and the Polisario resolve their dispute
over Western Sahara.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$NA
GDP (official exchange rate):
$NA
GDP - real growth rate:
NA%
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$NA
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: 40%
Labor force:
12,000 (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 50%
industry and services: 50% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
NA%
Agriculture - products:
fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats
(kept by nomads); fish
Industries:
phosphate mining, handicrafts
Industrial production growth rate:
NA%
Electricity - production:
90 million kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
83.7 million kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2007)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
1,760 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports:
0 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - imports:
1,925 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Exports:
$NA
Exports - commodities:
phosphates 62%
Exports - partners:
Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are
included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006)
Imports:
$NA
Imports - commodities:
fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are
included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:
$NA
Debt - external:
$NA
Currency (code):
Moroccan dirham (MAD)
Currency code:
MAD
Exchange rates:
Moroccan dirhams (MAD) per US dollar - 8.3563 (2007), 8.7722 (2006),
8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003)
Communications
Western Sahara
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)
Radios:
56,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
NA
Televisions:
6,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
.eh
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2000)
Internet users:
NA
Transportation
Western Sahara
Airports:
9 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 2 (2007)
Ports and terminals:
Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun)
Military
Western Sahara
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 4,658
female: 4,545 (2008 est.)
Transnational Issues
Western Sahara
Disputes - international:
Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty
remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in
effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the
Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a
referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all
brokered proposals; several states have extended diplomatic
relations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" represented by
the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria, while others recognize
Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; most of the approximately
102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008
======================================================================
@World
Introduction
World
Background:
Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world
wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast
colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from
the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the
landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance
and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in
North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the
environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and
water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h)
the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of
the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population
continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930,
3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6
billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential
growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances
in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal
weapons of war).
Geography
World
Geographic overview:
The surface of the earth is approximately 70.9% water and 29.1%
land. The former portion is divided into large water bodies termed
oceans. The World Factbook recognizes and describes five oceans,
which are in decreasing order of size: the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic
Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean.
The land portion is generally divided into several, large, discrete
landmasses termed continents. Depending on the convention used, the
number of continents can vary from five to seven. The most common
classification recognizes seven, which are (from largest to
smallest): Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica,
Europe, and Australia. Asia and Europe are sometimes lumped together
into a Eurasian continent resulting in six continents.
Alternatively, North and South America are sometimes grouped as
simply the Americas, resulting in a continent total of six (or five,
if the Eurasia designation is used).
North America is commonly understood to include the island of
Greenland, the isles of the Caribbean, and to extend south all the
way to the Isthmus of Panama. The easternmost extent of Europe is
generally defined as being the Ural Mountains and the Ural River; on
the southeast the Caspian Sea; and on the south the Caucasus
Mountains, the Black Sea, and the Mediterranean. Africa's northeast
extremity is frequently delimited at the Isthmus of Suez, but for
geopolitical purposes, the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula is often
included as part of Africa. Asia usually incorporates all the
islands of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The islands of
the Pacific are often lumped with Australia into a "land mass"
termed Oceania or Australasia.
Although the above groupings are the most common, different
continental dispositions are recognized or taught in certain parts
of the world, with some arrangements more heavily based on cultural
spheres rather than physical geographic considerations.
Map references:
Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time
Zones of the World
Area:
total: 510.072 million sq km
land: 148.94 million sq km
water: 361.132 million sq km
note: 70.9% of the world's surface is water, 29.1% is land
Area - comparative:
land area about 16 times the size of the US
Land boundaries:
the land boundaries in the world total 251,060 km (not counting
shared boundaries twice); two nations, China and Russia, each border
14 other countries
note: 45 nations and other areas are landlocked, these include:
Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan,
Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic,
Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary,
Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein,
Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal,
Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Swaziland,
Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West
Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan,
are doubly landlocked
Coastline:
356,000 km
note: 94 nations and other entities are islands that border no other
countries, they include: American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and
Barbuda, Aruba, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, The Bahamas, Bahrain,
Baker Island, Barbados, Bermuda, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean
Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands,
Christmas Island, Clipperton Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands,
Comoros, Cook Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominica,
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Fiji, French
Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Greenland, Grenada,
Guam, Guernsey, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Howland Island,
Iceland, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jan Mayen, Japan, Jarvis Island,
Jersey, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Kiribati, Madagascar,
Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte,
Federated States of Micronesia, Midway Islands, Montserrat, Nauru,
Navassa Island, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island,
Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Palmyra Atoll, Paracel Islands,
Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Saint
Barthelemy, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint
Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao
Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South
Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Spratly Islands, Sri Lanka,
Svalbard, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos
Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Virgin Islands, Wake Island, Wallis and
Futuna, Taiwan
Maritime claims:
a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make
the following claims measured from the mean low-tide baseline as
described in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea:
territorial sea - 12 nm, contiguous zone - 24 nm, and exclusive
economic zone - 200 nm; additional zones provide for exploitation of
continental shelf resources and an exclusive fishing zone; boundary
situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from
extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 nm
Climate:
a wide equatorial band of hot and humid tropical climates - bordered
north and south by subtropical temperate zones - that separate two
large areas of cold and dry polar climates
Terrain:
the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the
Pacific Ocean
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m
note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is
the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific
Ocean
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m
Natural resources:
the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion
of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant
species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially
in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious
long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning
to address
Land use:
arable land: 10.57%
permanent crops: 1.04%
other: 88.38% (2005)
Irrigated land:
2,770,980 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards:
large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural
disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)
Environment - current issues:
large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters,
pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of
vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of
wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion; global warming
becoming a greater concern
Geography - note:
the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just
about one-third of the 13.7-billion-year age estimated for the
universe
People
World
Population:
6,706,993,152 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 27.3% (male 944,665,142/female 887,471,328)
15-64 years: 65.1%
65 years and over: 7.6% (male 222,808,372/female 284,647,297) (2008
est.)
Median age:
total:
male: 27.4 years
female: 28.7 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.188% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
20.18 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
8.23 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 42.09 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 44.91 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 39.09 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 66.26 years
male: 64.3 years
female: 68.35 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.61 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA
Religions:
Christians 33.32% (of which Roman Catholics 16.99%, Protestants
5.78%, Orthodox 3.53%, Anglicans 1.25%), Muslims 21.01%, Hindus
13.26%, Buddhists 5.84%, Sikhs 0.35%, Jews 0.23%, Baha'is 0.12%,
other religions 11.78%, non-religious 11.77%, atheists 2.32% (2007
est.)
Languages:
Mandarin Chinese 13.22%, Spanish 4.88%, English 4.68%, Arabic 3.12%,
Hindi 2.74%, Portuguese 2.69%, Bengali 2.59%, Russian 2.2%, Japanese
1.85%, Standard German 1.44%, French 1.2% (2005 est.)
note: percents are for "first language" speakers only
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82%
male: 87%
female: 77%
note: over two-thirds of the world's 785 million illiterate adults
are found in only eight countries (India, China, Bangladesh,
Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Egypt); of all the
illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women; extremely low
literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, South and West
Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab states, where around
one-third of the men and half of all women are illiterate (2005 est.)
Government
World
Administrative divisions:
266 nations, dependent areas, and other entities
Legal system:
all members of the UN are parties to the statute that established
the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
Economy
World
Economy - overview: