Western Sahara Economic Statistics and Indicators

17, Sep 2019, EDT. Welcome to the Western Sahara economic statistics pages provided by the beta version of EconomyWatch.com's Econ Stats database.

Economic Indicators For: Western Sahara › Change country
National or Regional Currency: ,
Year of data: 2015 › Change year
Number of Indicators Listed:
Full Dataset: From Year 1980 to 2019
Date of Last Update: 17th March 2015
Population: 554,795 (July 2013 est.) ; note: estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries (July 2014 est.)
Area: total: 266,000 sq km ; land: 266,000 sq km ; water: 0 sq km
Natural Resources: phosphates, iron ore
Capital: Laayoune (administrative center) ; time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) ; daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in September

Western Sahara has a small market-based economy whose main industries are fishing, phosphate mining, and pastoral nomadism. The territory's arid desert climate makes sedentary agriculture difficult, and Western Sahara imports much of its food. The Moroccan Government administers Western Sahara's economy and is a key source of employment, infrastructure development, and social spending in the territory. Western Sahara's unresolved legal status makes the exploitation of its natural resources a contentious issue between Morocco and the Polisario. Morocco and the EU in December 2013 finalized a four-year agreement allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Oil has never been found in Western Sahara in commercially significant quantities, but Morocco and the Polisario have quarreled over who has the right to authorize and benefit from oil exploration in the territory. Western Sahara's main long-term economic challenge is the development of a more diverse set of industries capable of providing greater employment and income to the territory.

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