Western Sahara

Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco

24 30 N, 13 00 W

Africa

about the size of Colorado

1,110 km

hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew

mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast

phosphates, iron ore

0 sq km (2012)

most of the population lives in the two-thirds of the area west of the berm (Moroccan-occupied) that divides the territory; about 40% of that populace resides in Laayoune as shown in this population distribution map

hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility

desertification; overgrazing; sparse water and lack of arable land

the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas

652,271 (July 2020 est.)

Arab, Berber

Standard Arabic, Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, Berber, Spanish, French

Muslim

Western Sahara is a non-self governing territory; approximately 75% is under Moroccan control. It was inhabited almost entirely by Sahrawi pastoral nomads until the mid-20th century. Their traditional vast migratory ranges, based on following unpredictable rainfall, did not coincide with colonial and later international borders. Since the 1930s, most Sahrawis have been compelled to adopt a sedentary lifestyle and to live in urban settings as a result of fighting, the presence of minefields, job opportunities in the phosphate industry, prolonged drought, the closure of Western Sahara's border with Mauritania from 1979-2002, and the construction of the defensive berm separating Moroccan- and Polisario-controlled (Sahrawi liberalization movement) areas. Morocco supported rapid urbanization to facilitate surveillance and security. ++ Today more than 80% of Western Sahara's population lives in urban areas; more than 40% live in the administrative center Laayoune. Moroccan immigration has altered the composition and dramatically increased the size of Western Sahara's population. Morocco maintains a large military presence in Western Sahara and has encouraged its citizens to settle there, offering bonuses, pay raises, and food subsidies to civil servants and a tax exemption, in order to integrate Western Sahara into the Moroccan Kingdom and, Sahrawis contend, to marginalize the native population. ++ Western Saharan Sahrawis have been migrating to Europe, principally to former colonial ruler Spain, since the 1950s. Many who moved to refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, also have migrated to Spain and Italy, usually alternating between living in cities abroad with periods back at the camps. The Polisario claims that the population of the Tindouf camps is about 155,000, but this figure may include thousands of Arabs and Tuaregs from neighboring countries. Because international organizations have been unable to conduct an independent census in Tindouf, the UNHCR bases its aid on a figure of 90,000 refugees. Western Saharan coastal towns emerged as key migration transit points (for reaching Spain's Canary Islands) in the mid-1990s, when Spain's and Italy's tightening of visa restrictions and EU pressure on Morocco and other North African countries to control illegal migration pushed Sub-Saharan African migrants to shift their routes to the south.

2.54% (2020 est.)

28 births/1,000 population (2020 est.)

7.7 deaths/1,000 population (2020 est.)

4.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2020 est.)

most of the population lives in the two-thirds of the area west of the berm (Moroccan-occupied) that divides the territory; about 40% of that populace resides in Laayoune as shown in this population distribution map

232,000 Laayoune (2018)

3.65 children born/woman (2020 est.)

NA

NA

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NA

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), near Tindouf, Algeria, led by President Mohamed ABDELAZIZ until his death in May 2016; current President Brahim GHALI elected in July 2016; territory partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania in April 1976 when Spain withdrew, 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; Morocco between 1980 and 1987 built a fortified sand berm delineating the roughly 75% of Western Sahara west of the barrier that currently is controlled by Morocco; 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 (MINURSO)

none officially; the territory west of the Moroccan berm falls under de facto Moroccan control; Morocco claims the territory of Western Sahara, the political status of which is considered undetermined by the US Government; portions of the regions Guelmim-Es Smara and Laayoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra, as claimed by Morocco, lie within Western Sahara; Morocco also claims Oued Eddahab-Lagouira, another region that falls entirely within Western Sahara

none; (residents of Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara participate in Moroccan elections)

AU, WFTU (NGOs)

Western Sahara has a small market-based economy whose main industries are fishing, phosphate mining, tourism, and pastoral nomadism. The territory's arid desert climate makes sedentary agriculture difficult, and much of its food is imported. 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. As of April 2018, Moroccan and EU authorities were negotiating an amendment to renew the agreement. ++ Oil has never been found in Western Sahara in commercially significant quantities, but Morocco and the Polisario have quarreled over rights 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. However, following King MOHAMMED VI's November 2015 visit to Western Sahara, the Government of Morocco announced a series of investments aimed at spurring economic activity in the region, while the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises announced a $609 million investment initiative in the region in March 2015.

$906.5 million (2007 est.)

NA

$2,500 (2007 est.)

fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish

phosphate mining, handicrafts

NA

144,000 (2010 est.)

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NA

calendar year

phosphates 62% (2012 est.)

fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs

Moroccan dirhams (MAD) per US dollar - / 9.639 (2017 est.) / 9.7351 (2016 est.) / 9.7351 (2015) / 9.7351 (2014 est.) / 8.3798 (2013 est.)

0 kWh NA (2016 est.)

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0 kWh (2016 est.)

58,000 kW (2016 est.)

100% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2018 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

1,700 bbl/day (2016 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

1,702 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 cu m (2017 est.)

0 cu m (2017 est.)

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0 cu m (2017 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2014 est.)

268,400 Mt (2017 est.)

Morocco's state-owned broadcaster, Radio-Television Marocaine (RTM), operates a radio service from Laayoune and relays TV service; a Polisario-backed radio station also broadcasts

.eh

6 (2013)

the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) has operated in the Western Sahara since 1991 in accordance with settlement proposals accepted in 1988 by Morocco and the Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguia el-Hamra y de Río de Oro (Frente POLISARIO); the Mission's responsibilities include monitoring the ceasefire, reducing the threat of mines and unexploded ordnance, and providing logistic support to the UNHCR-led Confidence Building Measures pending an agreement to resume those activities, which were suspended in June 2014; as of November 2019, MINURSO had about 460 personnel deployed ++

++ many neighboring states reject Moroccan administration of Western Sahara; several states have extended diplomatic relations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" represented by the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria, while others support Morocco's proposal to grant the territory autonomy as part of Morocco, although no state recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; an estimated 100,000 Sahrawi refugees continue to be sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria, which has hosted Sahrawi refugees since the 1980s