2017 Edition

Background

Western Sahara is a disputed territory on the northwest coast of Africa bordered by Morocco, Mauritania, and Algeria. After Spain withdrew from its former colony of Spanish Sahara in 1976, Morocco annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara and claimed the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Morocco's sovereignty ended in a 1991 cease-fire and the establishment of a UN peacekeeping operation. As part of this effort, the UN sought to offer a choice to the peoples of Western Sahara between independence (favored by the Polisario Front) or integration into Morocco. A proposed referendum never took place due to lack of agreement on voter eligibility. The 2,700 km- (1,700 mi-) long defensive sand berm, built by the Moroccans from 1980 to 1987 and running the length of the territory, continues to separate the opposing forces with Morocco controlling the roughly 80 percent of the territory west of the berm. Local demonstrations criticizing the Moroccan authorities occur regularly, and there are periodic ethnic tensions between the native Sahrawi population and Moroccan immigrants. Morocco maintains a heavy security presence in the territory.

Area

266,000 sq km 266,000 sq km 0 sq km

land

266,000 sq km

total

266,000 sq km

water

0 sq km

Area - comparative

about the size of Colorado

Climate

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

Coastline

1,110 km

Elevation

256 m lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed elevation 805 m

elevation extremes

lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m

highest point

unnamed elevation 805 m

mean elevation

256 m

Environment - current issues

sparse water and lack of arable land

Geographic coordinates

24 30 N, 13 00 W

Geography - note

the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas

Irrigated land

0 sq km (2012)

Land boundaries

2,049 km Algeria 41 km, Mauritania 1,564 km, Morocco 444 km

border countries (3)

Algeria 41 km, Mauritania 1,564 km, Morocco 444 km

total

2,049 km

Land use

18.8% arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; permanent pasture 18.8% 2.7% 78.5% (2011 est.)

agricultural land

18.8%

forest

2.7%

other

78.5% (2011 est.)

Location

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

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue

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

Natural resources

phosphates, iron ore

Population - distribution

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

Terrain

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

Age structure

37.24% (male 113,581/female 111,077) 19.53% (male 59,309/female 58,478) 34.33% (male 102,031/female 105,093) 5.03% (male 14,153/female 16,178) 3.87% (male 10,287/female 13,066) (2017 est.)

0-14 years

37.24% (male 113,581/female 111,077)

15-24 years

19.53% (male 59,309/female 58,478)

25-54 years

34.33% (male 102,031/female 105,093)

55-64 years

5.03% (male 14,153/female 16,178)

65 years and over

3.87% (male 10,287/female 13,066) (2017 est.)

Birth rate

29.3 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Death rate

8.1 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Demographic profile

Western Sahara is a disputed territory; 85% 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.

Dependency ratios

41.4 3.7 27.1 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio

3.7

potential support ratio

27.1 (2015 est.)

total dependency ratio

45

youth dependency ratio

41.4

Ethnic groups

Arab, Berber

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths

NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

NA

Infant mortality rate

51.9 deaths/1,000 live births 56.7 deaths/1,000 live births 46.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)

female

46.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)

male

56.7 deaths/1,000 live births

total

51.9 deaths/1,000 live births

Languages

Standard Arabic (national), Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic

Life expectancy at birth

63.4 years 61.1 years 65.8 years (2017 est.)

female

65.8 years (2017 est.)

male

61.1 years

total population

63.4 years

Major urban areas - population

Laayoune 262,000 (2014)

Median age

21.3 years 20.8 years 21.8 years (2017 est.)

female

21.8 years (2017 est.)

male

20.8 years

total

21.3 years

Nationality

Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian

adjective

Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian

noun

Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)

Population

603,253 estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries (July 2017 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 2017 est.)

Population distribution

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

Population growth rate

2.7% (2017 est.)

Religions

Muslim

Sex ratio

1.04 male(s)/female 1.02 male(s)/female 1.01 male(s)/female 0.97 male(s)/female 0.87 male(s)/female 0.78 male(s)/female 0.99 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

0-14 years

1.02 male(s)/female

15-24 years

1.01 male(s)/female

25-54 years

0.97 male(s)/female

55-64 years

0.87 male(s)/female

65 years and over

0.78 male(s)/female

at birth

1.04 male(s)/female

total population

0.99 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.86 children born/woman (2017 est.)

Urbanization

81.1% of total population (2017) 2.87% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

rate of urbanization

2.87% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

urban population

81.1% of total population (2017)

Administrative divisions

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

Capital

Laayoune (administrative center) UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

daylight saving time

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

time difference

UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Country name

none Western Sahara Rio de Oro, Saguia el Hamra, Spanish Sahara self-descriptive name specifying the territory's western location on the African continent's vast desert

conventional long form

none

conventional short form

Western Sahara

etymology

self-descriptive name specifying the territory's western location on the African continent's vast desert

former

Rio de Oro, Saguia el Hamra, Spanish Sahara

Diplomatic representation from the US

none

Diplomatic representation in the US

none

Executive branch

none

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), near Tindouf, Algeria, was 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 80 percent 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)

International organization participation

AU, CAN (observer), WFTU (NGOs)

Political pressure groups and leaders

Polisario Front

Suffrage

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

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

$NA $NA

expenditures

$NA

revenues

$NA

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

NA%

Debt - external

$NA

Economy - overview

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. 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.

Exchange rates

Moroccan dirhams (MAD) per US dollar - 9.7787 (2016) 9.7351 (2015) 9.7351 (2014 est.) 8.3798 (2013 est.) 8.6 (2012 est.)

Exports

$NA

Exports - commodities

phosphates 62% (2012 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

NA% NA% 40% (2007 est.)

agriculture

NA%

industry

NA%

services

40% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$2,500 (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

NA%

GDP (official exchange rate)

$NA

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$906.5 million (2007 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

NA% NA%

highest 10%

NA%

lowest 10%

NA%

Imports

$NA

Imports - commodities

fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs

Industrial production growth rate

NA%

Industries

phosphate mining, handicrafts

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

NA%

Labor force

144,000 (2010 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

50% 50% (2005 est.)

agriculture

50%

industry and services

50% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Taxes and other revenues

NA%

Unemployment rate

NA%

Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy

300,000 Mt (2013 est.)

Crude oil - exports

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

Crude oil - imports

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

Crude oil - production

0 bbl/day (2016 est.)

Crude oil - proved reserves

0 bbl (1 January 2017 es)

Electricity - consumption

0 kWh (2015 est.)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2016 est.)

Electricity - from fossil fuels

100% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

Electricity - from hydroelectric plants

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

Electricity - from nuclear fuels

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

Electricity - from other renewable sources

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (2016 est.)

Electricity - installed generating capacity

58,000 kW (2015 est.)

Electricity - production

0 kWh (2015 est.)

Natural gas - consumption

0 cu m (2013 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2013 est.)

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2013 est.)

Natural gas - production

0 cu m (2013 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

0 cu m (1 January 2014 es)

Refined petroleum products - consumption

1,700 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Refined petroleum products - exports

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

Refined petroleum products - imports

1,702 bbl/day (2014 est.)

Refined petroleum products - production

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

Broadcast media

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 (2008)

Internet country code

.eh

Telephone system

sparse and limited system 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 (2015)

general assessment

sparse and limited system

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 (2015)

Airports

6 (2013)

Airports - with paved runways

3 (2013)

2,438 to 3,047 m

3 (2013)

total

3

Airports - with unpaved runways

1 (2013)

1,524 to 2,437 m

1

914 to 1,523 m

1

total

3

under 914 m

1 (2013)

Ports and terminals

Ad Dakhla, Laayoune (El Aaiun)

major seaport(s)

Ad Dakhla, Laayoune (El Aaiun)

Disputes - international

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 recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; approximately 90,000 Sahrawi refugees continue to be sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria, which has hosted Sahrawi refugees since the 1980s