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Western Sahara (EH in ISO 3166-1) is a region of northwestern Africa, bordering Morocco on the north, Algeria on the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west. The largest city is Laayoune.
Whether it is part of Morocco or is the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), is disputed. At present it is largely occupied, and entirely claimed, by Morocco, but this claim is far from universally recognized and in fact a majority of other nations do not recognize the Moroccan claim.
In the peace plan a future Western Sahara Authority (WSA) is envisaged.
[Top] HistoryMain article: History of Western Sahara 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 carried by the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 cease-fire; a referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. [Top] PoliticsMain articles: Politics of Western Sahara The legal status of the territory and the question of its sovereignty is unresolved; the territory is contested by Morocco and Polisario Front.
See also Foreign relations of Morocco, Foreign relations of Western Sahara [Top] GeographyMain article: Geography of Western Sahara Western Sahara is located in Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco. It also borders Algeria to the northeast. [Top] EconomyMain article: Economy of Western Sahara 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. [Top] DemographicsMain article: Demographics of Western Sahara As of July 2003 there are an estimated 261,794 people living in the territory of Western Sahara, most of the Sahrawi nationality. They speak Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic and Spanish. The main religion is Islam.
From the CIA World Factbook 2003 [Top] See also
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