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 the 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. Ethnic tensions in Western Sahara occasionally erupt into violence requiring a Moroccan security force response.

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

about the size of Colorado

contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue

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

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

sparse water and lack of arable land

the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas

Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic

538,811 (July 2013 est.)

31.18 births/1,000 population (2013 est.)

8.64 deaths/1,000 population (2013 est.)

Laayoune 237,000 (2011)

4.15 children born/woman (2013 est.)

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, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), near Tindouf, Algeria, led by President Mohamed ABDELAZIZ

none (territory west of the berm under de facto Moroccan control)

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

AU, CAN (observer), WFTU (NGOs)

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 July 2006 signed a four-year agreement allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara, but this agreement was terminated in 2011. 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.

$906.5 million (2007 est.)

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

phosphate mining, handicrafts

fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs

Moroccan dirhams (MAD) per US dollar -

90 million kWh (2009 est.)

83.7 million kWh (2009 est.)

58,000 kW (2009 est.)

100% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2012 es)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

1,948 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

1,702 bbl/day (2008 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2012 es)

314,600 Mt (2010 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 (2008)

Ad Dakhla, Laayoune (El Aaiun)

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; most of the approximately 102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria