Western Sahara is located in Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco.
Western Sahara has borders with Algeria for 42km, Morocco for 443km and Mauritania for 1561km.
Land in Western Sahara is mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast.
Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian land covers an area of 266000 square kilometers which is about the size of Colorado
As for the Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian climate; hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew.
Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) speak Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic.
Western Sahara country profile
|
Ejbei Uad el Aabd |
|
Western Sahara (general) |
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 with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed.
Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level.
Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian natural resources include phosphates, iron ore
the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas
Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian religion is Muslim.
Natural hazards in Western Sahara include hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility.