Described by the United Nations as a "non-self-governing territory", Western Sahara is claimed by both Morocco and the Polisario Front, a political group representing the Sahrawi people who live there. Today, most of the Western Sahara is under Moroccan control, while the Polisario controls some 30% of the territory in the east. The majority of Western Sahara is made up of flat desert. The only uplands are in the north, where the land rises to low mountains. The arid climate makes it one of the harshest places on Earth; all year round, it is extremely hot and dry.

Disputed territory

The Polisario Front, who represent Western Sahara's native Sahrawi people, is supported by neighbouring Algeria: it wants Western Sahara to become independent. Morocco, on the other hand, is willing only to grant autonomy, the power for the region to rule itself, while remaining part of its territory. A referendum (national vote) on independence has yet to be held. In the meantime, a long sand wall called the “Moroccan Wall” separates Moroccan-controlled areas in the west from Polisario-controlled land in the east.

People

Western Sahara is one of the most sparsely-populated places on Earth. Just over 500,000 people live in this desert region—and about half of them live in and around the coastal city of Laayoune, the capital. People from Western Sahara are known as the Sahrawi. Most are descended from both Arab and Berber peoples.

During the Western Sahara War (1975–91), thousands of Sahrawi people fled the region as refugees, escaping the fighting between Polisario and Moroccan troops. Today, about 165,000 Sahrawi refugees and their children live in camps in Tindouf, Algeria. Life in the camps is very difficult: food and water shortages mean that people have to rely on foreign aid.

Economy

Western Sahara has huge deposits of phosphates, valuable minerals used to make fertilizers and chemicals and phosphate mining is its largest industry. There are also thought to be large oil reserves offshore. Another important industry is fishing—Western Sahara's coastal waters are teeming with fish. In the desert, many people still live and work as nomadic camel herders.

Facts about the Western Sahara

Population 596,521 (2025 estimate)

Area 266,000 sq km

Highest point unnamed elevation 805 m (2641 ft)

Major city Laayoune (El Aaiún), population 271,344

Language Arabic

Religion Muslim

Ethnicity Arab, Berber

Currency Moroccan dirham (MAD)

Chief exports phosphates