Western Sahara

     From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

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), for three quarters occupied by Morocco, is disputed.

In the peace plan a future Western Sahara Authority (WSA) is envisaged.

الجمهورية العربية الصحراوية الديمقراطية
Al-Jumhūrīya al-Arabīya as-Sahrāwīya ad-Dīmuqrātīya

(In detail) (In detail)
National motto: none
Official language	Arabic
Capital	Laayoune
Largest city	Laayoune
President	Mohamed Abdelaziz
Prime Minister	Abdelkader Taleb Oumar
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 83th 266,000 km² Negligible
Population  - Total  - Density	Ranked 182th 261,794 (July 2003 est.) 1/km²
Independence  - Declared  - Claimed	From Spain  February 27, 1976  By Morocco
Currency	Moroccan Dirham (MAD)
Time zone	UTC 0
National anthem	?
Internet TLD	None (.eh is reserved)
Calling Code	+ 212. (same code as Morocco)

Table of contents

1 History 2 Politics 3 Geography 4 Economy 5 Demographics 6 See also 7 External links

History

Main 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.

Politics

Main articles: Politics of Western Sahara, Foreign relations of Western Sahara, Military of Western Sahara Legal status of territory and question of sovereignty is unresolved; territory is contested by Morocco and Polisario Front.

Geography

Main 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.

Economy

Main 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.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Western Sahara As of July 2003 there's an estimation of 261,794 people living on 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

See also

• Communications in Western Sahara
• Transportation in Western Sahara
• Culture of Western Sahara (Music of Western Sahara)
• List of cities in Morocco (Includes cities in Western Sahara)
• Moroccan Wall
• MINURSO

External links

• http://www.wsahara.net/
• http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/suttonlink/334ws.pdf
• [1] - landmines