Western Sahara Statistics

Western Sahara is a sparsely populated territory in Northwest Africa, consisting mainly of desert flatlands. It is often referred to as "Africa's last colony" as its political status remains unresolved. The territory is contested between Morocco, which controls about 70% of the area, and the indigenous Polisario Front, which has proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).

The economy is small and depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing off its Atlantic coast, and phosphate mining in Bou Craa, one of the world's largest deposits. Most of the population of around 600,000 lives in the Moroccan-controlled parts, with the principal city being Laayoune.

A 2,700 km-long sand wall, the Moroccan Berm, separates the Moroccan-controlled areas from the Polisario-controlled territory. The United Nations recognizes the Polisario Front as the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people and continues to seek a resolution to the long-standing dispute.