Western Sahara'''Western Sahara''' (EH in ISO 3166-1) is a territory 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 El Aaiún (Laayoune), containing the majority of the population. Whether it is part of Morocco or is the '''Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR)''', is disputed. At present it is largely occupied, and entirely claimed, by Morocco, but this claim is far from universally recognized and in fact a majority of other nations do not recognize the Moroccan claim. Western Sahara is on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. In the peace plan a future '''Western Sahara Authority (WSA)''' is envisaged. Western Sahara is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, with some rankings listing it as the least dense. {| border=1 align=right cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=300 style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #ffffff; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |+<big>'''الجمهورية العربية الصحراوية الديمقراطية Al-Jumhūrīyâ al-Arabīyâ as-Ṣaḥrāwīyâ ad-Dīmuqrātīyâ'''</big> |- | style="background:#ffffff;" align="center" colspan=2 | {| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" | align="center" width="140px" | Image:Flag_of_Western_Sahara.png|140px|Flag of Western Sahara | align="center" width="140px" height="145px" | Image:Lambang_sahara_barat.png|Coat of arms of Western Sahara |- | align="center" width="140px" | (Flag of Western Sahara|In detail) | align="center" width="140px" | (Coat of arms of Western Sahara|In detail) |} |- | align=center style="vertical-align: top;" colspan=2 | ''List of state mottos|National motto: none'' |- | align=center colspan=2 style="background: #ffffff;" | image:LocationWesternSahara.png |- | '''Official language''' | Arabic language|Arabic and Spanish language|Spanish |- | '''Capital and largest city''' | El Aaiún (Laayoune) |- | '''President''' (in exile) | Mohamed Abdelaziz |- | '''Prime Ministers of Western Sahara|Prime Minister''' (in exile) | Abdelkader Taleb Oumar |- | '''Area'''  - Total  - % water | List of countries by area|Ranked 83rd 266,000 square kilometre|km² Negligible |- | '''Population'''  - Total  - Population density|Density | List of countries by population|Ranked 182nd 267,405 (July 2004 est.) 1/km² |- | '''Independence'''  - Declared  - Claimed and controlled | From Spain  February 27, 1976  By Morocco |- | '''Currency''' | Moroccan Dirham (MAD) |- | '''Time zone''' | Coordinated Universal Time|UTC 0 |- | '''National anthem''' | n/a |- | '''Top-level domain|Internet TLD''' | None (.eh is reserved) |- | '''List_of_country_calling_codes|Calling Code''' | + 212 (same code as Morocco) |} == History == ''Main article: History of Western Sahara'' Morocco occupied 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. The 1991 peace accords included an agreement on the carrying out of a referendum among the indigenous population. The referendum was planned to give the population the option between independence or inclusion to Morocco. The referendum has, however, to this date not been carried out due to the conflict over who is entitled to vote. == Politics == ''Main articles: Politics of Western Sahara'' The legal status of the territory and the question of its sovereignty is unresolved; the territory is contested by Morocco and Polisario Front. ''See also Foreign_relations_of_Morocco#Western Sahara|Foreign relations of Morocco, Foreign relations of Western Sahara'' Image:Wi-map.png|thumb|left|Map of Western Sahara == 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 has few natural resources and lacks sufficient rainfall for most agricultural activities. Its economy is centred around nomadic herding, fishing, and phosphate mining. Most 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 those of Morocco. == Demographics == ''Main article: Demographics of Western Sahara'' Image:Wsmap2.gif|right|Map of Western Sahara and Morocco As of July 2004 there are an estimated 267,405 people living in the territory of Western Sahara, most of the Sahrawi nationality. They speak Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic and Spanish language|Spanish. The main religion is Islam. ''From the CIA World Factbook 2004'' ==See also== * Communications in Western Sahara * Transportation in Western Sahara * Culture of Western Sahara (Music of Western Sahara) * List of cities in Morocco and Western Sahara * Moroccan Wall * MINURSO ==External links== *http://www.arso.org/ *http://www.wsahara.net/ *http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/suttonlink/334ws.pdf *http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sahara-update/ *[http://www.icbl.org/lm/2003/western_sahara.html Western Sahara, Landmine Monitor Report 2003] {{Africa}} Category:Disputed territories Category:Former Spanish colonies Category:Western Sahara Category:African Union member states ar:صحراء غربية ca:Sàhara da:Vestsahara de:Demokratische Arabische Republik Sahara et:Lääne-Sahara es:Sahara Occidental eo:Okcidenta Saharo fr:Sahara occidental id:Sahara Barat it:Sahara Occidentale he:סהרה המערבית lt:Vakarų Sachara ms:Sahara Barat nl:Westelijke Sahara ja:西サハラ no:Vest-Sahara pl:Sahara Zachodnia pt:Saara Ocidental sk:Západná Sahara sl:Zahodna Sahara fi:Länsi-Sahara sv:Västsahara wa:Sara Coûtchantrece zh:西撒哈拉 First page | Prev | Next | Last page |

This article on Western Sahara is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Western Sahara".

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