Western Sahara
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
- Region
- Africa · Northern Africa
- Capital
- El Aaiún
- Population
- 652,271 (null)
- Government
- legal status of territory and issue of sovereignty unresolved; territory contested by Morocco and Polisario Front (Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro), which in February 1976 formally proclaimed a government-in-exile of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), near Tindouf, Algeria, led by President Mohamed ABDELAZIZ until his death in May 2016; current President Brahim GHALI elected in July 2016; territory partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania in April 1976 when Spain withdrew, with Morocco acquiring northern two-thirds; Mauritania, under pressure from Polisario guerrillas, abandoned all claims to its portion in August 1979; Morocco moved to occupy that sector shortly thereafter and has since asserted administrative control; the Polisario's government-in-exile was seated as an Organization of African Unity (OAU) member in 1984; Morocco between 1980 and 1987 built a fortified sand berm delineating the roughly 75% of Western Sahara west of the barrier that currently is controlled by Morocco; guerrilla activities continued sporadically until a UN-monitored cease-fire was implemented on 6 September 1991 (Security Council Resolution 690) by the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO)
- Currencies
- Algerian dinar (DZD), Moroccan dirham (MAD), Mauritanian ouguiya (MRU)
- Official languages
- Berber, Hassaniya, Spanish
- Spoken languages
- Standard Arabic, Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, Berber, Spanish, French
- Written scripts
- Tifinagh and Latin, Arabic, Latin
- Area
- 266,000 km²
- Coastline
- Coastal
- UN member
- No
- Affiliations
- African Union
- Borders
- Algeria , Mauritania , Morocco
Trade profile
- Key exports
- phosphates 62% (2012)
- Key imports
- fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs
- Natural resources
- phosphates, iron ore
- Primary route
- Mediterranean services to Europe
- Secondary route
- Suez Canal corridor to Asia and the Gulf
Trade research
- WTO trade profile — tariffs, trade in goods and services, top partners
- World Bank country data — GDP, trade share of GDP, logistics indicators
- OEC trade profile — export/import composition and partners, visualized
- ITC Trade Map — detailed trade statistics by product (ITC/UN Comtrade)
- CIA World Factbook — geography, economy, transportation infrastructure
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Sources: mledoze/countries (ODbL), CIA World Factbook (public domain), World Bank Open Data (CC BY-4.0), flag-icons (MIT). Stability scores are xin.bz composites of the cited World Bank indicators; routes and commodity notes are xin.bz assessments. Informational only — verify with official sources.