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Western Sahara

Western Sahara is a territory located in northwestern Africa. It has an area of 105,020 square miles (272,000 sq km) and an estimated population of 604,900 people in 2022. The capital of the region is Laayoune.

Little is known about the prehistory of the area, but rock engravings suggest a succession of nomadic groups had inhabited it. In the 4th century BCE, trade between the region and Europe was conducted via the Mediterranean Sea. After that, there were very few contacts with Europeans until the 19th century.

In 1884, Spain established a protectorate over the Río de Oro region. Boundary agreements with France were agreed upon in 1900 and 1912. Subsequently, Spain unified the northern and southern parts of the region into the Spanish Sahara overseas province in 1958.

The Polisario Front, a Saharawi separatist group formed in 1973, led an insurgency against Spanish colonial rule. In 1976, Spain gave up its claim over the region, which was then divided between Morocco and Mauritania. That same year, the Polisario Front proclaimed the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic as a government-in-exile.

Fighting between Moroccan and Mauritanian forces and the Polisario Front started in the mid-1970s. Mauritania withdrew its claim in 1979, and Morocco annexed the region shortly afterwards. Despite a 1991 cease-fire and UN-sponsored talks between the Moroccan government and the Polisario Front, Western Sahara's status remained unresolved at the beginning of the 21st century.

Western Sahara contains vast deposits of phosphate, potash, and iron ore.