Outline of Western Sahara

Western Sahara is a disputed territory located in western North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria in the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the North Atlantic Ocean on the west.^[1] It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The largest city is El Aaiún (Laâyoune), which is home to over half of the population of the territory.

Western Sahara has been on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories since the 1960s when it was a Spanish colony.^[2] The Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front independence movement (and government of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic or SADR) dispute control of the territory.

Since a United Nations-sponsored ceasefire agreement in 1991, most of the territory has been controlled by Morocco, with the remainder under the control of the Polisario/SADR, backed by Algeria.^[3] Internationally, major powers such as the United States have taken a generally ambiguous and neutral position on each side's claims, and have pressed both parties to agree on a peaceful resolution. Both Morocco and Polisario have sought to boost their claims by accumulating formal recognition, essentially from African, Asian, and Latin American states in the developing world. Polisario has won formal recognition for SADR from roughly 45 states, and was extended membership in the African Union, while Morocco has won formal recognition for its position from 25 states, as well as the membership of the Arab League.^[4]^[5] In both instances, recognitions have over the past two decades been extended and withdrawn according to changing international trends.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Western Sahara:

1 General reference
2 Geography of Western Sahara
3 Government and politics of Western Sahara
4 History of Western Sahara
5 Culture of Western Sahara
- 5.1 Art in Western Sahara
- 5.2 Sports in Western Sahara
6 Economy and infrastructure of Western Sahara
7 Education in Western Sahara
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

General reference

Pronunciation:
Common English country name: Western Sahara
Official English country name: none
Common endonym(s):
Official endonym(s):
Adjectival(s): Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian
Demonym(s):
Etymology: Name of Western Sahara
ISO country codes: EH, ESH, 732
ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:EH
Internet country code top-level domain: .eh

Geography of Western Sahara

Main article: Geography of Western Sahara

Western Sahara is: a country
Location
- Western Sahara is situated within the following regions:
  - Northern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere
  - Africa
    - Sahara Desert
    - North Africa
- Time zone: Coordinated Universal Time UTC+00
- Extreme points of Western Sahara
  - High: unnamed location 805 m (2,641 ft)
  - Low: Sebjet Tah −55 m (−180 ft)
- Land boundaries: 2,046 km

Mauritania 1,561 km

Morocco 443 km

Algeria 42 km

Coastline: North Atlantic Ocean 1,110 km

Population of Western Sahara: 480,000 - 167th most populous country
Area of Western Sahara: 266,000 km²
Atlas of Western Sahara

Environment of Western Sahara

Climate of Western Sahara
Environmental issues in Western Sahara
Ecoregions in Western Sahara
Renewable energy in Western Sahara
Geology of Western Sahara
Protected areas of Western Sahara
- Biosphere reserves in Western Sahara
- National parks of Western Sahara
Wildlife of Western Sahara
- Flora of Western Sahara
- Fauna of Western Sahara
  - Birds of Western Sahara
  - Mammals of Western Sahara

Natural geographic features of Western Sahara

Glaciers in Western Sahara: none ^[6]
Islands of Western Sahara
Lakes of Western Sahara
Mountains of Western Sahara
- Volcanoes in Western Sahara
Rivers of Western Sahara
- Waterfalls of Western Sahara
Valleys of Western Sahara
World Heritage Sites in Western Sahara: None

Regions of Western Sahara

Main article: Regions of Western Sahara

Ecoregions of Western Sahara

Main articles: List of ecoregions in Western Sahara and Ecoregions in Western Sahara

Administrative divisions of Western Sahara

Main article: Administrative divisions of Western Sahara

Provinces of Western Sahara
- Districts of Western Sahara
  - Municipalities of Western Sahara

Provinces of Western Sahara

Districts of Western Sahara

Main article: Districts of Western Sahara

Municipalities of Western Sahara

Capital of Western Sahara:
- Bir Lehlou (de facto - headquarters of the Polisario Front)
- El Aaiún (de jure - headquarters of Morrocan occupation)
Cities of Western Sahara

Demography of Western Sahara

Main article: Demographics of Western Sahara

Government and politics of Western Sahara

Main article: Government of Western Sahara and Politics of Western Sahara

Form of government:
Capital of Western Sahara:
- Bir Lehlou (de facto - headquarters of the Polisario Front)
- El Aaiún (de jure - headquarters of Morrocan occupation)

Elections in Western Sahara
- (specific elections)
Political parties in Western Sahara
Political scandals of Western Sahara
Taxation in Western Sahara

Branches of the government of Western Sahara

Main article: Government of Western Sahara

Executive branch of the government of Western Sahara

Head of state: President of Western Sahara, Mohamed Abdelaziz
Head of government: Prime Minister of Western Sahara,
Cabinet of Western Sahara

Legislative branch of the government of Western Sahara

Parliament of Western Sahara (bicameral)
- Upper house: Senate of Western Sahara
- Lower house: House of Commons of Western Sahara

Judicial branch of the government of Western Sahara

Supreme Court of Western Sahara

Foreign relations of Western Sahara

Main article: Foreign relations of Western Sahara

International organization membership

Western Sahara is a member of:^[1]

World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU)

Law and order in Western Sahara

Capital punishment in Western Sahara
Constitution of Western Sahara
Crime in Western Sahara
Human rights in Western Sahara
- LGBT rights in Western Sahara
- Freedom of religion in Western Sahara
Law enforcement in Western Sahara

Military of Western Sahara

Main article: Military of Western Sahara

Command
- Commander-in-chief:
  - Ministry of Defence of Western Sahara
Forces
- Army of Western Sahara
- Navy of Western Sahara
- Air Force of Western Sahara
- Special forces of Western Sahara
Military history of Western Sahara
Military ranks of Western Sahara

Local government in Western Sahara

History of Western Sahara

Main article: History of Western Sahara, Timeline of the history of Western Sahara, and Current events of Western Sahara

Economic history of Western Sahara
Military history of Western Sahara

Culture of Western Sahara

Main article: Culture of Western Sahara

Architecture of Western Sahara
Cuisine of Western Sahara
Ethnic minorities in Western Sahara
Festivals in Western Sahara
Humor in Western Sahara
Languages of Western Sahara
Media in Western Sahara
National symbols of Western Sahara
- Coat of arms of Western Sahara
- Flag of Western Sahara
- National anthem of Western Sahara
People of Western Sahara
Prostitution in Western Sahara
Public holidays in Western Sahara
Records of Western Sahara
Religion in Western Sahara
- Buddhism in Western Sahara
- Christianity in Western Sahara
- Hinduism in Western Sahara
- Islam in Western Sahara
- Judaism in Western Sahara
- Sikhism in Western Sahara
World Heritage Sites in Western Sahara: None

Art in Western Sahara

Art in Western Sahara
Cinema of Western Sahara
Literature of Western Sahara
Music of Western Sahara
Television in Western Sahara
Theatre in Western Sahara

Sports in Western Sahara

Football in Western Sahara
Western Sahara at the Olympics

Economy and infrastructure of Western Sahara

Main article: Economy of Western Sahara

Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007):

Agriculture in Western Sahara
Banking in Western Sahara
- National Bank of Western Sahara
Communications in Western Sahara
- Internet in Western Sahara
Companies of Western Sahara
Currency of Western Sahara: Dirham
- ISO 4217: MAD
Economic history of Western Sahara
Energy in Western Sahara
- Energy policy of Western Sahara
- Oil industry in Western Sahara
Health care in Western Sahara
Mining in Western Sahara
Western Sahara Stock Exchange
Tourism in Western Sahara
Transport in Western Sahara
Water supply and sanitation in Western Sahara

Education in Western Sahara

References

^ ^a ^b "Western Sahara". The World Factbook. United States Central Intelligence Agency. July 3, 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/wi.html. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
^ Whitfield, Teresa. Friends Indeed?: The United Nations, Groups of Friends, and the Resolution of Conflict. 2007, page 191.
^ Baehr, Peter R. The United Nations at the End of the 1990s. 1999, page 129.
^ Arab League supports Morocco's Territorial Integrity, Arabic News, Morocco-Regional, Politics, January 8, 1999. Retrieved August 24, 2006.
^ Arab League Withdraws Inaccurate Moroccan maps, Arabic News, Regional-Morocco, Politics, December 17, 1998. Retrieved August 24, 2006.
^ The only glaciers in Africa are on Mt Kenya (in Kenya), on Kilimanjaro (in Tanzania), and in the Ruwenzori Mountains (which are located in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo). See Proceedings of the Riederalp Workshop, September 1978; Actes de l'Atelier de Riederalp, septembre 1978): IAHS-AISH Publ. no. 126, 1980.

External links

Wikimedia Atlas of Western Sahara

Overviews

News

Special topics

Maps

http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/dpko/minurso.pdf Minurso Deployment as of October 2006, Map No. 3691 Rev. 53 United Nations, October 2006 (Colour), Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Cartographic Section

Tourism

Outline of Western Sahara travel guide from Wikitravel

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