WESTERN SAHARA (WESTERN SAHARA) PAX GAEA COUNTRY REPORT

Western Sahara is located in the North of the African Continent, with a population of 522,928, making it the 172nd largest
national population. Its has no formal capital however its largest city is Laayoune, (also known as El Aaiun) is recognized as
the administrative capital by the Moroccan government and the de jure capital by the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic,
the government in exile with an interim capital in Bir Lehlou, formulated from the rival Polisario Front. It has a total
population of 196,331. The country encompasses 266,000 square kilometers making it the 78th largest country in total
area. It shares boundaries with Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania and the Atlantic Ocean.

Morocco King Mohamed VI and Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic President Mohamed Abdelaziz each seek UN
recognition as the Chief of State. King Mohamed VI achieves that status through heredity and holds that position for life or
until abdication to his heir apparent Prince Moulay Hassan. For the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, the Secretary
General of the Polisario Front is selected as the President and holds that position for three years. Morocco Prime Minister
Abdelilah Benkirane is recognized by King Mohamed VI as the Head of Government and achieves that status through
appointment by the King and holds that position at the pleasure of the Monarch while Prime Minister Abdelkader Taleb
Oumar is recognized as the Head of Government and achieves that status through appointment by the President of the
Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic and holds that position for three years. Its form of government is a still unresolved as
the Kingdom of Morocco and the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic await a final agreement via the United Nations and,
as thus do not yet celebrate the creation of their constitution.

The languages commonly or officially spoken are Hassaniya Arabic and Moroccan Arabic. It counts among its major
religions Muslim. As sources of mass communication it has 2 AM radio stations

Major geographical features are an unnamed location in the southeast, its highest point at 463 meters and Sebjet Tah, its
lowest point at –55 meters. Its principal waterway is the Atlantic Ocean, which measures approximately 1,100 kilometers
of coastlines.

Major industries providing for the bulk of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are phosphate mining and handicrafts. Its
official currency is the Moroccan Dinar.

Here’s something you may not know about Western Sahara. Though colonized since the 6th century B.C.E, starting with
the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, Western Sahara has never formed a state in the modern sense.

Camel herd

Nomad family at Bir
Lehlou- the Saharawi's
interim capital of
Western Sahara

Four Western Saharan
boys

Laayoune (El Aaaiun)-
Western Sahara's de
facto capital and
largest city

Oasis in Rio de Oro

Wadi Saoura