Western Sahara ( Arabic : الصحراء الغربية, es-Sahrâu’l-Garbiyye, Spanish : Sahara Occidental, Berber : Taneẓroft Tutrimt ) is located in the northwest of the African continent and claimed by Morocco after the colony was abandoned by Spain in 1975. two-thirds of which is the de facto administration of Morocco. This declaration of the Sahara Democratic Arab Republic, whose independence was declared in 1976 over the entire region, is not accepted by Morocco. Morocco in the north as the border neighbor of the regionAlgeria is located in the northeast, Mauritania in the east and south, while the Atlantic Ocean is located in the west of the region.
Geography
While 41 km of the 2.049 km border of the region is formed by Algeria, 1.564 km by Mauritania and 444 km by the annexation of two-thirds of the region with Morocco, the country also has a coastline of 1,110 km with the Atlantic Ocean.
In Western Sahara, which has a total area of 266,000 km², there are elevations that go up to 400 m as you move from the coastal part to the inner parts. The highest point of the region is 805 m, which is located close to the Algerian border and does not have any name.
Population
According to the 2013 estimated population results, 570,866 people live in the Western Sahara region.
As a country starting with letter W listed on Countryaah, Western Sahara has a young population, and 57.46% of the population is in the 0-24 age range, according to 2015 estimates. Only 3.75% of the country is 65 years or older.
0-14 years: 37.83% (male 109.147/female 106.789)
15-24 years: 19.63% (male 56.412/female 55,624)
25-54 years: 33.93% (male 95.296/female 98.391)
55-64 years: 4.87% ( men 12,974/women 14,829)
Age 65 and over: 3.75% (male 9,406/female 11,998)
Ethnic groups
The original Western Saharans are known as Sahrawi. Apart from this, Arabs and Arabized Berbers live in the region.
Language
In addition to Arabic, Spanish is spoken by a certain group, inherited from the former colonial country of Spain.
Religion
Almost all of the population living in the region lives according to the Sunni Islam faith.
Administrative structure
Morocco makes an administrative management plan in accordance with its own administrative structure on the region it controls. Accordingly, in the region called Western Sahara, there are Laâyoune-Sakia Alhamra and Dakhla-Oued Ed Dahab administrative regions, along with a small part of Guelmim-Oued Noun region, which is one of the twelve administrative regions of Morocco.
Although Morocco actually holds only two-thirds of the region, it claims the whole of it. Polisario, who holds the administration over the remaining one-third of the region and calls these regions free zones, continues its claim on the Western Sahara with the Saharan Democratic Arab Republic that it has declared.
