Background. Since the Madrid Accords of 1975, a part of Western Sahara has been administered by Morocco as the Southern Provinces. The UN recognizes neither Moroccan nor SADR sovereignty over Western Sahara.
As of September 2021, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is recognized by 41 out of a total of 193 United Nations member states. In 2020, the United States under Donald Trump was the first country to recognize Morocco's unilateral annexation of Western Sahara.
To date, large parts of Western Sahara are controlled by the Moroccan Government and known as the Southern Provinces, whereas some 20% of the Western Sahara territory remains controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), the Polisario state with limited international recognition.
The two countries that are not UN members are Vatican City (Holy See) and Palestine. Both are considered non-member states of the United Nations, allow them to participate as permanent observers of the General Assembly, and are provided access to UN documents.
| President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic |
|---|
| Coat of arms of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic |
| Incumbent Brahim Ghali since 12 July 2016 |
| Residence | Sahrawi refugee camps, Tindouf, Algeria |
| Term length | No term limit |
The flag of Western Sahara (Arabic: علم الصØراء الغربية) also known as Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic uses a national flag consisting of a black, white and green horizontal tricolor charged with a red star and crescent in the center stripe and a red chevron at the hoist.
About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, while the remaining 80% of the territory is occupied and administered by neighboring Morocco. Its surface area amounts to 266,000 square kilometres (103,000 sq mi).
Common foods and dishes
- Couscous, meal paste, with meat and vegetables.
- TajÃn, camel meat, made solely from dromedaries.
- Goat meat.
- Meifrisa is a traditional dish of the region.
- Ezzmit, cereals.
- El aych, cereals with milk.
- Arroz con pescado.
- Various types of roasts.
The native language of the majority is Hassaniya Arabic, which is mutually unintelligible with Standard Arabic. Moroccan Arabic is also widely spoken, and is the lingua franca on the streets and the workplace because of the many Moroccans residing in the country.
The Sahara covers large parts of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan and Tunisia. It covers 9 million square kilometres (3,500,000 sq mi), amounting to 31% of Africa.
The current population of Western Sahara is 616,471 as of Saturday, October 23, 2021, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data. Western Sahara 2020 population is estimated at 597,339 people at mid year according to UN data.
How Safe is Western Sahara? There is currently a cease-fire between the Moroccan government and the POLISARIO Front. The majority of safety concerns are related to unexploded landmines from the conflict. Beware of aggressive theft and harassment (especially if you are a woman).
The Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) is one of two currencies used in Cuba. The other currency is simply called the Cuban Peso and has been in limited use since 1994. Retail stores and other businesses mainly use the Cuban Convertible Peso. The Convertible Peso can only be exchanged in Cuba itself.
As a result of pressure from France, the US, and the UK, Spain abandoned Western Sahara on November 14, 1975, going so far as to even exhume Spanish corpses from cemeteries.
1884 - Spain colonises Western Sahara, an area formerly populated by Berber tribes. 1934 - Becomes a Spanish province known as Spanish Sahara. 1957 - Newly-independent Morocco lays centuries-old claim to Western Sahara.
Trade routes across the Sahara Desert were an important part of the economies of Ancient Africa. Goods such as gold, salt, slaves, cloth, and ivory were transported across the desert using long trains of camels called caravans.
Morocco was known as the Kingdom of Marrakesh under the three dynasties that made Marrakesh their capital. Then, it was known as the Kingdom of Fes, after the dynasties which had Fez as their capital.
The Sahara, Morocco. The name Sahara derives from the Arabic noun á¹£aḥrÄʾ, meaning desert, and its plural, á¹£aḥÄrÄʾ.
The legal status of Western Sahara is defined in Article 73 of the Charter of the United Nations, which means that it is a non-self governing territory going through the process of decolonization, whose administrating power is still the Kingdom of Spain.
The French Protectorate consisted of a majority, about nine-tenths, of Morocco. France controlled the Moroccan land to the south of the Spanish Protectorate. The capital city of the French Protectorate was Rabat (History of Morocco to the Present Day, Moroccansands.com).
On average, the desert generates a per capita gross regional product (GRP) of about $80k, about one-and-a-half times higher than the national average. The region is rich in natural resources. It is home to some of the world's largest mining operations in iron ore, gold, nickel and other mineral resources.
Western Sahara has a small market-based economy whose main industries are fishing, phosphate mining, tourism, and pastoral nomadism. The territory's arid desert climate makes sedentary agriculture difficult, and Western Sahara imports much of its food.
In truth, Morocco is a safe place to visit. There's only really small crime there (scams and pickpockets) and you're unlikely to be assaulted or seriously hurt as a tourist in the country. Morocco is super safe for tourists now.
