Demographics of Western Sahara
Encyclopedia
The demographics of Western Sahara
are in the frame work of the demographics of Morocco
since the territory is de facto occupied by the kingdom of Morocco. The population of Western Sahara is pre-dominantly Moroccan. The indigeous Sahrawis are a minority in Western Sahara, due to the 1976 Sahrawi exodus and the continuous settlement of Moroccans.
in its standard variety is the official language in the entire territory. However, the Hassaniya
variety is the most spoken native language. Spanish
, the former colonial language and French
, the second language of Morocco and most of western Africa
are both extensively used as second language
s.
is the major religion in Western Sahara
. Sunni Muslims constitute about 99.9% of the population.
0–14 years:
44.9% (male 92,418/female 89,570)
15–64 years:
53.8% (male 105,191/female 108,803)
65 years and over:
2.3% (male 3,881/female 5,337) (2010 est.)
total population:
54.32 years
male:
52 years
female:
56.73 years (2010 est.)
definition:
NA
total population:
NA%
male:
NA%
female:
NA%
and Hassaniya Arabic
are used in Western Sahara. Hassaniya, primarily spoken at home, is dominated by the Moroccan dialect spoken in the streets, workplace, and schools. This is because the great majority of the population consists of Moroccans who settled in Western Sahara.
Spanish is common among Sahrawi people and especially among the Sahrawi diaspora, with the Sahrawi Press Service, official news service of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
, being available in Spanish since 2001 and the Sahara Film Festival
, Western Sahara's only film festival, showing mainly Spanish-language films. Spanish is used to document Sahrawi poetry and oral traditions and has also be used in Sahrawi literature. Despite Spanish having been used by the Sahrawi people for over a century due to Western Sahara's history as a former Spanish colony, the Cervantes Institute has denied support and Spanish-language education to Sahrawis in Western Sahara and the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria. A group of Sahrawi poets known as 'Generación de la Amistad saharaui' produce Sahrawi literature in Spanish.
at the end of 1975 are directly linked to the large displacement of the Saharawi population, most of whom live as refugees in south-west Algeria
. The major bulk of Saharawis became refugees during the war between the Polisario Front
and Morocco
. The south-western desert region near Tindouf
offered a potential safe region. Algeria ,in its rivalry with Morocco, offered the Sahrawis a safe place to settle and actively supported the guerilla-movement of the POLISARIO.
The next Saharawi exodus, although on a smaller scale, took place in 1979 when Mauritania
withdrew from the conflict and Morocco annexed the rest of Western Sahara. Exact figures cannot be provided for the numbers that fled the territory in those two waves, but the estimations are between 1/3 and 2/3 of the total population at that time. The current size of the population in the refugee camps is believed to be around 165,000.
Used by the Algerian government, this figure is the most widely quoted by NGOs and is also used by the UNHCR and the World Food Programme to raise funds for food aid to the refugees. In the 2004 WFP meeting in Rome, the number of refugees was officially recognized at 158,000.
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
are in the frame work of the demographics of Morocco
Demographics of Morocco
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Morocco, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....
since the territory is de facto occupied by the kingdom of Morocco. The population of Western Sahara is pre-dominantly Moroccan. The indigeous Sahrawis are a minority in Western Sahara, due to the 1976 Sahrawi exodus and the continuous settlement of Moroccans.
CIA World Factbook demographic statistics
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.Languages
The Arabic languageArabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
in its standard variety is the official language in the entire territory. However, the Hassaniya
Hassaniya
Hassānīya is the variety of Arabic originally spoken by the Beni Hassān Bedouin tribes, who extended their authority over most of Mauritania and the Western Sahara between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. It has almost completely replaced the Berber languages spoken in this region...
variety is the most spoken native language. Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, the former colonial language and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, the second language of Morocco and most of western Africa
African French
African French is the generic name of the varieties of French spoken by an estimated 115 million African people spread across 31 francophone African countries...
are both extensively used as second language
Second language
A second language or L2 is any language learned after the first language or mother tongue. Some languages, often called auxiliary languages, are used primarily as second languages or lingua francas ....
s.
Religions
Sunni IslamSunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
is the major religion in Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
. Sunni Muslims constitute about 99.9% of the population.
Age structure
0–14 years:
44.9% (male 92,418/female 89,570)
15–64 years:
53.8% (male 105,191/female 108,803)
65 years and over:
2.3% (male 3,881/female 5,337) (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population:
54.32 years
male:
52 years
female:
56.73 years (2010 est.)
Literacy
definition:
NA
total population:
NA%
male:
NA%
female:
NA%
Languages
Modern Standard Arabic is the official language of Western Sahara and Morocco. Both Moroccan ArabicMoroccan Arabic
Moroccan Arabic is the variety of Arabic spoken in the Arabic-speaking areas of Morocco. For official communications, the government and other public bodies use Modern Standard Arabic, as is the case in most Arabic-speaking countries. A mixture of French and Moroccan Arabic is used in business...
and Hassaniya Arabic
Hassānīya Arabic
Hassānīya is the variety of Arabic originally spoken by the Beni Hassān Bedouin tribes, who extended their authority over most of Mauritania and the Western Sahara between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. It has almost completely replaced the Berber languages spoken in this region...
are used in Western Sahara. Hassaniya, primarily spoken at home, is dominated by the Moroccan dialect spoken in the streets, workplace, and schools. This is because the great majority of the population consists of Moroccans who settled in Western Sahara.
Spanish is common among Sahrawi people and especially among the Sahrawi diaspora, with the Sahrawi Press Service, official news service of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a partially recognised state that claims sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony. SADR was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on February 27, 1976, in Bir Lehlu, Western Sahara. The SADR government controls about...
, being available in Spanish since 2001 and the Sahara Film Festival
Sahara Film Festival
The International Sahara Film Festival was first held in 2004. It is now an annual event which takes place in the Sahrawi refugee camps in the South West Corner of Algeria, near the border with Western Sahara. The Festival is backed by the Polisario Front...
, Western Sahara's only film festival, showing mainly Spanish-language films. Spanish is used to document Sahrawi poetry and oral traditions and has also be used in Sahrawi literature. Despite Spanish having been used by the Sahrawi people for over a century due to Western Sahara's history as a former Spanish colony, the Cervantes Institute has denied support and Spanish-language education to Sahrawis in Western Sahara and the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria. A group of Sahrawi poets known as 'Generación de la Amistad saharaui' produce Sahrawi literature in Spanish.
Refugees
The events triggered by the Moroccan and Mauritanian joint invasion of Western SaharaWestern Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
at the end of 1975 are directly linked to the large displacement of the Saharawi population, most of whom live as refugees in south-west Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. The major bulk of Saharawis became refugees during the war between the Polisario Front
Polisario Front
The POLISARIO, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro is a Sahrawi rebel national liberation movement working for the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco...
and Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. The south-western desert region near Tindouf
Tindouf
Tindouf is the main town in Tindouf Province, Algeria, close to the Mauritanian and Moroccan borders. The region is considered of strategic significance, and it houses Algerian military bases. Since 1975, it also contains several Sahrawi refugee camps operated by the Polisario Front a guerrilla...
offered a potential safe region. Algeria ,in its rivalry with Morocco, offered the Sahrawis a safe place to settle and actively supported the guerilla-movement of the POLISARIO.
The next Saharawi exodus, although on a smaller scale, took place in 1979 when Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
withdrew from the conflict and Morocco annexed the rest of Western Sahara. Exact figures cannot be provided for the numbers that fled the territory in those two waves, but the estimations are between 1/3 and 2/3 of the total population at that time. The current size of the population in the refugee camps is believed to be around 165,000.
Used by the Algerian government, this figure is the most widely quoted by NGOs and is also used by the UNHCR and the World Food Programme to raise funds for food aid to the refugees. In the 2004 WFP meeting in Rome, the number of refugees was officially recognized at 158,000.