🇪🇭 Western Sahara

Western Sahara is Africa's last major colonial question — a sparsely populated territory of about 600,000 people on the Atlantic coast, mostly controlled by Morocco since Spain withdrew in 1975. The Sahrawi independence movement (Polisario Front), backed by Algeria, controls a small eastern strip. The territory has significant phosphate deposits and some of the richest fishing waters in the Atlantic. The UN considers it a "non-self-governing territory," and a promised independence referendum has never been held. The US recognized Moroccan sovereignty in 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords normalization deal with Israel.

Phosphate mining (at Bou Craa, one of the world's largest deposits) and fishing are the main economic activities, both controlled by Morocco. Morocco has invested heavily in infrastructure in the territory, including roads, ports, and a solar power plant. The Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria's Tindouf region house an estimated 100,000-175,000 people dependent on humanitarian aid. There is no independent economic data for the territory.

Western Sahara's Bou Craa phosphate mine is connected to the coast by the world's longest conveyor belt system — 98 km across the desert. The territory has some of the best wind and solar resources in Africa, largely untapped. The Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria have existed for nearly 50 years — some of the longest-standing refugee settlements in the world.

Western Sahara's status is frozen — Morocco controls the ground, Algeria backs the Polisario, and the international community is divided. The phosphate and fishing resources ensure the territory has economic value, which is precisely why resolution is so difficult.