Spanish Sahara: Location, History, Size, Population, & Government

About the Spanish Sahara, information, history size, location, population, people, culture, and government.

Spanish Sahara

Size--102,703 sq. mi. (266,000 sq. km.). Population--77,000.

Spanish Sahara is an overseas province of Spain on the western edge of North Africa. Half of the inhabitants are nomads who enter with their flocks from Mauritania after the rainy season. The Governments of Morocco and Mauritania covet the area because it is rich in iron and phosphate so, in 1966, the UN General Assembly asked for a referendum to let the people of the province decide whether or not to remain under Spanish rule. Spain ignored the request and the Saharans did not protest because Spanish rule means health facilities, schools, and jobs. The referendum was not asked for again.