Demographics of Western Sahara

All demographic data of Western Sahara is widely regarded as being extremely prone to error. It is among the world's most sparsely populated territories and the last official census there was conducted by Spain in 1970. Currently, Western Sahara's political status is disputed between Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which is governed by the Polisario Front. About 80% of Western Sahara is under Moroccan occupation, while the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic controls the rest of the territory that lies to the east of the Moroccan-built Berm. The entirety of Western Sahara is classified by the United Nations as a non-self-governing territory that is still awaiting decolonization.

Hundreds of thousands of Moroccan settlers have migrated into occupied Western Sahara since the Green March in 1975. As of 2015, it is estimated that Moroccan settlers account for at least two thirds of Western Sahara's entire population of 500,000 people. Under international law, Morocco's settlement schemes in the occupied territory constitute a direct violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

The dominant religion in Western Sahara is Sunni Islam. Major ethnic groups include Arabs and Berbers. The most common languages in the territory are Hassaniya Arabic and Moroccan Arabic.

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