GeoMemo
SUN, AUG 30 · EDT
Countries›Western Sahara (EH)

Western Sahara.

Western Sahara · africa

Governmentlegal status of territory and issue of sovereignty unresolved; territory contested by Morocco and Polisario Front (Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro), which in February 1976 formally proclaimed a government-in-exile of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), near Tindouf, Algeria, led by President Mohamed ABDELAZIZ until his death in May 2016; current President Brahim GHALI elected in July 2016; territory partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania in April 1976 when Spain withdrew, with Morocco acquiring northern two-thirds; Mauritania, under pressure from Polisario guerrillas, abandoned all claims to its portion in August 1979; Morocco moved to occupy that sector shortly thereafter and has since asserted administrative control; the Polisario's government-in-exile was seated as an Organization of African Unity (OAU) member in 1984; Morocco between 1980 and 1987 built a fortified sand berm delineating the roughly 75% of Western Sahara west of the barrier that currently is controlled by Morocco; guerrilla activities continued sporadically until a UN-monitored cease-fire was implemented on 6 September 1991 (Security Council Resolution 690) by the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO)Area266.0K km²Active conflicts3CIA· Jan 2026
Stability Score?How the stability score is computedA weighted composite of seven pillars— conflict intensity, event volatility, arms activity, economic health, market stress, sanctions exposure, and humanitarian proxy. Each pillar is scored 0–100 (higher = healthier). The composite is weighted (conflict 25%, economy 20%, events 15%, the rest 10% each) and recomputed daily from strategic events, World Bank indicators, arms-transfer data, and sanctions records.

Risk tier: Critical < 25 · High 25–50 · Elevated 50–75 · Stable≥ 75.
64.8
High risk
31-day trend
Intelligence briefNo brief published today
Daily intelligence brief is generated for the highest-activity countries. Western Sahara becomes eligible as dispatch volume climbs.
Western Sahara · 90-day event volume
1
total events · 90 daily data points
Annotated milestones
1 of 1
SAHRAWI-MOROCC2026-06-022026-07-172026-08-30
Source · intelligence_events · all severity tiersHover any annotated dot for full milestone
Stability components7-pillar breakdown · each 0–100, higher = healthier · 30-day trend per pillar
Conflict Intensity
40/100 · 25% wt
target conflicts: 1domestic conflicts: 0max escalation score: 100
Event Volatility
69/100 · 15% wt
target events: 2actor only events: 0domestic events: 0severe domestic: 0instability rate: 15.40%article coverage 90d: 13
Arms Activity
100/100 · 10% wt
arms imports: 0total value usd: $0conflict amplified: yes
Economic Health
— · 20% wt
gdp growth pct: —inflation pct: —unemployment pct: —
Market Stress
50/100 · 10% wt
total signals 30d: 0negative signals 30d: 0
Sanctions Exposure
100/100 · 10% wt
sanctioned entities: 0is sanctioning power: no
Humanitarian Proxy
— · 10% wt
life expectancy: —literacy rate: —
Risk matrix5 enterprise-decision dimensions · derived from the 7 stability pillars · higher = more risk
Political
——
Security
39Moderate
Economic
50Elevated
Regulatory
0Stable
Operational
39Moderate
Risk dimensions are derived from the 7 stability pillars. Higher score = more risk (inverted from the stability score, where higher = healthier). Operational is a weighted composite intended for enterprise-decision use.
Open the 90-day operational risk view →
Peer comparisonSame-region countries by stability score · this country highlighted
Peer comparison · Africa
Rank 11 of 56
01Republic of the Sudan
37.1
02Federal Republic of Nigeria
41.8
03Republic of South Sudan
44.8
04Federal Republic of Somalia
45.3
05Arab Republic of Egypt
48.4
06State of Libya
53.7
07Republic of South Africa
58.4
08Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
59.9
11Western Sahara· this country
64.8
EconomyWorld Bank · 10-year series · 0 indicators
World Bank hasn’t published 10-year indicators for Western Sahara in our corpus yet. Data will populate on the next daily refresh.
Security1 recent events · 3 conflicts · 0 transfers
Event volume · 90 days
1
Casualties (killed) · 90 days
0
High-severity events
2026-08-12
SEV 6
Sahrawi-Morocco Tension
Diplomatic Tension
Active conflicts involving Western Sahara
Iran war
Civil War · 382865 dispatches
Critical · 100
West Asia conflict
War · 27797 dispatches
Critical · 100
Western Sahara conflict
Civil War · 3659 dispatches
Critical · 100
Latest dispatches10 in country corpus · sources come online as coverage grows
International Relations

World Summit of Indigenous Peoples reaffirms solidarity with Sahrawi people and its just cause - وكالة الأنباء الصحراوية

The World Summit of Indigenous Peoples reaffirms solidarity with the Sahrawi people and their cause.

وكالة الأنباء الصحراويةWestern Sahara
International Relations
Riccardo Fabiani - E-International Relations
E-International Relations
International Relations
Sahrawi diplomacy: Continued advocacy for Sahrawi people’s right to freedom and independence - وكالة الأنباء الصحراوية
وكالة الأنباء الصحراوية
International Relations
Expansion | Colombia annuls recognition of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and freezes its ties
Demócrata
Geopolitical Conflict
US lawmakers seek terrorist designation for Polisario Front
Harici
The Sahara Desert was once filled with rivers, giant lakes and hippos. Scientists explain why it turns green every 20,000 years
Times of India
Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns visit of French ambassador to occupied El Aaiun - وكالة الأنباء الصحراوية
وكالة الأنباء الصحراوية
Sahrawi Minister of Foreign and African Affairs received by the president of Botswana - وكالة الأنباء الصحراوية
وكالة الأنباء الصحراوية
Sahrawi Minister of Foreign Affairs and African Affairs received by Angola’s Secretary of State for Foreign Relations - وكالة الأنباء الصحراوية
وكالة الأنباء الصحراوية
How the Western Sahara’s long-frozen conflict thawed
The Arab Weekly
Forward calendar · relatedUpcoming scheduled events · co-mentioned countries · conflicts · recent reports
Related
+Methodology · how this profile is built

This profile draws from four data tiers. Baseline facts (geography, languages, religion) are from the CIA World Factbook snapshot of January 2026 — the final snapshot before the website was retired. Economic indicators refresh daily from the World Bank. Events, conflicts, dispatches, and entity mentions flow continuously from our continuous intelligence graph — sources come online as we add them. Intelligence briefs are generated daily under ICD 203 analytic-tradecraft standards.

Coverage of Western Sahara will sharpen as we add local-language sources. Every field above carries a provenance chip so you can judge freshness for yourself.