In this post, we’ll take a look at the districts of Western Sahara as well as some basic information about each, such as population data, total area, and the capital city of each.
Daïras of Western Sahara are a subdivision of a wilaya; however, as Morocco administers much of Western Sahara, these are operational only at the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf.
Read: POLITICAL HISTORY OF WESTERN SAHARA
Wilaya of Auserd: Agüenit, Bir Guenduz, Güera, Mijec, Tichla, and Zug.
Wilaya of Dakhla: Ain Beida, Argub, Bir Enzaran, Bojador, Glaibat el Fula, Jraifia, and Umdreiga.
Wilaya of Laayoune: Amgala, Bucraa, Daora, Edchera, Guelta, and Hagunia.
Wilaya of Smara: Bir Lehlu, Ejdairia, Farsia, Hauza, Mahbes, and Tifariti.
WILAYA OF AUSERD
Aousserd, Ausert or Auserd is a small town and rural commune in Aousserd Province of the Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab region of Western Sahara, disputed between Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and under Moroccan control. The number of permanent structures in Aousserd is low, as many residents follow the traditionally nomadic Bedouin lifestyle of the Sahrawis, passing through the town only temporarily and living in tents. At the time of the 2004 census, the commune had a total population of 5832 people living in 225 households.
South of Tindouf, Algeria, there is a Sahrawi refugee camp named after Aousserd
WILAYA OF DAKHLA
Dakhla is a city in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, currently occupied by Morocco. It is the capital of the claimed Moroccan administrative region Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab. It has a population of 106,277 and is on a narrow peninsula of the Atlantic Coast, the Río de Oro Peninsula, about 550 km (340 mi) south of Laayoune.
WILAYA OF LAAYOUNE
Laâyoune is the largest city of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, with a population of 271,344 in 2023. The city is de facto under Moroccan administration. The modern city is thought to have been founded by the Spanish captain Antonio de Oro in 1938. From 1958, it became the administrative capital of the Spanish Sahara, administered by the Governor General of Spanish West Africa.
In 2023, Laâyoune is the capital of the Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra region administered by Morocco, under the supervision of the UN peacekeeping mission MINURSO.
The town is divided in two by the dry river of Saguia el-Hamra. On the south side is the old lower town, constructed by Spanish colonists. A church from that era is still active; its priests serve this city and Dakhla further south.
WILAYA OF SMARA
Smara is a city in the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara, with a population of 57,035 recorded in the 2014 Moroccan census. It is served by Smara Airport and Smara bus station.
The largest city in its province, Smara was founded in the Saguia el-Hamra as an oasis for travellers in 1869. In the center of the city the remains of a stone fortress can be found, the Zawiy Maalainin, which enclosed a mosque. The Maalainin lived there from 1830 until 1912. It was made a capital and religious center in 1902 by shaykh Ma al-‘Aynayn, in what was then Spanish Sahara.