🇪🇭 Western Sahara Population 2026

As of 2026, the population of Western Sahara is 610,813, ranking #172 in the world (0.01% of the global population), based on UN World Population Prospects 2024. The population is growing at 1.58% per year. The biggest city is Laayoune with 196,331 inhabitants.

Live estimate

610,979

Growth rate

1.58%

Density

people / km² (6 / mi²)

Median age

32.8

Fertility rate

2.13

births per woman

Life expectancy

72.0

years

Western Sahara population 1950–2100

Population of Western Sahara, 1950–2100 — solid: UN estimates, dashed: UN medium-variant projection.

By 2050, the population of Western Sahara is projected to reach 777,316, and 831,294 by 2100. The population is expected to peak in 2089 at 836,624, then decline.

Western Sahara population by year

Year	Population	Growth	Density /km²	Median age
2026	610,813	1.58%	2.3	32.8
2025	600,904	1.69%	2.3	32.6
2024	590,506	1.80%	2.2	32.3
2023	579,729	1.88%	2.2	32.0
2022	568,738	1.95%	2.1	31.7
2021	558,619	1.64%	2.1	31.3
2020	549,365	1.70%	2.1	30.9
2019	538,440	2.32%	2.0	30.6
2018	525,782	2.44%	2.0	30.2
2017	512,843	2.55%	1.9	29.8
2016	499,651	2.67%	1.9	29.4
2015	486,222	2.79%	1.8	29.0
2014	472,579	2.91%	1.8	28.6
2013	457,424	3.62%	1.7	28.2
2012	441,031	3.68%	1.7	27.8
2011	425,087	3.69%	1.6	27.4
2010	409,716	3.68%	1.5	26.9
2009	394,957	3.66%	1.5	26.4
2008	380,822	3.63%	1.4	26.0
2007	366,861	3.84%	1.4	25.5
2006	352,647	4.07%	1.3	25.0
2005	338,699	4.00%	1.3	24.4
2004	325,190	4.14%	1.2	23.9
2003	311,784	4.28%	1.2	23.4
2002	298,464	4.45%	1.1	22.8
2001	285,188	4.65%	1.1	22.3
2000	271,943	4.86%	1.0	21.8
1999	258,969	4.91%	1.0	21.2
1998	246,304	5.12%	0.9	20.7
1997	233,773	5.33%	0.9	20.1
1996	221,387	5.57%	0.8	19.4
1995	209,924	5.05%	0.8	18.7
1994	201,918	2.68%	0.8	18.4
1993	196,474	2.79%	0.7	18.5
1992	190,938	2.93%	0.7	18.6
1991	185,300	3.07%	0.7	18.7
1990	179,544	3.25%	0.7	18.9
1989	173,923	3.11%	0.7	19.1
1988	168,408	3.33%	0.6	19.4
1987	162,878	3.34%	0.6	19.8
1986	157,364	3.55%	0.6	20.2
1985	151,760	3.71%	0.6	20.6
1984	146,150	3.83%	0.5	20.9
1983	140,584	3.94%	0.5	21.2
1982	134,481	4.96%	0.5	21.3
1981	126,896	6.70%	0.5	21.3
1980	117,374	8.99%	0.4	21.2
1979	104,982	13.59%	0.4	20.6
1978	90,890	15.36%	0.3	19.5
1977	77,388	16.93%	0.3	17.7
1976	64,489	19.81%	0.2	16.5
1975	66,890	-26.36%	0.3	16.7
1974	76,478	-2.15%	0.3	16.6
1973	77,646	-0.89%	0.3	16.8
1972	78,250	-0.66%	0.3	17.4
1971	78,720	-0.55%	0.3	18.1
1970	71,728	20.16%	0.3	20.3
1969	61,644	9.34%	0.2	22.6
1968	55,984	9.95%	0.2	22.5
1967	50,624	10.19%	0.2	22.3
1966	46,521	6.57%	0.2	22.3
1965	43,532	6.72%	0.2	22.4
1964	40,658	6.95%	0.2	22.5
1963	37,896	7.13%	0.1	22.6
1962	35,253	7.33%	0.1	22.6
1961	32,725	7.55%	0.1	22.6
1960	30,328	7.67%	0.1	22.6
1959	28,062	7.87%	0.1	22.5
1958	25,916	8.05%	0.1	22.4
1957	23,901	8.13%	0.1	22.2
1956	22,003	8.44%	0.1	21.9
1955	20,208	8.59%	0.1	21.6
1954	18,534	8.71%	0.1	21.2
1953	16,968	8.95%	0.1	20.7
1952	15,534	8.70%	0.1	20.1
1951	14,204	9.23%	0.1	19.3
1950	12,960	9.10%	0.0	18.3

Year	Population	Growth	Density /km²	Median age
2027	620,332	1.51%	2.3	33.1
2028	629,584	1.45%	2.4	33.3
2029	638,580	1.39%	2.4	33.5
2030	647,480	1.38%	2.4	33.7
2031	656,174	1.29%	2.5	33.8
2032	664,596	1.26%	2.5	34.0
2033	672,820	1.20%	2.5	34.1
2034	680,600	1.10%	2.6	34.3
2035	688,152	1.10%	2.6	34.4
2036	695,574	1.04%	2.6	34.5
2037	702,654	0.98%	2.6	34.7
2038	709,524	0.96%	2.7	34.8
2039	716,268	0.93%	2.7	34.9
2040	722,864	0.91%	2.7	35.0
2041	729,396	0.89%	2.7	35.2
2042	735,831	0.86%	2.8	35.3
2043	741,990	0.81%	2.8	35.4
2044	747,826	0.76%	2.8	35.6
2045	753,418	0.73%	2.8	35.8
2046	758,703	0.67%	2.9	35.9
2047	763,688	0.64%	2.9	36.1
2048	768,305	0.57%	2.9	36.2
2049	772,793	0.60%	2.9	36.4
2050	777,316	0.57%	2.9	36.6
2051	781,596	0.53%	2.9	36.8
2052	785,744	0.53%	3.0	36.9
2053	789,762	0.49%	3.0	37.1
2054	793,557	0.47%	3.0	37.3
2055	797,073	0.42%	3.0	37.4
2056	800,190	0.36%	3.0	37.6
2057	803,064	0.35%	3.0	37.7
2058	805,709	0.30%	3.0	37.9
2059	807,936	0.25%	3.0	38.0
2060	809,954	0.25%	3.0	38.2
2061	812,040	0.26%	3.1	38.3
2062	814,058	0.23%	3.1	38.4
2063	815,834	0.20%	3.1	38.5
2064	817,450	0.19%	3.1	38.7
2065	819,004	0.19%	3.1	38.8
2066	820,374	0.15%	3.1	38.9
2067	821,621	0.16%	3.1	39.0
2068	822,710	0.11%	3.1	39.0
2069	823,484	0.08%	3.1	39.1
2070	824,293	0.12%	3.1	39.2
2071	825,000	0.05%	3.1	39.3
2072	825,601	0.09%	3.1	39.4
2073	826,485	0.12%	3.1	39.5
2074	827,408	0.10%	3.1	39.5
2075	828,239	0.10%	3.1	39.6
2076	829,086	0.10%	3.1	39.7
2077	829,861	0.08%	3.1	39.8
2078	830,795	0.14%	3.1	39.9
2079	831,808	0.10%	3.1	40.0
2080	832,608	0.09%	3.1	40.1
2081	833,329	0.08%	3.1	40.2
2082	834,028	0.09%	3.1	40.4
2083	834,627	0.06%	3.1	40.5
2084	835,065	0.05%	3.1	40.6
2085	835,410	0.04%	3.1	40.8
2086	835,856	0.07%	3.1	40.9
2087	836,247	0.02%	3.1	41.1
2088	836,500	0.04%	3.1	41.2
2089	836,624	-0.01%	3.1	41.3
2090	836,544	-0.01%	3.1	41.5
2091	836,415	-0.02%	3.1	41.6
2092	836,198	-0.03%	3.1	41.8
2093	835,810	-0.06%	3.1	41.9
2094	835,286	-0.07%	3.1	42.1
2095	834,712	-0.07%	3.1	42.2
2096	834,183	-0.05%	3.1	42.4
2097	833,655	-0.07%	3.1	42.5
2098	832,928	-0.10%	3.1	42.6
2099	832,124	-0.09%	3.1	42.7
2100	831,294	-0.11%	3.1	42.9

Biggest cities in Western Sahara

#	City	Region	Population
1	Laayoune	—	196,331
2	Dakhla	—	106,277
3	Boujdour	—	42,651
4	El Marsa	—	28,848

FAQ

What is the population of Western Sahara in 2026?

The population of Western Sahara is 610,813 in 2026, according to UN World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant).

What is the biggest city in Western Sahara?

Laayoune is the biggest city in Western Sahara with 196,331 inhabitants; the capital is El Aaiún.

Is the population of Western Sahara growing or shrinking?

The population of Western Sahara is growing at 1.58% per year, and is projected to peak in 2089 at 836,624.

Neighboring countries

Sources

Country data: United Nations World Population Prospects 2024, medium variant (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Retrieved 2026-07-06.
City and state data: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Retrieved 2026-07-06.

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