western sahara (arabic: الصحراء الغربية; amazigh: tanẓṛuft tutrimt; ) is a territory in africa. to the north is morocco, to the east is algeria, to the south is mauritania, and to the west is the atlantic ocean. its surface is . it is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world. most of the territory is made of desert flatlands. the largest city is laâyoune. more than half the population live there. the territory has a population estimated at just more than 500,000.