Total area: 102,703 sq mi (266,001 sq km)

Population (2013 est.): 554,795 (growth rate: 2.89); birth rate: 30.71; infant mortality rate: 56.09; life expectancy: 62.27; density per sq mi: 5

Located in northern Africa on the Atlantic Ocean, Western Sahara is surrounded by Algeria to the east, Morocco to the north, and Mauritania to the south. About the size of Colorado, it is mostly low, flat desert with some small mountains in the south and northeast.