Laayoune

• Official Name — Laayoune • Native Name — * • Type — City • Pushpin Map — Western Sahara#Africa • Pushpin Label Position — bottom • Pushpin Caption — Location in Western Sahara • Pushpin Relief — yes • Subdivision Type — Non-self-governing territory • Subdivision Name — Western Sahara • Subdivision Type1 — Claimed by • Subdivision Name1 — Morocco Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic • Subdivision Type2 — Controlled by • Subdivision Name2 — Morocco • Subdivision Type4 — Region • Subdivision Name4 — Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra • Subdivision Type5 — Province • Subdivision Name5 — Laâyoune • Established Title — Settled • Established Date — 1934 • Established Title2 — Founded • Established Date2 — 1938 • Founder — Antonio de Oro • Leader Party — Istiqlal • Leader Title — Mayor • Leader Name — Moulay Hamdi Ould Errachid • Area Total Sq Mi — 95.68 • Area Total Km2 — 247.8 • Population Rank — 1st in the Western Sahara • Population As Of — 2024 • Population Total — 262791 • Population Density Sq Mi — auto • Population Density Km2 — auto • Time Zone — GMT • Utc Offset — +00:00 • Time Zone Dst — (Not observed) Laayoune or El Aaiún (al-ʕuyūn, The Springs) is the largest city of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, with a population of 262,791 in 2024. The city is the de jure capital of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, though it is under de facto Moroccan administration as occupied territory. 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. Laayoune is the capital of the Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra region administered by Morocco, but it is still under the supervision of MINURSO, a UN mission. The town is located south of the dry river of Saguia el-Hamra, where the old lower town built by Spanish colonists is located. The St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral was constructed during the Spanish period and is still active with a few Catholic missionaries.

Laayoune or El Aaiún are respectively the French and Spanish transliterations of one of the possible Romanized Hassaniya Arabic names for the city: Layoun, which could mean "the springs", in reference to the oases that furnish the town's water supply. The city was founded by the Spanish captain Antonio de Oro in 1938 as a small military outpost but quickly became the Spanish Sahara's administrative and political center. The location was chosen for two reasons: the presence of water and the strategic military position offered. Its placement on the banks of the Saguia el-Hamra river enabled good communication with the harbors of Tarfaya and Boujdour. Due to the discovery of vast phosphate deposits at the Bou Craa site, the city experienced a burst of economic growth during the 1940s with the phosphate industry. The town was the scene of the Zemla Intifada that occurred on June 17, 1970, culminating in a massacre with deaths ranging from 2 to 11 people and hundreds injured. After the Spanish withdrew in 1975, Laayoune, along with much of the rest of the Western Sahara, was annexed by Morocco. Since then, large numbers of Moroccans have moved to the city and now outnumber the indigenous Sahrawis, who have gradually given up their traditional nomadic lifestyles. The city has continued to develop rapidly and benefits from a desalination plant. The city's rate of urbanization continues to outpace that of Morocco, though on most indicators of human development it lags behind southern Morocco.

Laayoune has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh), moderated by the Canary Current, with an average annual temperature just over 21 °C.

A 2019 paper published in PLOS One estimated that under Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5, a "moderate" scenario of climate change where global warming reaches ~2.5-3 C-change by 2100, the climate of Laayoune in the year 2050 would most closely resemble the current climate of Alexandria. The annual temperature would increase by 1 C-change, and the temperature of the warmest month by 1.8 C-change, while the temperature of the coldest month would decrease by 0.1 C-change. According to Climate Action Tracker, the current warming trajectory appears consistent with 2.7 C-change, which closely matches RCP 4.5.

Laayoune has a population of 262,791 and is the largest city in Western Sahara.

The city is a hub for fishing and for phosphate mining in the region. In 2010, the country was negotiating a new fishing agreement with Europe over offshore fishing. left

The football club of the city is Jeunesse Massira. The club plays in the Moroccan Second Division, the second highest football league in the country. Jeunesse Massira uses Stade Sheikh Mohamed Laghdaf for training and games.

Laayoune is served by the international Hassan I Airport.

French school associated to the Alliance française was established in 2018, the city also includes a Spanish international school, Colegio Español La Paz, owned by the Spanish government.

On 18 December 2019, Comoros became the first nation to open a consulate in support of Moroccan claims to the region. In January 2020, Gabon opened also a general consulate. Later on, São Tomé and Príncipe, the Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Burundi, Eswatini, Zambia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, also opened consulates in the city.

• Illustration — Mosque of Moulay Abd el Aziz • Illustration — Spanish Cathedral of Saint Francis of Assisi • Illustration — Avenue Mekka • Illustration — One entrance of the city • Illustration — Road to El Marsa, the harbor of the city. • Illustration — Laâyoune bus station.