Western Sahara in other languages: Sahara Occidental and El Aaiun
Western Sahara is listed in ISO 3166-1 under the codes EH, ESH and 732; in Arabic it is الصحراء الغربية (aṣ-Ṣaḥrāʾ al-Ġarbīya) and in Spanish Sáhara Occidental. The lists below give the name in 147 languages and the town of El Aaiun in 56.
Checked
- alpha-2
- EH
- alpha-3
- ESH
- numeric
- 732
- English
- Western Sahara
ISO 3166-1, checked 28 October 2026
Western Sahara in other languages: list of exonyms
| Languages | ISO 639-3 | Name | Romanised |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | eng | Western Sahara | same as written |
| Asturian, Spanish | ast / spa | Sáhara Occidental, Sahara Occidental | same as written |
| German, Low German | deu / nds | Westsahara | same as written |
| Croatian, Upper Sorbian | hrv / hsb | Zapadna Sahara | same as written |
| Afrikaans | afr | Wes-Sahara | same as written |
| Aragonese | arg | Sajara Ozidental, Sahara Ozidental | same as written |
| Azerbaijani | aze | Qərbi Səhra / Гәрби Сәһра | Qərbi Səhra |
| Bosnian | bos | Zapadna Sahara / Западна Сахара / زاپادنا ساحارا | Zapadna Sahara |
| Breton | bre | Sahara ar C’hornôg | same as written |
| Catalan | cat | Sàhara Occidental | same as written |
| Czech | ces | Západní Sahara | same as written |
| Cornish | cor | Sahara West | same as written |
| Crimean Tatar | crh | Ğarbiy Sahara / Гъарбий Сахара | Ğarbiy Sahara |
| Welsh | cym | Gorllewin Sahara | same as written |
| Danish | dan | Vestsahara | same as written |
| Lower Sorbian | dsb | Pódwjacorna Sahara | same as written |
| Esperanto | epo | Okcidenta Saharo | same as written |
| Estonian | est | Lääne-Sahara | same as written |
| Basque | eus | Mendebaldeko Sahara | same as written |
| Finnish | fin | Länsi-Sahara | same as written |
| Kven | fkv | Vesta-Sahara | same as written |
| French | fra | Sahara occidental | same as written |
| Franco-Provençal | frp | Sahara occidentâl | same as written |
| Gagauz | gag | Günbatısı Sahara / Гӱнбатысы Сахара | Günbatısı Sahara |
| Scottish Gaelic | gla | Sathara an Iar | same as written |
| Irish | gle | An tSahára Thiar | same as written |
| Galician | glg | Sahara Occidental | same as written |
| Manx | glv | Yn Sahara Heear | same as written |
| Hausa | hau | Hamada ta Yamma, Sahara ta Yamma | same as written |
| Hungarian | hun | Nyugat-Szahara | same as written |
| Igbo | ibo | Sahara Ọdida-anyanwu | same as written |
| Indonesian | ind | Sahara Barat | same as written |
| Icelandic | isl | Vestur-Sahara | same as written |
| Italian | ita | Sahara Occidentale | same as written |
| Javanese | jav | Sahara Kulon | same as written |
| Karakalpak | kaa | Batıs Saxara / Батыс Сахара | Batıs Saxara |
| Kurmanji Kurdish | kur | Seḧra Rojava | same as written |
| Latin | lat | Sahara Occidentalis | same as written |
| Latvian | lav | Rietumsahāra | same as written |
| Lingala | lin | Sahara ya Limbɛ | same as written |
| Lithuanian | lit | Vakarų Sachara | same as written |
| Ladin (Val Badia) | lld | Sahara Ozidental | same as written |
| Ladin (Gherdëina) | lld | Sahara Uzidentel | same as written |
| Malagasy | mlg | Sahara Andrefana | same as written |
| Maltese | mlt | Saħara tal-Punent | same as written |
| Moldovan | mol | Sahara Occidentală / Сахара Окчиденталэ | Sahara Occidentală |
| Malay | msa | Sahara Barat / صحراٴ بارت | Sahara Barat |
| Dutch | nld | Westelijke Sahara | same as written |
| Norwegian | nor | Vest-Sahara | same as written |
| Novial | nov | Westi Sahara | same as written |
| Polish | pol | Sahara Zachodnia | same as written |
| Portuguese | por | Sara Ocidental, Saara Ocidental, Sahara Ocidental | same as written |
| Quechua | que | Kunti Sahara | same as written |
| Kalderash Romani | rmy | Okčidentalutni Sahara / ओक्चिदेन्तालुत्नी साहारा | Okčidentalutni Sahara |
| Romansh | roh | Sahara occidentala | same as written |
| Romanian | ron | Sahara Occidentală | same as written |
| Sicilian | scn | Sahara Uccidintali | same as written |
| Slovak | slk | Západná Sahara | same as written |
| Slovio | slo | Zapadju Sahara / Западйу Сахара | Zapadju Sahara |
| Slovenian | slv | Zahodna Sahara | same as written |
| Somali | som | Saxaraha Galbeed | same as written |
| Southern Sotho | sot | Sahara Bophirimela | same as written |
| Albanian | sqi | Saharaja Perëndimore | same as written |
| Sardinian | srd | Sahara Otzidentale | same as written |
| Saterland Frisian | stq | Wäästsahara | same as written |
| Swedish | swe | Västsahara | same as written |
| Silesian | szl | Sahara Zachodńo | same as written |
| Tagalog | tgl | Kanlurang Sahara | same as written |
| Turkmen | tuk | Günbatar Sahara / Гүнбатар Сахара | Günbatar Sahara |
| Turkish | tur | Batı Sahra | same as written |
| Uzbek | uzb | Gʻarbiy Sahro / Ғарбий Саҳро / غەربىي سەھرا | Gʻarbiy Sahro |
| Vietnamese | vie | Tây Xa-ha-ra | same as written |
| Volapük | vol | Vesüda-Saharän | same as written |
| Walloon | wln | Sara Coûtchantrece | same as written |
| Wolof | wol | Sahara gu Sowwu | same as written |
| Yoruba | yor | Apáìwò̩oòrùn Sahara | same as written |
| Zazaki | zza | Sehra Rocawani | same as written |
| Abaza, Bulgarian | abq / bul | Западна Сахара | Zapadna Saȟara |
| Abkhaz | abk | Амраҭашәаратәи Саҳара | Amraṭašwaratwi Saḥara |
| Altai | alt | Кӱнбадыш Сахара | Künbadyš Saȟara |
| Avar | ava | Бакътӏерхьул Сахӏара | Baq̇ṭerḣul Saḥara |
| Bashkir | bak | Көнбайыш Сахара / Könbayış Saxara | Könbayış Saxara |
| Belarusian | bel | Заходняя Сахара / Zachodniaja Sachara | Zachodniaja Sachara |
| Chechen | che | Малхбузи Сахара / Malxbuzi Saxara | Malxbuzi Saxara |
| Chuvash | chv | Анӑҫ Сахара | Anăś Saȟara |
| Kazakh | kaz | Батыс Сахара / باتىس ساحارا / Batıs Saxara | Batıs Saxara |
| Kabardian | kbd | Къуэхьапӏэ Сахарэ | Quăḥaṗă Saȟară |
| Kyrgyz | kir | Батыш Сахара / باتىش ساحارا / Batış Sahara | Batış Sahara |
| Khakas | kjh | Западнай Сахара | Zapadnaj Saȟara |
| Kurdish (Caucasus) | kmr | Сәһра Мәг’рәбе / Sehra Meẍrebê, Сәһра Мәг’риб / Sehra Meẍrîb, Сәһра Р’оава / Sehra Ṟoava, Сәһра Р’ожава / Sehra Ṟojava, Сахара Мәг’рәбе / Saxara Meẍrebê, Сахара Мәг’риб / Saxara Meẍrîb, Сахара Р’оава / Saxara Ṟoava, Сахара Р’ожава / Saxara Ṟojava | Sehra Meẍrebê, Sehra Meẍrîb, Sehra Ṟoava, Sehra Ṟojava, Saxara Meẍrebê, Saxara Meẍrîb, Saxara Ṟoava, Saxara Ṟojava |
| Komi | kom | Рытыввыв Сахара | Rytyvvyv Saȟara |
| Karachay-Balkar | krc | Кюнбатыш Сахара | Künbatyš Saȟara |
| Kumyk | kum | Гюнбатыш Сахара | Günbatyš Saȟara |
| Lezgi | lez | Рагъакӏидайпатан Сахара | Raġaḳidajpatan Saȟara |
| Meadow Mari | mhr | Касвел Сахара | Kasvel Saȟara |
| Macedonian | mkd | Западна Сахара | Zapadna Sahara |
| Mongolian | mon | Баруун Сахар | Baruun Saȟar |
| Ossetian | oss | Ныгуылӕн Сахарӕ | Nyguylän Saȟarä |
| Rusyn | rue | Западна Сагара | Zapadna Sahara |
| Russian | rus | Западная Сахара | Zapadnaja Saȟara |
| Yakut | sah | Арҕаа Саһаара | Arġaa Sahaara |
| Serbian | srp | Западна Сахара / Zapadna Sahara | Zapadna Sahara |
| Tatar | tat | Көнбатыш Сахра / Könbatış Saxra / كۆنباتىش ساخرا | Könbatış Saxra |
| Tajik | tgk | Саҳрои Ғарбӣ / صحرای غربی / Sahroji Ƣarbī | Sahroji Ƣarbī |
| Tuvan | tyv | Барыын Сахара | Baryyn Saȟara |
| Udmurt | udm | Ӝытпал Сахара | Džytpal Saȟara |
| Ukrainian | ukr | Західна Сахара | Zaȟidna Saȟara |
| Arabic | ara | الصحراء الغربية | aṣ-Ṣaḥrāʾu l-Ġarbīyâ |
| South Azerbaijani | azb | قربی صحرا / Qərbi Səhra | Qərbi Səhra |
| Sorani Kurdish | ckb | سەحرای ڕۆژئاوا / Seḧray Ṟojawa | Seḧray Ṟojawa |
| Persian | fas | صحرای غربی / Sahrâye Qarbi, صحرای خاوری / Sahrâye Xâvari | Sahrâye Qarbi, Sahrâye Xâvari |
| Western Punjabi | pnb | ویسٹرن سہارا | Vesṫarn Sahārā |
| Dari | prs | صحرای غربی | Ṣaḥrā-ye Ġarbī |
| Pashto | pus | لويديځه صحرا | Lōydīźâ Ṣaḥrā |
| Uyghur | uig | غەربىي ساھارا / Gherbiy Sahara / Ғәрбий Саһара | Gherbiy Sahara |
| Urdu | urd | مغربی صحارا | Maġribī Ṣaḥārā |
| Dhivehi | div | ހުޅަނގު ސަހަރާ | Huḷaṅgu Saharā |
| Hebrew | heb | מערב סהרה, סהרה המערבית, מערב סחרה, סחרה המערבית | Maʿaraṿ Saharah, Saharah ha-Maʿaraṿīt, Maʿaraṿ Saḥrah, Saḥrah ha-Maʿaraṿīt |
| Ladino | lad | סאהארה אוקסידינטאל / Sahara Oksidental | Sahara Oksidental |
| Yiddish | yid | מערבֿ סאַהאַראַ | Meyreṿ Sahara |
| Kabyle | kab | ⵚⵚⴰⵃⵔⴰ ⵜⵓⵜⵔⵉⵎⵜ / Ṣṣaḥra Tutrimt | Ṣṣaḥra Tutrimt |
| Amharic | amh | ምዕራብ ሰሃራ | Məʿrab Sähara |
| Greek (Demotic) | ell | Δυτική Σαχάρα | Dytikī́ Saȟára |
| Greek (Katharevousa) | ell | Δυτικὴ Σαχάρα | Dytikī̀ Saȟára |
| Armenian | hye | Արևմտյան Սահարա | Arevmtyan Sahara |
| Georgian | kat | დასავლეთი საჰარა | Dasavleṭi Sahara |
| Laz | lzz | გულვა სახრა / Gulva Saxra | Gulva Saxra |
| Mingrelian | xmf | ბჟადაალ საჰარა | Bžadaal Sahara |
| Hindi | hin | पश्चिमी सहारा | Paščimī Sahārā |
| Bengali | ben | পশ্চিম সাহারা | Pôščim Sāhārā |
| Gujarati | guj | પશ્ચિમી સહારા | Paščimī Sahārā |
| Odia | ori | ପଶ୍ଚିମୀ ସାହାରା | Pôščimī Sāhārā |
| Punjabi | pan | ਦੱਖਣੀ ਸਹਾਰਾ | Dakʰkʰaṇī Sahārā |
| Sinhala | sin | බටහිර සහරාව | Baṭahira Saharāva |
| Kannada | kan | ಪಶ್ಚಿಮ ಸಹಾರ | Paščima Sahāra |
| Malayalam | mal | പശ്ചിമ സഹാറ, വെസ്റ്റേൺ സഹാറ | Paščima Sahāṟa, Vesṟṟēṇ Sahāṟa |
| Tamil | tam | மேற்கு சஹாரா | Mēṛku Cahārā |
| Chinese | zho | 西撒哈拉 | Xī Sāhālā |
| Japanese | jpn | 西サハラ | Nishi Sahara |
| Korean | kor | 서사하라 | Seo Sahara |
| Tibetan | bod | ནུབ་སར་ཧ་ལ། | Nub. Sar.ha.la |
| Burmese | mya | အနောက်စဟားရား | Ánouʿ Sáhàẏà |
| Thai | tha | ซาฮาราตะวันตก, เวสเทิร์นสะฮารา | Sāhārā Tawântok, Wēttʰə̄[r]n Sahārā |
| Khmer | khm | សាហារ៉ាខាងលិច | Sāhārā Kʰāṅlič |
West and Sahara: how the languages build the name
Nearly every language forms the name from two parts, a word for west and the name of the desert, and the only question is the order. Germanic languages join them into one word: German Westsahara, Swedish Västsahara, Danish Vestsahara. The Romance languages put the adjective after the noun, as in Spanish Sáhara Occidental, French Sahara occidental, Italian Sahara Occidentale and Latin Sahara Occidentalis, and Polish follows them with Sahara Zachodnia. Russian Западная Сахара (Zapadnaja Saȟara), Hindi पश्चिमी सहारा (Paščimī Sahārā) and Japanese 西サハラ (Nishi Sahara) put west first.
Arabic writes الصحراء الغربية (aṣ-Ṣaḥrāʾ al-Ġarbīya), with the article on both words, and Persian and Dari say صحرای غربی. The spelling of the desert itself varies more than the word for west: Portuguese lists Sara, Saara and Sahara, Turkish Sahra, Uzbek Sahro, Hungarian Szahara and Lithuanian Sachara. Spanish writes Sáhara with an accent and gives the plain Sahara beside it.
The largest town, العيون (al-ʿUyūn) in Arabic, has three spellings that most other forms follow: Spanish El Aaiún, French Laâyoune and the English El Aaiun, written without the accent.
El Aaiun (al-ʿUyūn, Laâyoune) in other languages
| Languages | ISO 639-3 | Name | Romanised |
|---|---|---|---|
| English, Irish | eng / gle | El Aaiun | same as written |
| German, Luxembourgish, Low German | deu / ltz / nds | El Aajun | same as written |
| Asturian, Spanish | ast / spa | El Aaiún | same as written |
| Aragonese | arg | L’Aaiún | same as written |
| Azerbaijani | aze | Əl-Əyun / Әл-Әјун | Əl-Əyun |
| Bosnian | bos | El Aaiún / Ел Ајун / ئەل آيۆن | El Aaiún |
| Catalan | cat | Al-Aaiun | same as written |
| Esperanto | epo | Ajuno | same as written |
| French | fra | Laâyoune | same as written |
| Galician | glg | O Aiún | same as written |
| Kurmanji Kurdish | kur | El-Eyûn | same as written |
| Latvian | lav | Ajūna | same as written |
| Lithuanian | lit | Ajūnas | same as written |
| Moldovan | mol | El Aaiún / Ел-Аюн | El Aaiún |
| Malay | msa | El Aaiun / العيون | El Aaiun |
| Polish | pol | Al-Ujun | same as written |
| Swedish | swe | Al-Ayun | same as written |
| Turkmen | tuk | El-Aýun / Эль-Аюн | El-Aýun |
| Uzbek | uzb | El-Ayun / Эль-Аюн / ئېل-ئەيۇن | El-Ayun |
| Bashkir | bak | Эль-Аюн / El-Ayun | El-Ayun |
| Belarusian | bel | Эль-Аюн / El-Ajun | El-Ajun |
| Bulgarian | bul | Аюн | Ajun |
| Kazakh | kaz | Әл-Аюн / ءال-ايۋن / Äl-Aywn | Äl-Aywn |
| Kyrgyz | kir | Эль-Аюн / ەل-ايۇن / El-Ayun | El-Ayun |
| Mongolian | mon | Эль-Аюн | Äl'-Ajun |
| Russian | rus | Эль-Аюн | Ėl'-Ajun |
| Serbian | srp | Ел Ајун / El Ajun | El Ajun |
| Tatar | tat | Эль-Аюн / El-Ayun / ئېل-ئايۇن | El-Ayun |
| Tajik | tgk | Ал-аюн / العیون / Al-ajun | Al-ajun |
| Ukrainian | ukr | Ель-Аюн | El'-Ajun |
| Arabic, Pashto | ara / pus | العيون | al-ʿUyūn |
| South Azerbaijani | azb | العيون / Əl-Əyun | Əl-Əyun |
| Persian | fas | العیون / al-Oyun | al-Oyun |
| Uyghur | uig | ئەيۇن / Eyun / Әюн | Eyun |
| Urdu | urd | العیون | al-ʿUyūn |
| Hebrew | heb | אלעיון, לעיון, עיון | Alʿayūn, Laʿyūn, ʿAyūn |
| Yiddish | yid | על אַיון | El Ayun |
| Amharic | amh | ላዩን | Layun |
| Greek (Demotic) | ell | Λααγιούν, Ελ Αϊούν | Laagioýn, El Aïoýn |
| Greek (Katharevousa) | ell | Ἀλ-Ἀαγιούν | Al-Aagioýn |
| Armenian | hye | Էլ Այուն | Êl Ayoun |
| Georgian | kat | ელ-აიუნი | El-Aiuni |
| Bengali | ben | এল আইয়ুন, আল আয়ুন | El Āiyun, Āl Āyun |
| Kannada | kan | ಎಲ್ ಆಇಯುನ್ | El Āiyun |
| Malayalam | mal | ഏൽ അയൂൻ | Ēl Ayūn |
| Telugu | tel | ఎల్ ఏయున్ | El Ēyun |
| Chinese | zho | 阿尤恩 | Āyóu'ēn |
| Japanese | jpn | ラユーン, アイウン | Rayūn, Aiun |
| Korean | kor | 엘아이운, 엘아윤 | El Aiun, El Ayun |
| Thai | tha | เอลอายูน, เอลลายูน | Ēn Āyūn, Ēnlāyūn |
| Khmer | khm | អែលអាយអុន | Æl'āy'un |
Spanish writes El Aaiún, French Laâyoune and Arabic al-ʿUyūn; most other forms follow one of these three.
Western Sahara in ISO 3166-1 and ISO 3166-2
ISO 3166-1 lists Western Sahara as an entry of its own with three codes. Its part of ISO 3166-2 contains no subdivisions.
| ISO 3166-2 | Arabic | English | Administrative centre | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ISO 3166-1 entry1 | ||||
| EH | الصحراء الغربيةaṣ-Ṣaḥrāʾ al-Ġarbīya | Western Sahara | ISO 3166-2:EH defines no subdivision codes | |
ISO 3166-1 and ISO 3166-2:EH on the ISO Online Browsing Platform, read from the English Wikipedia articles that reproduce them on 28 October 2026, including the year 1974 and the origin of the code EH. The Arabic name: the 2016 edition of this list.
Towns of Western Sahara in Arabic
| Romanised | Arabic |
|---|---|
| al-ʿUyūn | العيون |
| Daḫlâ | دخلة |
| as-Samārâ | السمارة |
| Būǧdūr | بوجدور |
| al-Marsá | المرسى |
| al-Ḥawzâ | الحوزة |
| al-Maḥbās | المحباس |
| Galtâ Zammūr | ݣلتة زمور |
| Bīr Anzarān | بير أنزران |
| Tišlâ | تشلة |
Arabic names and romanisation: the 2016 edition of this list. The order is the one the list gives.
Why the code is EH and not WS
The alpha-2 code EH does not come from the English name. ISO assigned it in 1974, when the entry was still called Spanish Sahara, and took it from the Spanish form Sahara español; WS belongs to Samoa. The alpha-3 code ESH and the numeric code 732 complete the entry.
ISO 3166-2 has a part for EH, but it lists no subdivisions, so there are no codes of the form EH-xx. The town names above are therefore given without codes, in the Arabic forms the list records.
Questions about the name Western Sahara
What are the ISO codes of Western Sahara?
EH, ESH and 732 in ISO 3166-1. ISO 3166-2:EH lists no subdivisions.
How do you write Western Sahara in Arabic?
الصحراء الغربية (aṣ-Ṣaḥrāʾ al-Ġarbīya).
Is it El Aaiun or Laâyoune?
Both. El Aaiún is the Spanish spelling, Laâyoune the French one, and al-ʿUyūn (العيون) the Arabic name; English sources use El Aaiun or Laayoune.