Case Study: The Sahara Desert - Opportunities

Geography: KS3, topic 17.1.13

Development Opportunities in the Sahara Desert

The Sahara desert is 9.2 million kilometres² and it spans north Africa. It is Earth's hottest desert and provides these economic opportunities:

Oil, coal, and natural gas are all common in the Sahara desert.
Countries have developed oil fields to harvest this oil and oil makes up 20% of Algeria's GDP and 85% of its exports to other countries.
Because of the sunlight that the Sahara desert receives, solar power is popular in North Africa. Businesses are currently trying to build an enormous solar power plant in Réjim Maâtoug, Tunisia to try to create solar power for North Africa and Europe.

Tourism is a vital part of the Egyptian economy and many tourists visit the Sahara desert at Siwa in Egypt.
Tourists can go on camel treks or go sandboarding on dunes in the Sahara desert.

The Aswan Dam is a dam built across the River Nile in Egypt.
Farming in the Sahara desert is very difficult, so water and irrigation from dams like the Aswan are vital to allow farming to happen.