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Background:
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 Morocco's
long struggle for independence from France ended in 1956. The
internationalized city of Tangier was turned over to the new
country that same year. Morocco virtually annexed Western
Sahara during the late 1970s, but final resolution on the
status of the territory remains unresolved. Gradual political
reforms in the 1990s resulted in the establishment of a
bicameral legislature in 1997. Parliamentary elections were
held for the second time in September 2002 and municipal
elections were held in September 2003. |
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Location:
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Northern Africa,
bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea,
between Algeria and Western Sahara |
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Map references:
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Africa |
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Area:
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total:
446,550 sq km
land: 446,300 sq km
water: 250 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly larger
than California |
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Land boundaries:
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total:
2,017.9 km
border countries: Algeria 1,559 km, Western Sahara 443
km, Spain (Ceuta) 6.3 km, Spain (Melilla) 9.6 km |
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Coastline:
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1,835 km |
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Climate:
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Mediterranean,
becoming more extreme in the interior |
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Terrain:
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northern coast
and interior are mountainous with large areas of bordering
plateaus, intermontane valleys, and rich coastal plains |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Sebkha Tah -55 m
highest point: Jbel Toubkal 4,165 m |
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Natural resources:
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phosphates, iron
ore, manganese, lead, zinc, fish, salt |
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Land use:
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arable land:
20.12%
permanent crops: 2.05%
other: 77.83% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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12,910 sq km
(1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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northern
mountains geologically unstable and subject to earthquakes;
periodic droughts |
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Environment - current issues:
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land
degradation/desertification (soil erosion resulting from
farming of marginal areas, overgrazing, destruction of
vegetation); water supplies contaminated by raw sewage;
siltation of reservoirs; oil pollution of coastal waters |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine
Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands,
Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification,
Law of the Sea |
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Geography - note:
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strategic
location along Strait of Gibraltar |
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Population:
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32,209,101 (July
2004 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years:
32.6% (male 5,355,388; female 5,156,762)
15-64 years: 62.5% (male 10,013,466; female 10,112,060)
65 years and over: 4.9% (male 692,465; female 878,960)
(2004 est.) |
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Median age:
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total:
23.3 years
male: 22.8 years
female: 23.8 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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1.61% (2004 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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22.79
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate:
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5.71 deaths/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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-0.98 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
43.25 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 39.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 47.09 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 70.35 years
male: 68.06 years
female: 72.74 years (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.1% (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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13,000 (2001
est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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NA |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Moroccan(s)
adjective: Moroccan |
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Ethnic groups:
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Arab-Berber
99.1%, other 0.7%, Jewish 0.2% |
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Religions:
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Muslim 98.7%,
Christian 1.1%, Jewish 0.2% |
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Languages:
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Arabic
(official), Berber dialects, French often the language of
business, government, and diplomacy |
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Literacy:
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definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 51.7%
male: 64.1%
female: 39.4% (2003 est.) |
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: Kingdom of Morocco
conventional short form: Morocco
local short form: Al Maghrib
local long form: Al Mamlakah al Maghribiyah |
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Government type:
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constitutional
monarchy |
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Capital:
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Rabat |
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Administrative divisions:
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37 provinces and
2 wilayas*; Agadir, Al Hoceima, Azilal, Beni Mellal, Ben
Slimane, Boulemane, Casablanca*, Chaouen, El Jadida, El Kelaa
des Sraghna, Er Rachidia, Essaouira, Fes, Figuig, Guelmim,
Ifrane, Kenitra, Khemisset, Khenifra, Khouribga, Laayoune,
Larache, Marrakech, Meknes, Nador, Ouarzazate, Oujda,
Rabat-Sale*, Safi, Settat, Sidi Kacem, Tanger, Tan-Tan,
Taounate, Taroudannt, Tata, Taza, Tetouan, Tiznit; three
additional provinces of Ad Dakhla (Oued Eddahab), Boujdour,
and Es Smara as well as parts of Tan-Tan and Laayoune fall
within Moroccan-claimed Western Sahara
note: as part of a 1997 decentralization/regionalization
law passed by the legislature 16 new regions (provided below)
were created although full details and scope of the
reorganization are limited: Casablanca, Chaouia-Ourdigha,
Doukkala-Abda, Fes-Boulmane, Gharb-Chrarda-Beni Hssen, Guelmim-Es
Smara, Laayoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra, Marrakech-Tensift-El
Haouz, Meknes-Tafilalet, Oriental, Oued Eddahab-Lagouira,
Rabat-Sale-Zemmour-Zaer, Souss-Massa-Draa, Tadla-Azilal,
Tangier-Tetouan, Taza-Al Hoceima-Taounate |
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Independence:
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2 March 1956
(from France) |
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National holiday:
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Throne Day
(accession of King MOHAMED VI to the throne), 30 July (1999) |
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Constitution:
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10 March 1972,
revised 4 September 1992, amended (to create bicameral
legislature) September 1996 |
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Legal system:
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based on Islamic
law and French and Spanish civil law system; judicial review
of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of Supreme Court |
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Executive branch:
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chief of
state: King MOHAMED VI (since 30 July 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Driss JETTOU (since
9 October 2002)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime
minister appointed by the monarch following legislative
elections |
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Legislative branch:
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bicameral
Parliament consists of an upper house or Chamber of Counselors
(270 seats; members elected indirectly by local councils,
professional organizations, and labor syndicates for nine-year
terms; one-third of the members are renewed every three years)
and a lower house or Chamber of Representatives (325 seats;
295 by multi-seat constituencies and 30 from national lists of
women; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Counselors - last held 6 October
2003 (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Representatives -
last held 27 September 2002 (next to be held NA 2007)
election results: Chamber of Counselors - percent of
vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RNI 42, MDS 33, UC 28,
MP 27, PND 21, PI 21, USFP 16, MNP 15, PA 13, FFD 12, other
42; Chamber of Representatives - percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - USFP 50, PI 48, PJD 42, RNI 41, MP 27,
MNP 18, UC 16, PND 12, PPS 11, UD 10, other 50 |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court
(judges are appointed on the recommendation of the Supreme
Council of the Judiciary, presided over by the monarch) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Action Party or
PA [Muhammad EL IDRISSI]; Alliance of Liberties or ADL [Ali
BELHAJ]; Annahj Addimocrati or Annahj [Abdellah EL HARIF];
Avant Garde Social Democratic Party or PADS [Ahmed BENJELLOUN];
Citizen Forces or FC [Abderrahman LAHJOUJI]; Citizen's
Initiatives for Development [Mohamed BENHAMOU]; Constitutional
Union or UC [Mohamed ABIED (interim)]; Democratic and
Independence Party or PDI [Abdelwahed MAACH]; Democratic and
Social Movement or MDS [Mahmoud ARCHANE]; Democratic Socialist
Party or PSD [Aissa OUARDIGHI]; Democratic Union or UD [Bouazza
IKKEN]; Environment and Development Party or PED [Ahmed EL
ALAMI]; Front of Democratic Forces or FFD [Thami EL KHYARI];
Istiqlal Party (Independence Party) or PI [Abbas El FASSI];
Justice and Development Party (formerly the Constitutional and
Democratic Popular Movement) or PJD [Abdelkrim EL KHATIB];
Moroccan Liberal Party or PML [Mohamed ZIANE]; National
Democratic Party or PND [Abdallah KADIRI]; National Ittihadi
Congress Party or CNI [Abdelmajid BOUZOUBAA]; National Popular
Movement or MNP [Mahjoubi AHERDANE]; National Rally of
Independents or RNI [Ahmed OSMAN]; National Union of Popular
Forces or UNFP [Abdellah IBRAHIM]; Parti Al Ahd or Al Ahd [Najib
EL OUAZZANI, chairman]; Party of Progress and Socialism or PPS
[Ismail ALAOUI]; Party of Renewal and Equity or PRE [Chakir
ACHABAR]; Party of the Unified Socialist Left or GSU [Mohamed
Ben Said AIT IDDER]; Popular Movement or MP [Mohamed LAENSER];
Reform and Development Party or PRD [Abderrahmane EL KOUHEN];
Social Center Party or PSC [Lahcen MADIH]; Socialist Union of
Popular Forces or USFP [Mohammed El-YAZGHI] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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Democratic
Confederation of Labor or CDT [Noubir AMAOUI]; General Union
of Moroccan Workers or UGTM [Abderrazzak AFILAL]; Moroccan
Employers Association or CGEM [Hassan CHAMI]; National Labor
Union of Morocco or UNMT [Abdelslam MAATI]; Union of Moroccan
Workers or UMT [Mahjoub BENSEDDIK] |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Aziz MEKOUAR
consulate(s) general: New York
FAX: [1] (202) 265-0161
telephone: [1] (202) 462-7979 through 7982
chancery: 1601 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Mr. Thomas T. RILEY
embassy: 2 Avenue de Mohamed El Fassi, Rabat
mailing address: PSC 74, Box 021, APO AE 09718
telephone: [212] (37) 76 22 65
FAX: [212] (37) 76 56 61
consulate(s) general: Casablanca |
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Economy - overview:
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Morocco
faces the problems typical of developing countries -
restraining government spending, reducing constraints on
private activity and foreign trade, and achieving sustainable
economic growth. Despite structural adjustment programs
supported by the IMF, World Bank, and the Paris Club, the
dirham is only fully convertible for current account
transactions. Reforms of the financial sector are being
contemplated. Droughts depressed activity in the key
agricultural sector and contributed to a stagnant economy in
2002. Morocco reported large foreign exchange inflows from the
sale of a mobile telephone license, and partial privatization
of the state-owned telecommunications company and the state
tobacco company. Favorable rainfall in 2003 led to a growth of
6%. Formidable long-term challenges include: preparing the
economy for freer trade with the EU and US, improving
education, and attracting foreign investment to boost living
standards and job prospects for Morocco's youth. |
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GDP:
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purchasing
power parity - $128.3 billion (2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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6%
(2003 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing
power parity - $4,000 (2003 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture:
15%
industry: 33%
services: 52% (2000 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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19%
(1999 est.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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3.6%
(2002 est.) |
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Labor force:
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11
million (1999) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture
40%, services 45%, industry 15% (2003 est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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19%
(2003 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues:
$13.8 billion
expenditures: $14 billion, including capital
expenditures of $2.1 billion (2004 est.) |
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Industries:
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phosphate
rock mining and processing, food processing, leather goods,
textiles, construction, tourism |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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NA |
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Electricity - production:
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13.35
billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil
fuel: 95.4%
hydro: 4.6%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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14.61
billion kWh (2001) |
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Oil - production:
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400
bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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167,000
bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - production:
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50
million cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - consumption:
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50
million cu m (2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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barley,
wheat, citrus, wine, vegetables, olives; livestock |
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Exports:
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$8.466
billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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clothing,
fish, inorganic chemicals, transistors, crude minerals,
fertilizers (including phosphates), petroleum products,
fruits, vegetables |
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Exports - partners:
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France
25.9%, Spain 14%, UK 7.8%, Germany 5.7%, Italy 5.5%, US 4.7%
(2002) |
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Imports:
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$12.75
billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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crude
petroleum, textile fabric, telecommunications equipment,
wheat, gas and electricity, transistors, plastics |
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Imports - partners:
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France
21.1%, Spain 12.7%, Italy 6.4%, Germany 5.6%, US 4.6%, UK
4.1%, Saudi Arabia 4.1% (2002) |
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Debt - external:
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$17.1
billion (2003 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$565.6
million (1995) |
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Currency:
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Moroccan
dirham (MAD) |
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Currency code:
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MAD |
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Exchange rates:
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Moroccan
dirhams per US dollar - 9.57 (2003), 11.02 (2002), 11.3
(2001), 10.63 (2000), 9.8 (1999) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar
year |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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1,127,400 (2002) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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6,198,700 (2002) |
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Telephone system:
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general
assessment: modern system with all important capabilities;
however, density is low with only 4.6 main lines available for
each 100 persons
domestic: good system composed of open-wire lines,
cables, and microwave radio relay links; Internet available
but expensive; principal switching centers are Casablanca and
Rabat; national network nearly 100% digital using fiber-optic
links; improved rural service employs microwave radio relay
international: country code - 212; 7 submarine cables;
satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1
Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Gibraltar, Spain, and
Western Sahara; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to
Algeria; participant in Medarabtel; fiber-optic cable link
from Agadir to Algeria and Tunisia (1998) |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 27, FM 25,
shortwave 6 (1998) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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35 (plus 66
repeaters) (1995) |
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Internet country code:
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.ma |
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Internet hosts:
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2,680 (2002) |
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Internet users:
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700,000 (2002) |
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Railways:
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total:
1,907 km
standard gauge: 1,907 km 1.435-m gauge (1,003 km
electrified) (2002) |
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Highways:
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total:
57,707 km
paved: 32,547 km (including 481 km of expressways)
unpaved: 25,160 km (2000) |
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Waterways:
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none |
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Pipelines:
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gas 695 km; oil
285 km (2003) |
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Ports and harbors:
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Agadir, El Jadida,
Casablanca, El Jorf Lasfar, Kenitra, Mohammedia, Nador, Rabat,
Safi, Tangier; also Spanish-controlled Ceuta and Melilla |
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Merchant marine:
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total: 35
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 236,131 GRT/252,367 DWT
by type: cargo 8, chemical tanker 7, container 7,
petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 5,
short-sea/passenger 2
foreign-owned: France 1, Germany 2, Greece 1, Hong Kong
1, Netherlands 2, Norway 2, United Kingdom 1 (2003 est.) |
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Airports:
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64 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 25
over 3,047 m: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 39
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 11
under 914 m: 11 (2003 est.)
914 to 1,523 m: 15 |
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Heliports:
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1 (2003 est.) |
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Military branches:
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Royal Armed
Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force |
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Military manpower - military age:
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18 years of age
(2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - availability:
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males age
15-49: 8,788,971 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service:
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males age
15-49: 5,529,267 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
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males:
352,711 (2004 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$2,297.2 million
(2003) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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4.8% (2003) |
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Disputes - international:
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claims and
administers Western Sahara whose sovereignty remains
unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect
since September 1991, but attempts to hold a referendum have
failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered
proposals; Polisario, Algeria, and European supporters agree
to the latest US-brokered UN proposals for limited temporary
autonomy for 4-5 years followed by a referendum on
independence, but Morocco's final response is pending; Morocco
protests Spain's control over the coastal enclaves of Ceuta,
Melilla, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera, the islands of Penon
de Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, and surrounding waters;
Morocco also rejected Spain's unilateral designation of a
median line from the Canary Islands in 2002 to set limits to
undersea resource exploration and refugee interdiction, but
agreed in 2003 to discuss a comprehensive maritime
delimitation; Morocco serves as the primary launching area of
illegal migration into Spain from North Africa |
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Illicit drugs:
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illicit producer
of hashish; trafficking increasing for both domestic and
international drug markets; shipments of hashish mostly
directed to Western Europe; transit point for cocaine from
South America destined for Western Europe |
This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004
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