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Morocco facts in brief
Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.


The Kingdom of Morocco (Al Mamlakah al-Maghribiyah) is a country in northwest Africa.
It has a long coastline on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea.
Morocco has annexed Western Sahara, but this is not universally recognized.
The full Arabic name of the country translates to 'The Western Kingdom'.
Al-Maghreb (meaning The West) is commonly used in Arabic.
The name in most other languages originates from the name of the former capital, Marrakech.

Official language: Arabic
Capital: Rabat
Largest City: Casablanca
King: Mohammed VI
Prime Minister: Driss Jettou
Area - Total: 446,550 kmē
            Ranked: 56th
Population - Total: 31,689,267 (2003)
                Density: 70/kmē
                Ranked: 36th
Independence (From France): March 2, 1956
Currency: Dirham
Time zone: UTC
Internet TLD: .ma
Calling Code: 212

History
Morocco was a French protectorate from 1912, remaining a Kingdom, and achieved independence in 1956.
It then took control over Tangier, formerly an international city.
The northern area of Morocco was under a Spanish protectorate concurrently.
Morocco annexed Western Sahara in the 1970's, which had been a colony under the Spaniards since the 19th century.
Previous to that it had been an area of Moroccan influence, but this has not been recognized by many nations.
Morocco was the first nation to recognize the fledging American republic in 1777 and has the oldest non-broken friendship treaty with this country, the Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship, which has been in effect since 1783.
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were the American signatories.
The United States legation (embassy) in Tangier, now a museum, is one of the oldest official American buildings outside the US.

Politics
The King of Morocco is an active leader, although decreasingly so.
Political parties are legal and a plethora of them exist.
The Moroccan Constitution provides for a monarchy with a Parliament and an independent judiciary.
Ultimate authority rests with the King.
He presides over the Council of Ministers; appoints the Prime Minister following legislative elections; appoints all members of the government taking into account the Prime Minister's recommendations; and may, at his discretion, terminate the tenure of any minister, dissolve the Parliament, call for new elections, or rule by decree.
The King is the head of the military and the country's religious leader.
Upon the death of his father Mohammed V, King Hassan II succeeded to the throne in 1961.
He ruled Morocco for the next 38 years, until his own death in 1999.
His son, King Mohammed VI, assumed the throne in July 1999.
Since the constitutional reform of 1996, the bicameral legislature consists of a lower chamber, the Chamber of Representatives, which is directly elected and an upper chamber, the Chamber of Counselors, whose members are indirectly elected through various regional, local, and professional councils.
The councils' members themselves are elected directly.
The Parliament's powers, though limited, were expanded under the 1992 and 1996 constitutional revisions and include budgetary matters, approving bills, questioning ministers, and establishing ad hoc commissions of inquiry to investigate the government's actions.
The lower chamber of Parliament may dissolve the government through a vote of no confidence.
In March 1998, King Hassan named a coalition government headed by opposition socialist leader Abderrahmane Youssoufi and composed largely of ministers drawn from opposition parties.
Prime Minister Youssoufi's government is the first government drawn primarily from opposition parties in decades, and also represents the first opportunity for a coalition of socialist, left-of-center, and nationalist parties to be included in the government.
The highest court in the judicial structure is the Supreme Court, whose judges are appointed by the King.
The Youssoufi government continues to implement a reform program to develop greater judicial independence and impartiality.
Morocco is divided into 16 administrative regions; the regions are administered by the Walis and governors appointed by the King.

Morocco is divided into 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 · Tangier · Tan-Tan · Taounate · Taroudannt · Tata · Taza
· Tetouan · Tiznit.
Three additional provinces; 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 (listed below) were created, although the 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.

Geography
Algeria borders Morocco to the east and southeast, though the Algerian border is closed [1].
There are also four Spanish enclaves on the Mediterranean coast: Ceuta, Melilla,
Peņon Velez de la Gomera and Peñon de Alhucemas, as well as several islands including Perejil (status disputed) and Chafarinas.
Off the Atlantic coast the Canary Islands belong to Spain, whereas Madeira to the north is Portuguese.
Morocco's capitol city is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca.
Other cities include Agadir, Dakhla, Essaouira, Fes, Laayoune, Marrakech, Meknes, Oujda, Safi, Smara, Tangier, Tiznit, Salè and Tan-Tan.

Economy
Morocco faces the problems typical of developing countries - restraining government spending, reducing constraints on private activity and foreign trade, and achieving sustainable economic growth.
Since the early 1980s the government has pursued an economic program toward these objectives with the support of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Paris Club of creditors.
The country's currency, the dirham, is now fully convertible for current account transactions; reforms of the financial sector have been implemented; and state enterprises are being privatized.
Drought conditions depressed activity in the key agricultural sector, and contributed to an economic slowdown in 1999.
Formidable long-term challenges include: servicing the external debt; preparing the economy for freer trade with the EU; and improving education and attracting foreign investment to improve living standards and job prospects for Morocco's youthful population.
Macroeconomic stability coupled with relatively slow economic growth characterize the Moroccan economy over the past several years.
The present Youssoufi government has introduced a number of important economic reforms over the past several years.
Through a foreign exchange rate anchor and well-managed monetary policy, Morocco has held inflation rates to industrial country levels over the past decade.
Foreign exchange reserves are strong, with more than $7 billion in reserves at the end of 2001.
The combination of strong foreign exchange reserves and active external debt management gives Morocco the capacity to service its debt.
Current external debt stands at about $19 billion.
Economic growth, however, has been erratic and relatively slow, partially as a result of an over-reliance on the agriculture sector.
Agriculture production is extremely susceptible to rainfall levels and ranges from 13% to 20% of GDP.
Almost 50% of Morocco's population depends directly on agriculture production, droughts have a severe knock-on effect to the economy.
Over the long term, Morocco will have to diversify its economy away from agriculture to develop a more stable economic basis for growth.
The current government has introduced a series of structural reforms in recent years.
The most promising reforms have been in the liberalization of the telecommunications sector.
Morocco also has liberalized rules for oil and gas exploration and has granted concessions for many public services in major cities.
Many believe, however, that the process of economic reform must be accelerated in order to reduce urban unemployment below the current rates above 20%.
Morocco has signed a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union and the United States.

Demographics
Most Moroccans are Sunni Muslims of Arab, Berber, or mixed Arab-Berber stock.
The Arabs invaded Morocco in the 7th and 11th centuries and established their culture there.
Arabic is Morocco's official language (it is the "classical" Arabic of the Qur'an, literature and news media).
The country's distinctive Arabic dialect is the most widely spoken language in Morocco.
Many Moroccans, mostly in rural areas, speak Berber, with either Tarifit, Tashlehit, or Tamazight dialect.
French, which remains Morocco's unofficial third language, is taught universally and still serves as Morocco's primary language of commerce and economics; it also is widely used in education and government.
Many Moroccans in the northern part of the country speak Spanish.
English is rapidly becoming the foreign language of choice among educated youth.
From late 2002, English will be taught in all public schools from the fourth year on.
Most people live west of the Atlas Mountains, a range that insulates the country from the Sahara Desert.
Casablanca is the center of commerce and industry and the leading port;
Rabat is the seat of government;
Tangier is the gateway to Morocco from Spain and also a major port;
"Arab" Fez is the cultural and religious center; and "Berber" Marrakech is a major tourist center.
Education in Morocco is free and compulsory through primary school (age 15).
Nevertheless, many children - particularly girls in rural areas - still do not attend school.
The country's illiteracy rate has been stuck at around 50% for some years but reaches as high as 90% among girls in rural regions.
Morocco has about 230,000 students enrolled in 14 public universities.
The oldest and in some ways the most prestigious is Mohammed V in Rabat, with faculties of law, sciences, liberal arts, and medicine.
Karaouine University, in Fez, has been a center for Islamic studies for more than 1,000 years.
Morocco has one private university, Al-Akhawayn, in Ifrane. Al-Akhawayn, founded in 1993 by King Hassan II and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, is an English-medium, American-style university comprising about 1,000 students.

External links


This information was current & correct December 2004.


List of photo pages in my Morocco series.


Casablanca        Marrakesh or Marrakech        Morocco buses       Morocco trains



Royal Mansour Meridien Hotel, Casablanca



Rabat        Tangier


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