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Morocco

This article is about the country in North Africa. For the subregion, see Maghreb. For other uses, see Morocco (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Monaco.

Kingdom of Morocco
  • المملكة المغربية (Arabic)
    al-Mamlakah al-Maghribiyah
Motto: ٱللَّٰه، ٱلْوَطَن، ٱلْمَلِك 
"Allāh, al-Waṭan, al-Malik"
"God, Country, King"[1]
Anthem: ٱلنَّشِيْد ٱلْوَطَنِي 
"an-Našīd al-Waṭanīy"
"Cherifian Anthem"
Location of Morocco in northwest Africa Dark green: Undisputed territory of Morocco Lighter green: Western Sahara, a territory claimed and occupied mostly by Morocco as its Southern Provinces[a]
Location of Morocco in northwest Africa
Dark green: Undisputed territory of Morocco
Lighter green: Western Sahara, a territory claimed and occupied mostly by Morocco as its Southern Provinces[a]
CapitalRabat
34°02′N 6°51′W / 34.033°N 6.850°W / 34.033; -6.850
Largest cityCasablanca
33°32′N 7°35′W / 33.533°N 7.583°W / 33.533; -7.583
Official languages
Spoken languages
Foreign languages
Ethnic groups
(2012)[5]
Religion
[2][6]
Demonym(s)Moroccan
GovernmentUnitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy[7]
• King
Mohammed VI
Aziz Akhannouch
LegislatureParliament
• Upper house
House of Councillors
• Lower house
House of Representatives
Establishment
788
• 'Alawi dynasty (current dynasty)
1631
30 March 1912
7 April 1956
Area
• Total
446,550 km2 (172,410 sq mi)[c] (57th)
• Water (%)
0.056 (250 km2)
Population
• 2022 estimate
37,984,655[9] (38th)
• 2014 census
33,848,242[10]
• Density
50.0/km2 (129.5/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $385.337 billion[11] (56th)
• Per capita
Increase $10,408[11] (120th)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $147.343 billion[11] (61st)
• Per capita
Increase $3,979[11] (124th)
Gini (2015)40.3[12]
medium
HDI (2022)Increase 0.698[13]
medium (120th)
CurrencyMoroccan dirham (MAD)
Time zoneUTC+1[14]
UTC+0 (during Ramadan)[15]
Driving sideright
Calling code+212
ISO 3166 codeMA
Internet TLD

Morocco,[d] officially the Kingdom of Morocco,[e] is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east, and the disputed territory of Western Sahara to the south. Morocco also claims the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, and several small Spanish-controlled islands off its coast.[16] It has a population of roughly 37 million, the official and predominant religion is Islam, and the official languages are Arabic and Berber; French and the Moroccan dialect of Arabic are also widely spoken. Moroccan identity and culture is a mix of Arab, Berber, African and European cultures. Its capital is Rabat, while its largest city is Casablanca.[17]

The region constituting Morocco has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era over 300,000 years ago. The Idrisid dynasty was established by Idris I in 788 and was subsequently ruled by a series of other independent dynasties, reaching its zenith as a regional power in the 11th and 12th centuries, under the Almoravid and Almohad dynasties, when it controlled most of the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb.[18] Centuries of Arab migration to the Maghreb since the 7th century shifted the demographic scope of the region. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Morocco faced external threats to its sovereignty, with Portugal seizing some territory and the Ottoman Empire encroaching from the east. The Marinid and Saadi dynasties otherwise resisted foreign domination, and Morocco was the only North African nation to escape Ottoman dominion. The 'Alawi dynasty, which rules the country to this day, seized power in 1631, and over the next two centuries expanded diplomatic and commercial relations with the Western world. Morocco's strategic location near the mouth of the Mediterranean drew renewed European interest; in 1912, France and Spain divided the country into respective protectorates, reserving an international zone in Tangier. Following intermittent riots and revolts against colonial rule, in 1956, Morocco regained its independence and reunified.

Since independence, Morocco has remained relatively stable. It has the fifth-largest economy in Africa and wields significant influence in both Africa and the Arab world; it is considered a middle power in global affairs and holds membership in the Arab League, the Arab Maghreb Union, the Union for the Mediterranean, and the African Union.[19] Morocco is a unitary semi-constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The executive branch is led by the King of Morocco and the prime minister, while legislative power is vested in the two chambers of parliament: the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors. Judicial power rests with the Constitutional Court, which may review the validity of laws, elections, and referendums.[20] The king holds vast executive and legislative powers, especially over the military, foreign policy and religious affairs; he can issue decrees called dahirs, which have the force of law, and can also dissolve the parliament after consulting the prime minister and the president of the constitutional court.

Morocco claims ownership of the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara, which it has designated its Southern Provinces. In 1975, after Spain agreed to decolonise the territory and cede its control to Morocco and Mauritania, a guerrilla war broke out between those powers and some of the local inhabitants. In 1979, Mauritania relinquished its claim to the area, but the war continued to rage. In 1991, a ceasefire agreement was reached, but the issue of sovereignty remained unresolved. Today, Morocco occupies two-thirds of the territory, and efforts to resolve the dispute have thus far failed to break the political deadlock.

  1. ^ "Constitution of Morocco". Constitute. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Morocco". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 12 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Présentation du Maroc" (in French). Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères.
  4. ^ Hyde, Martin (October 1994). "The teaching of English in Morocco: the place of culture". ELT Journal. 48 (4): 295–305. doi:10.1093/elt/48.4.295.
  5. ^ The Report: Morocco 2012. Oxford Business Group. 2012. ISBN 978-1-907065-54-5.
  6. ^ "Regional Profiles: Morocco". The Association of Religion Data Archives. World Religion Database.
  7. ^ Constitution of the Kingdom of Morocco. Translated by Ruchti, Jefri J. Getzville: William S. Hein & Co., Inc. 2012. First published in the Official Bulletin on July 30, 2011
  8. ^ Trinidad, Jamie (2012). "An Evaluation of Morocco's Claims to Spain's Remaining Territories in Africa". The International and Comparative Law Quarterly. 61 (4): 961–975. doi:10.1017/S0020589312000371. ISSN 0020-5893. JSTOR 23279813.
  9. ^ "Horloge de la population" (in French). HCP. 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  10. ^ "Résultats RGPH 2014" (in French). HCP. 2014. Archived from the original on 9 May 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  11. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Morocco)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  12. ^ Africa's Development Dynamics 2018:Growth, Jobs and Inequalities. AUC/OECD. 2018. p. 179. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  13. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  14. ^ "Décret royal n° 455-67 du 23 safar 1387 (2 juin 1967) portant loi relatif à l'heure légale". Bulletin Officiel du Royaume du Maroc (2854) – via Banque de Données Juridiques.
  15. ^ "Changements d'heure pour ramadan, quels impacts ?". TelQuel (in French). Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  16. ^ "Ceuta, Melilla profile". BBC News. 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  17. ^ Jamil M. Abun-Nasr (20 August 1987). A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33767-0.
  18. ^ Hall, John G.; Chelsea Publishing House (2002). North Africa. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7910-5746-9.
  19. ^ Balfour, Rosa (March 2009). "The Transformation of the Union for the Mediterranean". Mediterranean Politics. 14 (1): 99–105. doi:10.1080/13629390902747491. ISSN 1362-9395.
  20. ^ Morocco: Remove Obstacles to Access to the Constitutional Court Archived 21 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine. International Commission of Jurists.


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