EDU February 16, 2019

Morocco Overview

Morocco, kingdom in northwest Africa. The population consists predominantly of Arabs, Berbers and Arabized Berbers.

Morocco stretches from the Mediterranean coast (Strait of Gibraltar ) to the northwestern Sahara. Agriculture offers oranges and mandarins as well as early vegetables as market products. Morocco is one of the largest suppliers of cork and one of the most important exporters of canned sardines. The industrialization of the country is drawing large parts of the population to the cities (especially on the northwest coast). Morocco is rich in mineral resources, especially phosphates (one of the most important phosphate exporting countries), coal, manganese, iron, lead, cobalt, oil and natural gas. The most important industrial and port city is Casablanca on the Atlantic Ocean. Tourism has developed into an important economic factor.

Story: In the area inhabited by Berber tribes there were Phoenician, later Carthaginian, settlements. Around AD 40, the country became a Roman province. It was conquered by the Vandals in the 5th century, the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century and the Arabs around 700. In the 15th and 16th centuries, parts of Morocco came to the Portuguese and Spanish. France gained increasing influence through skillful treaty policy; In 1912 Morocco became largely a French protectorate. In 1956 it declared its independence. King is (since 1999) Mohammed VI. (* 1963). Against the background of the political upheavals in Egypt and Tunisia, demonstrations for democratic change also took place in Morocco in 2011. The king responded to the protest with constitutional reforms (including strengthening the power of parliament and the head of government).

Country facts

• Official name: Kingdom of Morocco
• License plate: MA
• ISO-3166: MA, MAR (504)
• Internet domain:.ma
• Currency: 1 Moroccan Dirham (Dh) = 100 Centimes
• Area: 446 550 km²
• Population (2018): 36 million
• Capital: Rabat
• Official language (s): Arabic, Tamazight
• Form of government: Constitutional monarchy
• Administrative division: 12 regions
• Head of State: King Mohammed VI (since July 30, 1999)
• Head of Government: Saad Eddine El Othmani (since March 17, 2017)
• Religion (s) (2010): 99% Muslim (Sunni), Christians, Jews
• Time zone: Central European Time -1 hour
• National holiday: July 30th

Location and infrastructure

• Location (geographical): North Africa
• Position (coordinates): between 27 ° 40 ‘and 35 ° 56’ north latitude and 1 ° and 13 ° 12 ‘west longitude
• Climate: In the north a warm Mediterranean climate with winter rain, in the south steppe climate, in the high altitudes of the Atlas Mountains also a winter damp and cool climate
• Highest mountain: Toubkal (4167 m)
• Road network (2018): 57,300 km
• Railway network (2014): 2 067 km

Population

• Annual population growth (2018): 0.9%
• Birth rate (2018): 17.5 per 1000 residents.
• Death rate (2018): 4.9 per 1000 residents.
• Average age (2018): 29.7 years
• Average life expectancy (2018): 77.3 years (women 80.5; men 74.2)
• Age structure (2018): 25.5% younger than 15 years, 7% older than 65 years
• Literacy rate (15-year-olds and older) (2015): 68.5%
• Mobile phone contracts (pre-paid and post-paid) (2017): 123 per 100 residents
• Internet users (2017): 62 per 100 residents

Economy

• GDP per capita (2017): US $ 3,137
• Total GDP (2017): US $ 109 billion
• GNI per capita (2018): US $ 3,090
• Education expenditure (2013): 6.3% of GDP
• Military expenditure (2017): 3.2% of GDP
• Unemployment rate (2017): 9.3%

Climate

Morocco has a predominantly Mediterranean climate. The large mountain range divides it into an Atlantic-Mediterranean area in the west (from 600 mm annual precipitation in the northern part to 300 mm in the southern part; 5–8 arid summer months) and a continental-Mediterranean area in the northeast (100–400 mm; 7–9 arid months); the east is characterized by a cold winter steppe area (100–400 mm, 7–11 arid months), the eastern Moroccan high plateaus; in the southeast and south there is a desert climate (less than 100 mm; 9–12 arid months).

The summits of the Atlas and Rif receive 1,200–2,000 mm of annual precipitation; in the High Atlas, snow falls regularly in winter and remains there for 4–5 months. On the Atlantic coast, the Canary Islands current (often coastal fog) has a balancing effect on the temperature curve. The annual mean in Casablanca is 17 ° C, in (continental) Figuig 21 ° C.