MOROCCO
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 446,550 km2; land area: 446,300 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than California
Land boundaries: 2,002 km total; Algeria 1,559 km, Western
Sahara 443 km
Coastline: 1,835 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: claims and administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty is
unresolved; armed conflict in Western Sahara; Spain controls five
places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast
of Morocco--the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which Morocco
contests, and the islands of Penon de Alhucemas, Penon
de Velez de la Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas
Climate: Mediterranean, becoming more extreme in the interior
Terrain: mostly mountains with rich coastal plains
Natural resources: phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead,
zinc, fish, salt
Land use: arable land 18%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures
28%; forest and woodland 12%; other 41%; includes irrigated 1%
Environment: northern mountains geologically unstable and subject
to earthquakes; desertification
Note: strategic location along Strait of Gibraltar
PEOPLE
Population: 26,181,889 (July 1991), growth rate 2.1% (1991)
Birth rate: 30 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: - 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 76 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 63 years male, 66 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 3.8 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Moroccan(s); adjective--Moroccan
Ethnic divisions: Arab-Berber 99.1%, non-Moroccan 0.7%, Jewish
0.2%
Religion: Muslim 98.7%, Christian 1.1%, Jewish 0.2%
Language: Arabic (official); several Berber dialects; French is
language of business, government, diplomacy, and postprimary education
Literacy: 50% (male 61%, female 38%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force: 7,400,000; agriculture 50%, services 26%, industry
15%, other 9% (1985)
Organized labor: about 5% of the labor force, mainly in the Union
of Moroccan Workers (UMT) and the Democratic Confederation of Labor (CDT)
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Kingdom of Morocco
Type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Rabat
Administrative divisions: 37 provinces (aqalim,
singular--iqlim) and 5 municipalities* (wilayat,
singular--wilayah); Agadir, Al Hoceima, Azilal, Beni Mellal, Ben
Slimane, Boulemane, Casablanca*, Chaouen, El Jadida, El Kelaa des
Srarhna, Er Rachidia, Essaouira, Fes, Fes*, Figuig, Guelmim, Ifrane,
Kenitra, Khemisset, Khenifra, Khouribga, Laayoune, Larache, Marrakech,
Marrakech*, Meknes, Meknes*, Nador, Ouarzazate, Oujda, Rabat-Sale*,
Safi, Settat, Sidi Kacem, Tanger, Tan-Tan, Taounate, Taroudannt, Tata,
Taza, Tetouan, Tiznit
Independence: 2 March 1956 (from France)
Constitution: 10 March 1972
Legal system: based on Islamic law and French and Spanish civil law
system; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of
Supreme Court
National holiday: National Day (anniversary of King Hassan II's
accession to the throne), 3 March (1961)
Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, Council of Ministers
(cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives (Majlis
Nawab)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--King HASSAN II (since 3 March 1961);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Dr. Azzedine LARAKI (since
30 September 1986)
Political parties and leaders: Morocco has 15 political parties;
the major ones are
Istiqlal Party, M'Hamed BOUCETTA;
Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), Abderrahim BOUABID;
Popular Movement (MP), Secretariat General;
National Assembly of Independents (RNI), Ahmed OSMAN;
National Democratic Party (PND), Mohamed Arsalane EL-JADIDI;
Party for Progress and Socialism (PPS), Ali YATA;
Constitutional Union (UC), Maati BOUABID
Suffrage: universal at age 21
Elections:
Chamber of Representatives--last held on 14 September 1984 (were
scheduled for September 1990, but postponed until NA 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(306 total, 206 elected) CU 83, RNI 61, MP 47, Istiqlal 41,
USFP 36, PND 24, other 14
Communists: about 2,000
Member of: ABEDA, ACCT (associate), AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CCC,
EBRD, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC,
IIB, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS,
OAS (observer), NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Mohamed BELKHAYAT;
Chancery at 1601 21st Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202)
462-7979; there is a Moroccan Consulate General in New York;
US--Ambassador E. Michael USSERY; Embassy at 2 Avenue de Marrakech,
Rabat (mailing address is P. O. Box 120, Rabat, or APO New York 09284);
telephone 212 (7) 76-22-65; there are US Consulates General in
Casablanca
Flag: red with a green pentacle (five-pointed, linear star) known
as Solomon's seal in the center of the flag; green is the traditional
color of Islam
ECONOMY
Overview: The economy recovered moderately in 1990 because
of the resolution of a trade dispute with India over phosphoric
acid sales, a rebound in textile sales to the EC, and lower prices for
food imports. In addition, a dramatic increase in worker remittances,
increased Arab donor aid, and generous debt rescheduling agreements
helped ease foreign payments pressures. On the down side, higher oil
import costs fueled inflation. Servicing the $21 billion foreign debt,
high unemployment, and Morocco's vulnerability to external forces
remain severe problems for the 1990s.
GDP: $25.4 billion, per capita $990; real growth rate 2.5% (1990
est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.6% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate: 16% (1990 est.)
Budget: revenues $6.6 billion; expenditures $7.3 billion, including
capital expenditures of $1.8 billion (1990 est.)
Exports: $4.0 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--food and beverages 30%, semiprocessed goods 23%,
consumer goods 21%, phosphates 17%;
partners--EC 58%, India 7%, Japan 5%, USSR 3%, US 2%
Imports: $5.9 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--capital goods 24%, semiprocessed goods 22%, raw
materials 16%, fuel and lubricants 16%, food and beverages 13%,
consumer goods 9%;
partners--EC 53%, US 11%, Canada 4%, Iraq 3%, USSR 3%, Japan 2%
External debt: $21 billion (1990)
Industrial production: growth rate 4% (1989 est.); accounts
for an estimated 20% of GDP
Electricity: 2,262,000 kW capacity; 8,140 million kWh produced,
320 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: phosphate rock mining and processing, food processing,
leather goods, textiles, construction, tourism
Agriculture: 50% of employment and 30% of export value; not
self-sufficient in food; cereal farming and livestock raising
predominate; barley, wheat, citrus fruit, wine, vegetables, olives;
fishing catch of 491,000 metric tons in 1987
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis; trafficking on
the increase for both domestic and international drug markets; shipments
of cannabis mostly directed to Western Europe; occasional transit point
for cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe.
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.3
billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $7.0 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $4.8 billion;
Communist countries (1970-89), $2.5 billion
Currency: Moroccan dirham (plural--dirhams);
1 Moroccan dirham (DH) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Moroccan dirhams (DH) per US$1--8.071 (January
1991), 8.242 (1990), 8.488 (1989), 8.209 (1988), 8.359 (1987), 9.104
(1986), 10.062 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 1,893 km 1.435-meter standard gauge (246 km double
track, 974 km electrified)
Highways: 59,198 km total; 27,740 km bituminous treated, 31,458 km
gravel, crushed stone, improved earth, and unimproved earth
Pipelines: 362 km crude oil; 491 km (abandoned) refined products;
241 km natural gas
Ports: Agadir, Casablanca, El Jorf Lasfar, Kenitra, Mohammedia,
Nador, Safi, Tangier; also Spanish-controlled Ceuta and Melilla
Merchant marine: 51 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 315,169
GRT/487,490 DWT; includes 10 cargo, 2 container, 12 refrigerated cargo,
6 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker,
11 chemical tanker, 4 bulk, 3 short-sea passenger
Civil air: 23 major transport aircraft
Airports: 75 total, 67 usable; 26 with permanent-surface runways;
2 with runways over 3,659 m; 13 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 27 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: good system composed of wire lines, cables, and
radio relay links; principal centers are Casablanca and Rabat, secondary
centers are Fes, Marrakech, Oujda, Tangier, and Tetouan; 280,000
telephones; stations--14 AM, 6 FM, 47 TV; 5 submarine cables; satellite
earth stations--2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 ARABSAT; radio relay to
Gibraltar, Spain, and Western Sahara; coaxial cable to Algeria; microwave
network linking Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Royal Moroccan Army, Royal Moroccan Navy, Royal Moroccan
Air Force, Royal Gendarmerie, Auxiliary Forces
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 6,437,152; 4,092,027 fit for
military service; 299,535 reach military age (18) annually; limited
conscription
Defense expenditures: $1.4 billion, 5.2% of GDP