Morocco Country Information

At the crown of Africa, Morocco sits , a country of diverse climate and geography and nature, with coasts on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea. With a rich history of indigenous dynasties and external invaders, Morocco is a deep and varied cultural tapestry, boasting cities, architecture, wildlife, customs, language and much more.

Most of the leading traveller guidebooks on Morocco have a very good, well-researched overview of the Country of Morocco (see our Reading section). We have set out below our own summary, which is more of a taster for those people who are new to the country and want to know more.

Population and peoples

Morocco’s population is 34,343,219 (July 2008 est.) and consists of Sunni Muslims of Arab, Berber, or mixed Arab-Berber stock. About three-quarters of all present-day Moroccans are of Berber descent, while Arabs form the second largest ethnic group. The Arabs invaded Morocco in the seventh century and established their culture there.

There is also a European expatriate population of 100,000, mainly of French or Spanish descent. Many are teachers or technicians and retirees, especially in Marrakech.

Language

Morocco's official language is classical Arabic. The country's distinctive Arabic dialect is called Moroccan Arabic. Approximately 12 million (40% of the population), mostly in rural areas, speak Berber, which exists in Morocco in three different dialects (Tarifit, Tashelhiyt, and Tamazight).

French, which remains Morocco's unofficial second language, is taught universally and still serves as Morocco's primary language of commerce and economics.

About 20,000 Moroccans in the northern part of the country speak Spanish as a second language. English is rapidly becoming the third foreign language of choice among educated youth (after Arabic and French).

Regions and Cities

Morocco's capital city is Rabat. Its largest city and its centre of commerce and industry is its main port, Casablanca. Other cities include Agadir, Essaouira, Fes, Marrakech, Meknes, Ouarzazate, Safi, Tanger and Tétouan. Most people in Morocco live in the regions to the west of the Atlas Mountains, a range that insulates the country from the Sahara Desert. See Regions and Cities section for more details on each region.

For details on individual cities, refer to http://www.morocco.com/destinations/

Morocco is divided into 16 regions and is subdivided into 62 prefectures and provinces. Those, in turn, are subdivided into “circles”, “municipalities” or “communes urbaines”, and in some metropolitan areas arrondissements.

Geography

Morocco has international borders with Spain to the north, Algeria to the east and southeast, and Mauritania to the south. 

The Rif Mountains occupy the region bordering the Mediterranean from the north-west to the north-east. The Atlas Mountains run down the backbone of the country, from the south west to the north east. Jebel Toubkal at 4167m is North Africa’s highest mountain.

Most of the south east portion of the country is in the Sahara Desert and as such is generally sparsely populated and unproductive economically.

To the deep south, lies the Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony that was annexed by Morocco in 1975. Morocco claims that the Western Sahara is part of its territory and refers to that as its Southern Provinces.

Religion

Morocco is a Muslim country although one with a strong and tolerant respect for non-Muslims (Islam shares its roots with Christianity and Judaism). The call to prayer is memorable and occurs five times a day. Visitors to Morocco should not be scared by it. 

Industry and economy

According to the African Development Bank, the GDP of Morocco accounts for 7% of the African continent. Morocco is the fifth economic power of Africa with a 2006 GDP of $152.5 billion after South Africa, Egypt, Algeria and Nigeria.

Morocco's largest industry is the mining of phosphates. Its second largest source of income is from nationals living abroad who transfer money to relatives living in Morocco. The country's third largest source of revenue is tourism. Export commodities clothing and textiles, electric components, inorganic chemicals, transistors, crude minerals, fertilizers (including phosphates), petroleum products, citrus fruits, vegetables and fish.

Politics

Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco, with vast executive powers, can dissolve government and deploy the military among other prerogatives. Opposition political parties are legal, and several have been formed in recent years.

The current king, King Mohammed VI was crowned in 1999 (succeeding his father King Hassan II (1961–1999)) and has introduced many new laws and codes concerning all aspects of life, most notable of which has been the creation of the Mudawana, giving women more rights.

One interesting area of politics is the Western Sahara dispute. In 1975 Morocco annexed the phosphate-rich northern sector of Spanish Sahara (Western Sahara), which was seen as historically Moroccan. Spain then ceded its former colony to Morocco and Mauritania, leaving them to divide it. Morocco took the northern sector, and Mauritania the southern sector. The inhabitants, who had not been consulted, reacted violently through an independence movement supported by Algeria. This prompted the severance of diplomatic relations with Algeria in 1976.

In 1979 Mauritania agreed a peace treaty with independence movement and Morocco annexed the part of Western Sahara that Mauritania had vacated. The independence movement reacted by intensifying its operations.

Towards the end of 1987 the movement agreed a ceasefire, but hostilities continued. However, in August 1988 a United Nations peace plan was accepted by both sides, calling for a referendum to permit the area's inhabitants to choose independence or incorporation into Morocco. Full diplomatic relations with Algeria were restored in 1988, and with Syria in 1989.

Transport

Morocco has a good and continually developing transportation network. There is a good road network characterised by long, well preserved single lanes highways. There are also a number of regional airports as well as an excellent and inexpensive train service linking Marrakech with Casablanca, Rabat, Meknes, Fes and Tanger. In October 2007 French company Alstom announced it would supply 18 TGV Duplex trains to ONCF in 2008. The trains will run at 320 km/h between Tanger, Rabat and Casablanca. 

Education

Morocco is one of the most progressive African and Arag nations on matters of education. There are approximately around 230,000 students enrolled in fourteen public universities. 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, causing a high illiteracy rate in rural regions.

Social issues

Morocco has social problems in the areas of unemployment, education, poverty and healthcare. In 2005, Morocco launched the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), a €2 billion social development plan to address its social issues of poverty and unemployment and to improve the living conditions of the country's urban slums.

Moroccan authorities are also successfully implementing reform efforts to open the economy to international investors.

Climate

Morocco has a varied climate, with snow-capped peaks, to the breezy Atlantic coast, to scorching desert dunes. See our Travel information/ When to go section for information on the seasonal variations and links to weather information. Most hotels in Morocco are open all year round due to the abundance of sunshine.

Wildlife

Although not known for its wildlife, Morocco offers an interesting collection to see. In the Cities, lizards, geckos, spanish wall lizards and algerian sand lizard are all inhabitants. Swifts, swallows and martins put on wonderful evening flights above rooftops every evening. Storks, crested larks, turtledoves and chaffinches are also often seen.

In the Rif and Atlas Mountains and other national parks, gazelles, leopards, wild boars, Barbary apes, red foxes, lynxes, golden eagles, vultures, kites cohabit. Porpoises and dolphins can be spotted off the coasts.

Fauna and flowers

Morocco is indeed a country of extremes, with arid deserts to fertile olive, orange, pomegranate and cypress and fig and walnut and date tree groves. And flowers for colour and perfume. Irrigation, natural or manmade is the key to this.

Visitors to Morocco’s cities will invariably experience the Courtyard flowers of roses, violets, jasmine, hollyhocks and blossoming fruit trees, all planted for sight but more importantly scent. City flowering trees include mimosa, Coral tress, pink calodendrum, blue flowered jacaranda, yellow parkinsonia, bourgainvillea, jasmine, passion flower, podranea, roses and palm trees. Ancient damask rose is grown on mass scale and harvested in April and May and celebrated with a festival.

In the countryside, you will see the tall flower spikes of the century plant, which flowers once in its life as it dies. In spring flowers iris, asphodel, orchids, marigolds, lupins, crocus, snowflakes, thistles and the clear blue flower of the larkspur. Moroccan broom, indigenous to the Atlas Mountains, bursts with golden pineapple-scented flowers in April. In summer, mint and oleander flourish.

All along the Mediterranean coast pines, and purple, red and pink native flowers grow wild. Along the Atlantic coast, bright blue sea squills, cactus grow.

In the river valleys of the Atlas Mountains Cedar trees grow up high, oak, cypresses and juniper lower down. Wild flowers abound in spring. Poplar and willows along the side of the rivers. Walnut and chestnut pepper the valleys whilst neat rectangles of crops on smallholdings are shaded by olive, almond, fig, and pomegranate trees. Plums, apples, oranges, lemons, grapefruit and loquat are also nurtured by local peoples.

Culture and traditions

Morocco is an ethnically diverse country with a rich culture and civilization. Through Moroccan history, Morocco hosted many people coming from the East (Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Arabs), the South (Sub-Saharan Africans) and North (Romans, Vandals, Andalusians and Moors). All those civilizations have had an impact on the culture of Morocco.

Morocco has always been successful in combining its Berber, Jewish and Arabic cultural heritage with external influences such as the French and the Spanish and, during the last decades, the Anglo-American lifestyles.

Moroccan music is predominantly of Arab origins. There also exist other varieties of Berber folk music. Andalusian and other imported influences have had a major effect on the country's musical character. Rock-influenced chaabi bands are widespread, as is trance music with historical origins in Muslim music.

Architecture

Associated with the domes and arches of Byzantium period, Islamic architecture is dominant in Morocco, which by tradition aims to enclose space, to create a sheltered garden and courtyards from the wilderness. Decoration such as pavilions, fountains, pools are reserved for the interior of this enclosure. This contrasts with European traditions which are more outward looking.

Plain, functional business buildings contrasts with ornate, hand carved, detailing elsewhere – mosques, Souqs, Kasbahs (rural palaces), riads or dars (townhouses), palaces, ksars (fortified villages).

Food

Moroccan cuisine is a healthy and varied diet, drawing from Arab, Berber, Jewish, African and French traditions and benefits from the freshness and quality of ingredients having no chemicals or preservatives. There is an abundance of locally grown fresh fruit and vegetables (including dates, oranges, bananas, figs, melons, avocados plums, peaches, apricots, apples, quinces, pomegranates, grapes lemons, grapefruit etc.) which are used imaginatively with spices, herbs and. Round Moroccan flat bread is a regular accompaniment to any meal. 

The best known dishes are tajines (mildly spiced and cooked in a conical clay dish which had a great effect on the flavour) and fresh salads (food is normally picked and delivered just before preparing meals in Morocco. Other notable dishes include:

• Harira, a thick soup of chick peas, lentils, beans flavoured with chicken, lemon and tarragon

• Kefta, spicy meatballs served in a rich egg sauce

• Couscous, half-baked flour which is ground into grains, steamed and oiled, accompanied by steamed vegetables

• Pastilla – flaked pastry leaves interspersed with chicken, a lemony egg and almond, topped with cinnamon and sugar. 

• Pastries, namely gazelles horns, crescent-shaped pastries with almond paste and coated in icing sugar and cinnamons, are also popular.

Drink

The national drink of Morocco is mint tea. Offered this everywhere, this tipple represents a vital social grace. When offered, you should accept this kindness (although there is not obligation to do so).

Coca-cola and other fizzy drinks are available in even the most remote regions of the country.

Wine and beer is available in most restaurants including wines grown in Berkane, Meknes and Boulâounane. Moroccans can and do drink alcohol but not in City Medinas which are strictly no-alcohol zones.