Morocco#Etymology

The English Morocco is an anglicisation of the Spanish name for the country, {{lang|es|Marruecos}}, derived from the name of the city of Marrakesh, which was the capital of the Almoravid dynasty, the Almohad Caliphate, and the Saadian dynasty.{{Cite web |title=Country names |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/country-name#morocco |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=The CIA World Factbook |archive-date=7 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207212750/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/country-name#morocco |url-status=live }} During the Almoravid dynasty, the city of Marrakesh was established under the name of {{lang|tzm-Latn|Tāmurākušt}}, derived from the city's ancient Berber name of {{lang|tzm-Latn|amūr n Yakuš}} ({{Literally|land/country of God}}).{{Citation |last=Ghouirgate |first=Mehdi |title=Chapitre VIII. Le calife en son palais: maintenir son rang |date=2020-02-27 |url=http://books.openedition.org/pumi/12060 |work=L’Ordre almohade (1120-1269): Une nouvelle lecture anthropologique |pages=357–402 |access-date=2023-12-09 |series=Tempus |place=Toulouse |publisher=Presses universitaires du Midi |language=fr |isbn=978-2-8107-0867-3 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002162449/https://books.openedition.org/pumi/12060 |url-status=live }} In English, the first vowel has been changed, likely influenced by the word "Moor".{{Cite web |title=morocco {{!}} Etymology of morocco by etymonline |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/morocco |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=www.etymonline.com |language=en |archive-date=3 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203085844/https://www.etymonline.com/word/morocco |url-status=live }}

Historically, the territory has been part of what Muslim geographers referred to as {{Ill|al-Maghrib al-Aqṣā|ar|المغرب الأقصى|italic=y}} ({{lang|ar|المغرب الأقصى}}, 'the Farthest West [of the Islamic world]' designating roughly the area from Tiaret to the Atlantic) in contrast with neighbouring regions of {{Ill|al-Maghrib al-Awsaṭ|ar|المغرب الأوسط|italic=y}} ({{lang|ar|المغرب الأوسط}}, 'the Middle West': Tripoli to Béjaïa) and {{Ill|al-Maghrib al-Adnā|ar|المغرب الأدنى|italic=y}} ({{lang|ar|المغرب الأدنى}}, 'the Nearest West': Alexandria to Tripoli).{{Cite book |last1=Hareir |first1=Idris El |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qVYT4Kraym0C&pg=PA375 |title=The Spread of Islam Throughout the World |last2=Mbaye |first2=Ravane |date=1 January 2011 |publisher=UNESCO |isbn=978-92-3-104153-2 |language=en}}

Morocco's modern Arabic name is {{transliteration|ar|al-Maghrib}} ({{lang|ar|المغرب}}, {{Translation|the land of the sunset; the west}}), with the Kingdom's official Arabic name being {{transliteration|ar|al-Mamlakah al-Maghribīyah}} ({{lang|ar|المملكة المغربية}}; {{Translation|the kingdom of sunset/the west}}).{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Maghreb, en arabe Maghrib ou Marhrib (" le Couchant ") |url=https://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/autre-region/Maghreb/131068 |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=Encyclopédie Larousse |language=fr |archive-date=22 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230122095454/https://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/autre-region/Maghreb/131068 |url-status=live }}{{Citation |title=Introduction |date=1987 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/history-of-the-maghrib-in-the-islamic-period/introduction/0A276AD37271D71955A8C28E6578F617 |work=A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period |pages=1–25 |editor-last=Abun-Nasr |editor-first=Jamil M. |access-date=2023-12-09 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511608100.003 |isbn=978-0-521-33767-0 |archive-date=16 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616132301/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/history-of-the-maghrib-in-the-islamic-period/introduction/0A276AD37271D71955A8C28E6578F617 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}{{Cite web |title=Maghreb |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Maghreb |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en |archive-date=13 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913035240/https://www.britannica.com/place/Maghreb |url-status=live }} In Turkish, Morocco is known as {{lang|tr|Fas}}, a name derived from its medieval capital of Fes which is derived from the Arabic word Faʾs ({{lang|ar|فأس}}; {{Translation|pickaxe}}), as the city's founder Idris I ibn Abd Allah reputedly used a silver and gold pickaxe to trace the outlines of the city.{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3SapTk5iGDkC |title=Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia |date=2007 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-57607-919-5 |editor-last=Dumper |editor-first=Michael R. T. |page=151 |editor-last2=Stanley |editor-first2=Bruce E. |access-date=10 March 2024 |archive-date=16 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316174542/https://books.google.com/books?id=3SapTk5iGDkC |url-status=live }}{{Cite book |last=Bressolette |first=Henri |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kNzeCwAAQBAJ&pg=PP1 |title=A la découverte de Fès |publisher=L'Harmattan |year=2016 |isbn=978-2-343-09022-1 |location= |pages= |chapter=Fondation de Fès El Bali par Idriss Ier et Idriss II |access-date=2021-11-17 |archive-date=20 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720213942/https://books.google.com/books?id=kNzeCwAAQBAJ&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }} In other parts of the Islamic world, for example in Egyptian and Middle Eastern Arabic literature before the mid-20th century, Morocco was commonly referred to as {{lang|ar-Latn|Murrakush}} ({{lang|ar|مراكش}}).{{Cite book |last=Gershovich |first=Moshe |title=French Military Rule in Morocco |date=12 October 2012 |isbn=9780203044988 |doi=10.4324/9780203044988}} The term is still used to refer to Morocco today in several Indo-Iranian languages, including Persian, Urdu, and Punjabi.{{Cite web |trans-title=Morocco|title=مراکش - معنی در دیکشنری آبادیس |url=https://abadis.ir/fatofa/%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A7%DA%A9%D8%B4/ |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=abadis.ir|language=fa}}

Morocco has also been referred to politically by a variety of terms denoting the Sharifi heritage of the 'Alawi dynasty, such as {{Transliteration|ar|al-Mamlakah ash-Sharīfah}} ({{Lang|ar|المملكة الشريفة}}), {{Transliteration|ar|al-Iyālah ash-Sharīfah}} ({{Lang|ar|الإيالة الشريفة}}) and {{Transliteration|ar|al-Imbarāṭūriyyah ash-Sharīfah}} ({{Lang|ar|الإمبراطورية الشريفة}}), rendered in French as {{Lang|fr|l'Empire chérifien}} and in English as the 'Sharifian Empire'.{{Cite book |last=ملين |first=نبيل |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/994641823 |title=فكرة الدستور في المغرب : وثائق ونصوص (19012011) |year=2017 |publisher=Tīl Kīl Mīdiyā |isbn=978-9954-28-764-4 |language=ar |oclc=994641823}}{{Cite journal |last=Laskier |first=Michael M. |date=1 September 2019 |title=Prelude to Colonialism: Moroccan Muslims and Jews through Western Lenses, 1860–1912 |url=https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/european-judaism/52/2/ej520209.xml |journal=European Judaism |language=en |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=111–128 |doi=10.3167/ej.2019.520209 |s2cid=203553804 |issn=0014-3006 |access-date=5 November 2022 |archive-date=5 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221105195922/https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/european-judaism/52/2/ej520209.xml |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}

{{main|History of Morocco}}

The area of present-day Morocco has been inhabited since at least Paleolithic times, beginning sometime between 190,000 and 90,000 BC.[http://www.eva.mpg.de/evolution/files/irhoud.htm Field Projects – Jebel Irhoud ] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170112002657/http://www.eva.mpg.de/evolution/files/irhoud.htm |date=12 January 2017}}. Department of Human Evolution. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology A recent publication has suggested that there is evidence for even earlier human habitation of the area: Homo sapiens fossils that had been discovered in the late 2000s near the Atlantic coast in Jebel Irhoud were recently dated to roughly 315,000 years ago.[http://www.nature.com/news/oldest-homo-sapiens-fossil-claim-rewrites-our-species-history-1.22114 Oldest Homo sapiens fossil claim rewrites our species' history ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116175722/http://www.nature.com/news/oldest-homo-sapiens-fossil-claim-rewrites-our-species-history-1.22114 |date=16 November 2017 }} News. Nature Magazine, International Weekly Journal of Science During the Upper Paleolithic, the Maghreb was more fertile than it is today, resembling a savanna, in contrast to its modern arid landscape.{{cite book |last=Rubella |first=D. |title=From hunters to farmers the causes and consequences of food production in Africa |year=1984 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |isbn=978-0520045743 |pages=41–56 |editor=J.D. Clark & S.A. Brandt |chapter=Environmentalism and Pi Paleolithic economies in the Maghreb (c. 20,000 to 5000 B.P.)}}

DNA studies of Iberomaurusian peoples at Taforalt, Morocco dating to around 15,000 years ago have found them to have a distinctive Maghrebi ancestry formed from a mixture of Near Eastern and African ancestry, which is still found as a part of the genome of modern Northwest Africans.{{Cite journal |last1=van de Loosdrecht |first1=Marieke |last2=Bouzouggar |first2=Abdeljalil |last3=Humphrey |first3=Louise |last4=Posth |first4=Cosimo |last5=Barton |first5=Nick |last6=Aximu-Petri |first6=Ayinuer |last7=Nickel |first7=Birgit |last8=Nagel |first8=Sarah |last9=Talbi |first9=El Hassan |last10=El Hajraoui |first10=Mohammed Abdeljalil |last11=Amzazi |first11=Saaïd |last12=Hublin |first12=Jean-Jacques |last13=Pääbo |first13=Svante |last14=Schiffels |first14=Stephan |last15=Meyer |first15=Matthias |date=2018-05-04 |title=Pleistocene North African genomes link Near Eastern and sub-Saharan African human populations |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aar8380 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=360 |issue=6388 |pages=548–552 |doi=10.1126/science.aar8380 |pmid=29545507 |bibcode=2018Sci...360..548V |issn=0036-8075}} Later during the Neolithic, from around 7,500 years ago onwards, there was a migration into Northwest Africa of European Neolithic Farmers from the Iberian Peninsula (who had originated in Anatolia several thousand years prior), as well as pastoralists from the Levant, both of whom also significantly contributed to the ancestry of modern Northwest Africans.{{Cite journal |last1=Simões |first1=Luciana G. |last2=Günther |first2=Torsten |last3=Martínez-Sánchez |first3=Rafael M. |last4=Vera-Rodríguez |first4=Juan Carlos |last5=Iriarte |first5=Eneko |last6=Rodríguez-Varela |first6=Ricardo |last7=Bokbot |first7=Youssef |last8=Valdiosera |first8=Cristina |last9=Jakobsson |first9=Mattias |date=2023-06-15 |title=Northwest African Neolithic initiated by migrants from Iberia and Levant |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=618 |issue=7965 |pages=550–556 |doi=10.1038/s41586-023-06166-6 |issn=0028-0836 |pmc=10266975 |pmid=37286608|bibcode=2023Natur.618..550S }} The proto-Berber tribes evolved from these prehistoric communities during the late Bronze- and early Iron ages.Mário Curtis Giordani, História da África. Anterior aos descobrimentos. Editora Vozes, Petrópolis (Brasil) 1985, pp. 42f., 77f. Giordani references Bousquet, Les Berbères (Paris 1961).

In the early part of Classical Antiquity, Northwest Africa and Morocco were slowly drawn into the wider emerging Mediterranean world by the Phoenicians, who established trading colonies and settlements there, the most substantial of which were Chellah, Lixus, and Mogador.{{cite web |author=The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map |url=http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=17926 |title=C. Michael Hogan, Mogador: Promontory Fort, The Megalithic Portal, ed. Andy Burnham |publisher=Megalithic.co.uk |access-date=2 June 2010 |archive-date=5 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805181526/https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=17926 |url-status=live }} Mogador was established as a Phoenician colony as early as the 6th century BC.Moscati, Sabatino (2001) The Phoenicians, Tauris, {{ISBN|1-85043-533-2}}{{page needed|date=February 2013}}

File:Volubilis Longshot II.jpg]]

Morocco later became a realm of the Northwest African civilisation of ancient Carthage, and part of the Carthaginian empire. The earliest known independent Moroccan state was the Berber kingdom of Mauretania, under King Baga.Livy Ab Urbe Condita Libri 29.30 This ancient kingdom (not to be confused with the modern state of Mauritania) flourished around 225 BC or earlier. Mauretania became a client kingdom of the Roman Empire in 33 BC. Emperor Claudius annexed Mauretania directly in 44 AD, making it a Roman province ruled by an imperial governor (either a procurator Augusti, or a legatus Augusti pro praetore).

Christianity in Morocco appeared during the Roman times, when it was practiced by Berber Christians in Roman Mauretania Tingitana.{{cite book | last=Asiwaju | first=A.I. |date=January 1985 | title=Partitioned Africans: Ethnic Relations Across Africa's International Boundaries | publisher=C. Hurst & Co |isbn=0-905838-91-2 | page=237 }} During the Crisis of the Third Century, parts of Mauretania were reconquered by Berbers. By the late 3rd century, direct Roman rule had become confined to a few coastal cities, such as Septum (Ceuta) in Mauretania Tingitana and Cherchell in Mauretania Caesariensis. When, in 429 AD, the area was devastated by the Vandals, the Roman Empire lost its remaining possessions in Mauretania, and local Mauro-Roman kings assumed control of them. In the 530s, the Eastern Roman Empire, under Byzantine control, re-established direct imperial rule of Septum and Tingi, fortified Tingis and erected a church.

File:Idrisids coin minted at Al Aliyah Morocco 840 CE.jpg coin in Fes, 840]]

The Muslim conquest of the Maghreb that had begun during the mid-7th century was completed under the Umayyad Caliphate by 709. The caliphate introduced both Islam and the Arabic language to the area; this period also saw the beginning of a trend of Arab migration to the Maghreb which would last for centuries and effect a demographic shift in the region. While constituting part of the larger empire, Morocco was initially organised as a subsidiary province of Ifriqiya, with the local governors appointed by the Muslim governor in Kairouan.Abun-Nasr 1987, p.33

The indigenous Berber tribes adopted Islam, but retained their customary laws. They also paid taxes and tribute to the new Muslim administration.Abun-Nasr 1987, pp. 33–34 The first independent Muslim state in the area of modern Morocco was the Kingdom of Nekor, an emirate in the Rif Mountains. It was founded by Salih I ibn Mansur in 710, as a client state to the Umayyad Caliphate. After the outbreak of the Berber Revolt in 739, the Berbers formed other independent states such as the Miknasa of Sijilmasa and the Barghawata.

File:29610-Fez (28134041211) (qarawiyyin crop).jpg, founded in Fes in the 9th century, was a major spiritual, literary, and intellectual centre.]]

The founder of the Idrisid dynasty and the great-grandson of Hasan ibn Ali, Idris ibn Abdallah, had fled to Morocco after the massacre of his family by the Abbasids in the Hejaz. He convinced the Awraba Berber tribes to break their allegiance to the distant Abbasid caliphs and he founded the Idrisid dynasty in 788. The Idrisids established Fes as their capital and Morocco became a centre of Muslim learning and a major regional power. The Idrisids were ousted in 927 by the Fatimid Caliphate and their Miknasa allies. After Miknasa broke off relations with the Fatimids in 932, they were removed from power by the Maghrawa of Sijilmasa in 980.

File:Empire almohade.PNG at its greatest extent, {{circa|1212}}]]

From the 11th century onward, a series of Berber dynasties arose.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gGKsS-9h4BYC&pg=PT861 |title=Concise Encyclopaedia of World History |isbn=978-81-269-0775-5 |last1=Ramirez-Faria |first1=Carlos |date=2007 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-date=4 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804074800/https://books.google.com/books?id=gGKsS-9h4BYC&pg=PT861 |url-status=live }}{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/almoravides/|title=Almoravides|encyclopedia=Universalis Encyclopedia|date=19 January 1999 |access-date=25 July 2011|archive-date=19 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719002639/http://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/almoravides/|url-status=live}}{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/365388/Marinid-dynasty|title=Marīnid dynasty|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=23 June 2022|archive-date=2 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602202549/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/365388/Marinid-dynasty|url-status=live}} Under the Sanhaja Almoravid dynasty and the Masmuda Almohad dynasty,{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/418538/North-Africa/46490/The-Maghrib-under-the-Almoravids-and-the-Almohads |title=The Maghrib under the Almoravids and the Almohads |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=1 August 2011 |archive-date=14 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150314013819/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/418538/North-Africa/46490/The-Maghrib-under-the-Almoravids-and-the-Almohads |url-status=live }} Morocco dominated the Maghreb, al-Andalus in Iberia, and the western Mediterranean region. From the 13th century onward the country saw a massive migration of the Banu Hilal Arab tribes. In the 13th and 14th centuries the Zenata Berber Marinids held power in Morocco and strove to replicate the successes of the Almohads through military campaigns in Algeria and Spain. They were followed by the Wattasids. In the 15th century, the Reconquista ended Muslim rule in Iberia and many Muslims and Jews fled to Morocco.{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/392604/Morocco |title=Morocco – History |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=1 August 2011 |archive-date=31 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110731173203/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/392604/Morocco |url-status=live }} Portuguese efforts to control the Atlantic sea trade in the 15th century did not greatly affect the interior of Morocco even though they managed to control some possessions on the Moroccan coast but not venturing further afield inland.

File:Porto April 2019-7.jpg was founded when Prince Henry the Navigator led the conquest of Ceuta, which began the Portuguese presence in Morocco, lasting from 1415 to 1769.]]

In 1549, the region fell to successive Arab dynasties claiming descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad: first the Saadi dynasty who ruled from 1549 to 1659, and then the Alawi dynasty, who have remained in power since the 17th century. Morocco faced aggression from Spain in the north, and the Ottoman Empire's allies pressing westward.

File:Palais El Badii - panoramio.jpg's 16th century Badi' Palace]]

Under the Saadis, the sultanate ended the Portuguese Aviz dynasty in 1578 at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir. The reign of Ahmad al-Mansur brought new wealth and prestige to the Sultanate, and a large expedition to West Africa inflicted a crushing defeat on the Songhay Empire in 1591. However, managing the territories across the Sahara proved too difficult.{{citation | last=Kaba | first= Lansiné | year=1981 | title=Archers, musketeers, and mosquitoes: The Moroccan invasion of the Sudan and the Songhay resistance (1591–1612) | journal= Journal of African History | volume=22 | issue= 4 | pages=457–475 | jstor=181298 | doi=10.1017/S0021853700019861 | pmid=11632225| s2cid= 41500711 }}. Upon the death of al-Mansur, the country was divided among his sons.

After a period of political fragmentation and conflict during the decline of the Saadi dynasty, Morocco was finally reunited by the Alawi sultan al-Rashid in the late 1660s, who took Fez in 1666 and Marrakesh in 1668.{{Rp|230}}{{Cite book |last=Rivet |first=Daniel |title=Histoire du Maroc: de Moulay Idrîs à Mohammed VI |publisher=Fayard |year=2012}}{{Rp|225}} The 'Alawis succeeded in stabilising their position, and while the kingdom was smaller than previous ones in the region, it remained quite wealthy. Against the opposition of local tribes Ismail Ibn Sharif (1672–1727) began to create a unified state."[https://web.archive.org/web/20091030183303/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761572952_8/Morocco.html Morocco (Page 8 of 9)]". Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2009. 1 November 2009. With his Riffian army, he re-occupied Tangier from the English who had abandoned it in 1684 and drove the Spanish from Larache in 1689. The Portuguese abandoned Mazagão, their last territory in Morocco, in 1769. However, the siege of Melilla against the Spanish ended in defeat in 1775.

Morocco was the first nation to recognise the fledgling United States as an independent nation in 1777.{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/11/22/joint-statement-united-states-america-and-kingdom-morocco|work=whitehouse.gov|title=Joint Statement by the United States of America and the Kingdom of Morocco|via=National Archives|date=22 November 2013|access-date=1 March 2021|archive-date=10 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110084924/https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/11/22/joint-statement-united-states-america-and-kingdom-morocco|url-status=live}}{{cite book|author=((USA (NA) International Business Publications))|title=Morocco Foreign Policy And Government Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5V77mdCXHJcC&pg=PA114|date=2004|publisher=Int'l Business Publications|isbn=978-0-7397-6000-0|pages=114–}}{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web |url=https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/id/41811/ |title=Cohen Renews U.S.-Morocco Ties |access-date=12 March 2009 |author=Kozaryn, Linda D. |work=U.S. Department of Defense |archive-date=28 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100228080125/http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=41811 |url-status=live }} In the beginning of the American Revolution, American merchant ships in the Atlantic Ocean were subject to attacks by other fleets. On 20 December 1777, Morocco's Sultan Mohammed III declared that American merchant ships would be under the protection of the sultanate and could thus enjoy safe passage. The 1786 Moroccan–American Treaty of Friendship stands as the United States' oldest unbroken friendship treaty.Roberts, Priscilla H. and Richard S. Roberts, Thomas Barclay (1728–1793): Consul in France, Diplomat in Barbary, Lehigh University Press, 2008, pp. 206–223 {{ISBN|093422398X}}.{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/s/d/rm/rls/perfrpt/2002/html/18995.htm |title=Milestones of American Diplomacy, Interesting Historical Notes, and Department of State History |access-date=17 December 2007 |work=U.S. Department of State |archive-date=10 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210003512/https://2009-2017.state.gov/s/d/rm/rls/perfrpt/2002/html/18995.htm |url-status=live }}

{{main|French protectorate in Morocco|Spanish protectorate in Morocco}}

File:La Paz de Wad-Ras.jpg after the Hispano-Moroccan War (1859–1860) bankrupted Morocco's national treasury, forcing the Makhzen to take on a British loan{{Cite book|last=Miller, Susan Gilson.|title=A history of modern Morocco|date=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-62469-5|location=New York|pages=25|oclc=855022840}}]]

As Europe industrialised, Northwest Africa was increasingly prized for its potential for colonisation. France showed a strong interest in Morocco as early as 1830, not only to protect the border of its Algerian territory, but also because of the strategic position of Morocco with coasts on the Mediterranean and the open Atlantic.{{cite book |title=Morocco since 1830: A History|isbn=978-0814766774 |last=Pennell |first=C. R. |year=2000 |publisher=New York University Press |location=New York |page=40}} In 1860, a dispute over Spain's Ceuta enclave led Spain to declare war. Victorious Spain won a further enclave and an enlarged Ceuta in the settlement. In 1884, Spain created a protectorate in the coastal areas of Morocco.

File:Louis Comfort Tiffany - Market day outside the walls of Tangiers, Morocco.jpg's population in 1956 included 40,000 Muslims, 31,000 Europeans and 15,000 Jews.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0019_0_19572.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501181723/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0019_0_19572.html |archive-date=1 May 2013 |title=Tangier(s) |encyclopedia=Jewish Virtual Library |access-date=30 December 2013}}]]

In 1904, France and Spain carved out zones of influence in Morocco. Recognition by the United Kingdom of France's sphere of influence provoked a strong reaction from the German Empire; and a crisis loomed in 1905. The matter was resolved at the Algeciras Conference in 1906. The Agadir Crisis of 1911 increased tensions between European powers. The 1912 Treaty of Fez made Morocco a protectorate of France, and triggered the 1912 Fez riots.{{cite book|author=Hirschberg, H. Z|title=A history of the Jews in North Africa: From the Ottoman conquests to the present time / edited by Eliezer Bashan and Robert Attal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=idEUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA319|year=1981|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-06295-5|page=318|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114120228/https://books.google.com/books?id=idEUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA319|url-status=live}} Spain continued to operate its coastal protectorate. By the same treaty, Spain assumed the role of protecting power over the northern coastal and southern Saharan zones.{{cite journal |last=Furlong |first=Charles Wellington |author-link=Charles W. Furlong |year=1911 |title=The French Conquest Of Morocco: The Real Meaning Of The International Trouble |journal=The World's Work: A History of Our Time |volume=XXII |pages=14988–14999 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rHAAAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA14988 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-date=14 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114120230/https://books.google.com/books?id=rHAAAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA14988 |url-status=live }}

File:Pacification.jpg from 1907 to 1934]]

Tens of thousands of colonists entered Morocco. Some bought up large amounts of rich agricultural land, while others organised the exploitation and modernisation of mines and harbours. Interest groups that formed among these elements continually pressured France to increase its control over Morocco – with some Moroccan tribes allying with the French against other competing tribes from early on in its conquest. The French colonial administrator, Governor general Marshal Hubert Lyautey, sincerely admired Moroccan culture and succeeded in imposing a joint Moroccan-French administration, while creating a modern school system. Several divisions of Moroccan soldiers (Goumiers or regular troops and officers) served in the French army in both World War I and World War II, and in the Spanish Nationalist Army in the Spanish Civil War and after (Regulares).{{cite web |url-status=live |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-morocco-spain-war-idUSTRE50E0NT20090115 |title=Morocco tackles painful role in Spain's past |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817235436/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-morocco-spain-war-idUSTRE50E0NT20090115 |archive-date=17 August 2021 |website=Reuters |date=14 January 2009 |first1=Zakia |last1=Abdennebi }} The institution of slavery was abolished in 1925.{{cite web |url-status=live |publisher=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad6164.html |title=Morocco: Date of the abolishment of slavery in Morocco; whether descendants of ex-slaves are singled out in any way; and fate of the Palace household and grounds staff when King Mohamed V was in exile |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203121733/http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad6164.html |archive-date=3 February 2014 |date=13 August 1999 |series=MAR32476.E |via=Refworld}}

Between 1921 and 1926, an uprising in the Rif Mountains, led by Abd el-Krim, led to the establishment of the Republic of the Rif. The Spanish used anti-civilian bombing raids and mustard gas to prevent the Rif republic from gaining independence.{{Cite book |last=Wyrtzen |first=Jonathan |title=Worldmaking in the Long Great War: How Local and Colonial Struggles Shaped the Modern Middle East |publisher=Columbia University Press |date=2022 |isbn=978-0-231-54657-7 |location=New York |pages=195 |oclc=1336403490 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gWdOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT195 |access-date=24 January 2024 |archive-date=16 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216052346/https://books.google.com/books?id=gWdOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT195 |url-status=live }} They lost more than 13,000 soldiers at Annual in July–August 1921 alone.Porch, Douglas; Spain's African Nightmare; MHQ: Quarterly Journal of Military History; (2006); 18#2; pp. 28–37. The Riffi were eventually suppressed by 1927 by the Franco-Spanish military. The casualties on the Spanish-French side were 52,000 and from the Riffi 10,000 died.{{Cite book |last=Wyrtzen |first=Jonathan |title=Worldmaking in the Long Great War: How Local and Colonial Struggles Shaped the Modern Middle East |publisher=Columbia University Press |date=2022 |isbn=978-0-231-54657-7 |location=New York |pages=198 |oclc=1336403490 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gWdOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT198 |access-date=24 January 2024 |archive-date=16 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216052345/https://books.google.com/books?id=gWdOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT198 |url-status=live }}

File:وثيقة الاستقلال 11 يناير 1944.jpg of 1944]]

In 1943, the Istiqlal Party (Independence Party) was founded to press for independence, with discreet US support. Moroccan nationalists drew heavily on transnational activist networks for lobbying to end colonial rule, primarily at the United Nations.{{Cite book |last=Stenner |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KLyXDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT15 |title=Globalizing Morocco: Transnational Activism and the Postcolonial State |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-5036-0900-6 |location=Stanford, California |pages=198 |oclc=1082294927 |access-date=24 January 2024 |archive-date=16 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216052346/https://books.google.com/books?id=KLyXDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT15 |url-status=live }} The Istiqlal Party subsequently provided most of the leadership for the nationalist movement.

File:Mohammed V Morocco 1957.lowres.jpeg during a visit to the United States in 1957]]

France's exile of Sultan Mohammed V in 1953 to Madagascar and his replacement by the unpopular Mohammed Ben Aarafa sparked active opposition to the French and Spanish protectorates.{{cite news|url=https://en.yabiladi.com/articles/details/81277/mohammed-arafa-morocco-s-unpopular-sultan.html|title=Mohammed Ben Arafa, Morocco's unpopular sultan and the story of his unmarked grave|last=Babas|first=Latifa|newspaper=Yabiladi|date=July 19, 2019|accessdate=June 14, 2024}} The most notable violence occurred in Oujda where Moroccans attacked French and other European residents in the streets.{{Cite news|date=November 30, 1954|title=Quatre-vingt-seize Marocains poursuivis pour participation à la « tuerie d'Oujda », qui fit trente morts le 16 août 1953, passent en jugement |language=fr |newspaper=Le Monde|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1954/11/30/quatre-vingt-seize-marocains-poursuivis-pour-participation-a-la-tuerie-qui-fit-le-16-aout-1953-trente-morts-a-oujda-passent-en-jugement_2026822_1819218.html|accessdate=June 14, 2024}} France allowed Mohammed V to return in 1955, and the negotiations that led to Moroccan independence began the following year."[https://web.archive.org/web/20091030183316/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761572952_9/Morocco.html Morocco (Page 9 of 9)]". Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2009. In March 1956 Morocco regained its independence from France as the Kingdom of Morocco. A month later Spain forsook its protectorate in Northern Morocco to the new state but kept its two coastal enclaves (Ceuta and Melilla) on the Mediterranean coast which dated from earlier conquests, but over which Morocco still claims sovereignty to this day.

Sultan Mohammed became King in 1957. Upon the death of Mohammed V, Hassan II became King of Morocco on 3 March 1961. Morocco held its first general elections in 1963. However, Hassan declared a state of emergency and suspended parliament in 1965. In 1971 and 1972, there were two failed attempts to depose the king and establish a republic. A truth commission set up in 2005 to investigate human rights abuses during his reign confirmed nearly 10,000 cases, ranging from death in detention to forced exile. Some 592 people were recorded killed during Hassan's rule according to the truth commission.

In 1963, the Sand War was fought between Algerian and Moroccan troops over Moroccan claims to parts of Algerian territory. A formal peace agreement was signed in February 1964; however, relations remained strained between the two countries following the conflict.{{Cite journal |last1=Farsoun |first1=Karen |last2=Paul |first2=Jim |date=1976 |title=War in the Sahara: 1963 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3011767 |journal=MERIP Reports |issue=45 |pages=13–16 |doi=10.2307/3011767 |jstor=3011767 |issn=0047-7265 |access-date=13 August 2023 |archive-date=4 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204210150/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3011767 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} The Spanish enclave of Ifni in the south was returned to Morocco in 1969.{{Cite news |date=1969-01-05 |title=Spanish Return Ifni to Morocco |language=en |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/01/05/archives/spanish-return-ifni-to-morocco.html |access-date=2023-08-13 |archive-date=13 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813010516/https://www.nytimes.com/1969/01/05/archives/spanish-return-ifni-to-morocco.html |url-status=live }}

The Polisario movement was formed in 1973, with the aim of establishing an independent state in the Spanish Sahara. On 6 November 1975, King Hassan asked for volunteers to cross into the Spanish Sahara. Some 350,000 civilians were reported as being involved in the "Green March".{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14123260 |title=Morocco profile – Timeline |work=BBC News |date=19 September 2012 |access-date=9 January 2013 |archive-date=23 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121223035216/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14123260 |url-status=live }} A month later, Spain agreed to leave the Spanish Sahara, soon to become Western Sahara, and to transfer it to joint Moroccan-Mauritanian control, despite the objections and threats of military intervention by Algeria. Moroccan forces occupied the territory.

Moroccan and Algerian troops soon clashed in Western Sahara. Morocco and Mauritania divided up Western Sahara. Fighting between the Moroccan military and Polisario forces continued for many years. The prolonged war was a considerable financial drain on Morocco. In 1983, Hassan cancelled planned elections amid political unrest and economic crisis. In 1984, Morocco left the Organisation of African Unity in protest at the SADR's admission to the body. Polisario claimed to have killed more than 5,000 Moroccan soldiers between 1982 and 1985.{{cite web |title=Western Sahara Short Mission Brief |url=https://sites.tufts.edu/wpf/files/2017/07/Western-Sahara-brief.pdf |website=sites.tufts.edu/ |access-date=14 September 2023 |archive-date=3 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003182513/https://sites.tufts.edu/wpf/files/2017/07/Western-Sahara-brief.pdf |url-status=live }} Algerian authorities have estimated the number of Sahrawi refugees in Algeria to be 165,000.{{cite web|url=https://groups.yahoo.com/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20010418142816/http://groups.yahoo.com/|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 April 2001|title=Yahoo! Groups|website=groups.yahoo.com}} Diplomatic relations with Algeria were restored in 1988. In 1991, a UN-monitored ceasefire began in Western Sahara, but the territory's status remains undecided and ceasefire violations are reported. The following decade saw much wrangling over a proposed referendum on the future of the territory but the deadlock was not broken.{{cite book|title=Self-Determination and Secession in International Law|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nZuzAwAAQBAJ&q=Houston+Agreement&pg=PA258|page=258| editor1-first=Christian | editor1-last=Walter| editor2-first= Antje von| editor2-last= Ungern-Sternberg| editor3-first= Kavus| editor3-last= Abushov|publisher=OUP Oxford |year=2014|isbn=9780191006913 }}

File:Redeployment of Polisario Forces 9-83.png (1975–1991)]]

Political reforms in the 1990s resulted in the establishment of a bicameral legislature with Morocco's first opposition-led government coming to power. King Hassan II died in 1999 and was succeeded by his son, Mohammed VI.{{cite web |title=Morocco: Royal Succession and Other Developments |url=https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RS20391.html |website=everycrsreport.com |access-date=15 September 2023 |archive-date=3 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003182514/https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RS20391.html |url-status=live }} He is a cautious moderniser who has introduced some economic and social liberalisation.{{cite news |title=Morocco's king pardons satirist |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3376601.stm |work=BBC News |date=7 January 2004 |access-date=22 February 2011 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511212519/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3376601.stm |url-status=live }} Mohammed VI paid a controversial visit to the Western Sahara in 2002.{{cite web |title=Morocco will not relinquish territory, King says |url=https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2002/03/07/morocco-will-not-relinquish-territory-king-sayshttps://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2002/03/07/morocco-will-not-relinquish-territory-king-says |access-date=7 March 2002 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Morocco unveiled an autonomy blueprint for Western Sahara to the United Nations in 2007.{{cite news |title=Chronology-Western Sahara -- a 50 year dispute |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL1118027 |work=Reuters |date=11 April 2007 |language=en |access-date=15 September 2023 |archive-date=3 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003182512/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL1118027 |url-status=live }} The Polisario rejected the plan and put forward its own proposal.{{cite news |title=Africa's oldest territorial dispute rumbles on |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sahara-idUSL1610108120070416 |work=Reuters |date=16 April 2007 |language=en |access-date=15 September 2023 |archive-date=3 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003182512/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sahara-idUSL1610108120070416 |url-status=live }} Morocco and the Polisario Front held UN-sponsored talks in New York City but failed to come to any agreement.{{cite web |title=Factbox-Some facts about Western Sahara dispute |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/western-sahara/factbox-some-facts-about-western-sahara-dispute |website=reliefweb.int |date=7 November 2010 |access-date=14 September 2023 |archive-date=15 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130915234147/http://reliefweb.int/report/western-sahara/factbox-some-facts-about-western-sahara-dispute |url-status=live }} In 2010, security forces stormed a protest camp in the Western Sahara, triggering violent demonstrations in the regional capital El Aaiún.{{cite news |title=Deadly clashes as Morocco breaks up Western Sahara camp |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-11710400 |work=BBC News |date=8 November 2010 |access-date=14 September 2023 |archive-date=3 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003190001/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-11710400 |url-status=live }}

File:President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump Visit France (44046554080).jpg and other world leaders and representatives attend the Armistice Day centenary in November 2018.]]

In 2002, Morocco and Spain agreed to a US-brokered resolution over the disputed island of Perejil. Spanish troops had taken the normally uninhabited island after Moroccan soldiers landed on it and set up tents and a flag.{{cite news |title=Spain withdraws after island deal - July 20, 2002 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/07/20/morocco.spain/ |work=CNN |access-date=15 September 2023 |archive-date=3 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003182512/https://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/07/20/morocco.spain/ |url-status=live }} There were renewed tensions in 2005, as dozens of African migrants stormed the borders of the Spanish enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta. In response, Spain deported dozens of the illegal migrants to Morocco from Melilla.{{cite news |title=Spain deports illegal enclave migrants |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2005/10/7/spain-deports-illegal-enclave-migrants |work=Al Jazeera |language=en |date=7 Oct 2005 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003182514/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2005/10/7/spain-deports-illegal-enclave-migrants |archive-date= Oct 3, 2023 }} In 2006, the Spanish Premier Zapatero visited Spanish enclaves. He was the first Spanish leader in 25 years to make an official visit to the territories.{{cite news |title=Spain PM visits troubled enclaves |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4665310.stm |date=31 January 2006 |access-date=14 September 2023 |archive-date=3 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003182512/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4665310.stm |url-status=live }} The following year, Spanish King Juan Carlos I visited Ceuta and Melilla, further angering Morocco which demanded control of the enclaves.{{cite news |title=Morocco king condemns royal visit |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7082766.stm |date=7 November 2007 |access-date=14 September 2023 |archive-date=3 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003182552/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7082766.stm |url-status=live }}

During the 2011–2012 Moroccan protests, thousands of people rallied in Rabat and other cities calling for political reform and a new constitution curbing the powers of the king. In July 2011, the King won a landslide victory in a referendum on a reformed constitution he had proposed to placate the Arab Spring protests.{{Cite news |date=2011-11-24 |title=Why has Morocco's king survived the Arab Spring? |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-15856989 |url-status=live |access-date=2023-08-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306045108/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-15856989 |archive-date=6 March 2014 }} In the first general elections that followed, the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party won a plurality of seats, with Abdelilah Benkirane being designated as head of government per the new constitution.{{Cite web |date=2011-11-29 |title=Maroc: Mohammed VI nomme Abdelilah Benkirane chef du gouvernement |url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/178337/politique/maroc-mohammed-vi-nomme-abdelilah-benkirane-premier-ministre/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160121010554/https://www.jeuneafrique.com/178337/politique/maroc-mohammed-vi-nomme-abdelilah-benkirane-premier-ministre/ |archive-date=21 January 2016 |access-date=2023-08-13 |website=Jeune Afrique |language=fr-FR }} Despite the reforms made by Mohammed VI, demonstrators continued to call for deeper reforms. Hundreds took part in a trade union rally in Casablanca in May 2012. Participants accused the government of failing to deliver on reforms.{{cite news |title=Mass anti-government protest in Morocco |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2012/5/28/mass-anti-government-protest-in-morocco |work=Al Jazeera |language=en |date=28 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003182518/https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2012/5/28/mass-anti-government-protest-in-morocco |archive-date= Oct 3, 2023 }}

On 24 August 2021, neighbouring Algeria cut diplomatic relations with Morocco, accusing Morocco of supporting a separatist group and hostile actions against Algeria. Morocco called the decision unjustified. Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra accused Morocco of using Pegasus spyware against its officials.{{cite news |last1=Ahmed |first1=Hamid Ould |title=Algeria cuts diplomatic relations with Morocco |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/algeria-says-cutting-diplomatic-ties-with-morocco-2021-08-24/#:%7E:text=Speaking%20at%20a%20news%20conference,on%20the%20Western%20Sahara%20issue |work=Reuters |date=25 August 2021 |language=en |access-date=14 September 2023 |archive-date=7 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907051009/https://www.reuters.com/world/algeria-says-cutting-diplomatic-ties-with-morocco-2021-08-24/#:%7E:text=Speaking%20at%20a%20news%20conference,on%20the%20Western%20Sahara%20issue |url-status=live }} Amnesty International found that two phones of Sahraoui human rights defender Aminatou Haidar were infected in November 2021.{{Cite web |date=2022-03-09 |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: Activist targeted with Pegasus spyware in recent months – new evidence |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/03/morocco-western-sahara-activist-nso-pegasus/ |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=Amnesty International |language=en}}

On 8 September 2023, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Morocco killing more than 2,800 people and injuring thousands. The epicentre of the quake was around 70 km southwest of city of Marrakech.{{cite web |title=Timeline: The Deadly September 8 Earthquake in Morocco |url=https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2023/09/357589/timeline-the-deadly-september-8-earthquake-in-morocco |website=moroccoworldnews.com |date=10 September 2023 |access-date=12 September 2023 |archive-date=12 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230912063411/https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2023/09/357589/timeline-the-deadly-september-8-earthquake-in-morocco |url-status=live }}

On 10 December 2020, the Israel–Morocco normalisation agreement was announced, and Morocco announced its intention to resume diplomatic relations with Israel.{{Cite web |last1=bin Taher |first1=Ahmed |last2=Barakat |first2=Mahmoud |date=December 20, 2020 |title=Morocco, Israel: 6 decades of secret ties, cooperation |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/morocco-israel-6-decades-of-secret-ties-cooperation/2083157 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216052347/https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/morocco-israel-6-decades-of-secret-ties-cooperation/2083157 |archive-date=Feb 16, 2024 |website=Anadolu Ajansı}} Joint Declaration of the Kingdom of Morocco, the United States of America and the State of Israel was signed on 22 December 2020.{{cite web |date=22 December 2020 |title=Joint Declaration |url=https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Joint-Declaration-US-Morrocco-Israel.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216044129/https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Joint-Declaration-US-Morrocco-Israel.pdf |archive-date=Feb 16, 2024 |website=state.gov}} The agreement was met with criticism due to the October 2023 Gaza war. Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita argues that maintaining relations does not signify endorsement of Israeli government actions.{{Cite news |last=El Atti |first=Basma |date=5 November 2024 |title=Morocco reasserts ties with Israel for first time since Gaza war |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/morocco-reasserts-ties-israel-first-time-gaza-war |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250115012227/https://www.newarab.com/news/morocco-reasserts-ties-israel-first-time-gaza-war |archive-date=15 January 2025 |access-date=2025-01-26 |work=The New Arab |language=en-EN |url-status=live }}

{{main|Geography of Morocco}}

File:My_Toubkal.jpg, the highest peak in Northern Africa, at {{convert|4167|m|abbr=on|0}}]]

File:Panorama Djebel el Kest.jpg near Tafraout]]

File:Morocco Atlas 01.jpg tree in the Atlas range]]

Morocco has a coast by the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Spain to the north (a water border through the Strait and land borders with three small Spanish-controlled exclaves, Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera), Algeria to the east, and Western Sahara to the south. Since Morocco controls most of Western Sahara, its de facto southern boundary is with Mauritania.{{cite book | last=French | first=D. | title=Statehood and Self-Determination: Reconciling Tradition and Modernity in International Law | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=2013 | isbn=978-1-107-02933-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ujd84R1TL2AC&pg=PA260 | access-date=June 14, 2024| pages=259–260}} The geography of Morocco spans from the Atlantic Ocean, to mountainous areas, to the Sahara desert. Morocco is a Northern African country, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and the annexed Western Sahara. It is one of only three nations (along with Spain and France) to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines.{{cite web|url=https://infcis.iaea.org/udepo/Resources/Countries/Morocco.pdf|title=Morocco|publisher=IAEA|website=IAEA.org|accessdate=June 14, 2024}}

A large part of Morocco is mountainous. The Atlas Mountains are located mainly in the centre and the south of the country. The Rif Mountains are located in the north of the country. Both ranges are mainly inhabited by the Berber people.{{Cite book |last=Aïtel |first=Fazia |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/895334326 |title=We are Imazigen: the development of Algerian Berber identity in twentieth-century literature and culture |date=2014 |isbn=978-0-8130-4895-6 |location=Gainesville, FL |publisher=University of Florida Press |oclc=895334326}} Its total area is about {{convert|446300|km2|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |date=26 November 2023 |title=Morocco country profile |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14121438 |access-date=26 November 2023 |website=BBC News |archive-date=27 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127170356/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14121438 |url-status=live }} Algeria borders Morocco to the east and southeast, though the border between the two countries has been closed since 1994.{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/morocco-wants-normal-ties-with-algeria-king-says-2023-07-29/|title=Morocco wants normal ties with Algeria, king says|date=29 July 2023|accessdate=3 January 2024|work=Reuters|language=en}} The internationally recognised borders of the country lie between latitudes 27° and 36°N, and longitudes 1° and 14°W. Morocco's capital city is Rabat, a city that is beside the Oued Bou Regreg River; its largest city is its main port, Casablanca. Other cities recording a population over 500,000 in the 2014 Moroccan census are Fes, Marrakesh, Meknes, Salé and Tangier.{{cite web |date=8 April 2015 |title=Population Légale des Régions, Provinces, Préfectures, Municipalités, Arrondissements et Communes du Royaume D'Après Les Résultats du RGPH 2014 |url=http://rgph2014.hcp.ma/file/166326/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010160550/http://rgph2014.hcp.ma/file/166326/ |archive-date=10 October 2017 |access-date=29 September 2017 |publisher=High Commission for Planning, Morocco |language=ar, fr}}

The Rif mountains stretch over the region bordering the Mediterranean from the northwest to the northeast. The Atlas Mountains run down the backbone of the country,{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Morocco|volume=18|page=852|first1=James|last1=Meakin|first2=Kate|last2=Meakin}} from the northeast to the southwest. Most of the southeast portion of the country is in the Sahara Desert and as such is generally sparsely populated and unproductive economically. Most of the population lives to the north of these mountains, with Morocco's largest cities encapsulated by the Middle Atlas and the High Atlas mountain range, while to the south lies the Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony that was annexed by Morocco in 1975 during the Green March.{{efn|Pending resolution of the Western Sahara conflict}} Morocco claims that the Western Sahara is part of its territory and refers to that as its Southern Provinces.

Spanish territory in Northwest Africa neighbouring Morocco comprises five enclaves on the Mediterranean coast: Ceuta, Melilla, Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, Peñón de Alhucemas, the Chafarinas islands and the disputed islet Perejil. Off the Atlantic coast the Canary Islands belong to Spain, whereas Madeira to the north is Portuguese. To the north, Morocco is bordered by the Strait of Gibraltar, where international shipping has unimpeded transit passage between the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

Morocco is represented in the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 geographical encoding standard by the symbol MA.{{cite web |url=http://www.iso.org/iso/country_codes/iso_3166_code_lists/english_country_names_and_code_elements.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721191154/http://www.iso.org/iso/country_codes/iso_3166_code_lists/english_country_names_and_code_elements.htm |archive-date=21 July 2011 |title= English country names and code elements |access-date=24 May 2008 |publisher=International Organization for Standardization |date=15 May 2008}} This code was used as the basis for Morocco's internet domain, .ma.

File:Morocco Köppen.svg climate types in Morocco]]

In area, Morocco's climate is mainly "hot summer Mediterranean" (Csa) and "hot desert" (BWh) zones.{{cite web|url=https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/morocco|title=Morocco - Summary|publisher=The World Bank Group|website=ClimateChangeKnowledgePortal.WorldBankGroup.org|accessdate=June 14, 2024}}

Central mountain ranges and the effects of the cold Canary Current, off the Atlantic coast, are significant factors in Morocco's relatively large variety of vegetation zones, ranging from lush forests in the northern and central mountains, giving way to steppe, semi-arid and desert areas in the eastern and southern regions. The Moroccan coastal plains experience moderate temperatures even in summer.{{cite web|url=https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/pa00mtzd.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231120312/https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/pa00mtzd.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=31 December 2023|title=Climate Change Risk Profile Morocco|publisher=United States Agency for International Development|website=USAID|access-date=June 14, 2024}}

In the Rif, Middle and High Atlas Mountains, there exist several different types of climates: Mediterranean along the coastal lowlands, giving way to a humid temperate climate at higher elevations with sufficient moisture to allow for the growth of different species of oaks, moss carpets, junipers, and Atlantic fir which is a royal conifer tree endemic to Morocco.Gaussen, H. (1964). Genre Cedrus. Les Formes Actuelles. Trav. Lab. For. Toulouse T2 V1 11: 295-320 In the valleys, fertile soils and high precipitation allow for the growth of thick and lush forests. Cloud forests can be found in the west of the Rif Mountains and Middle Atlas Mountains. At higher elevations, the climate becomes alpine in character, and can sustain ski resorts.

Southeast of the Atlas mountains, near the Algerian borders, the climate becomes very dry, with long and hot summers. Extreme heat and low moisture levels are especially pronounced in the lowland regions east of the Atlas range due to the rain shadow effect of the mountain system. The southeasternmost portions of Morocco are very hot, and include portions of the Sahara desert, where vast swathes of sand dunes and rocky plains are dotted with lush oases.{{cite journal|title=Spatiotemporal Thermal Variations in Moroccan Cities: A Comparative Analysis|pmid=37448080|doi=10.3390/s23136229|author=Ahmed Derdouri|journal=Sensors|date=2023 |volume=23 |issue=13 |page=6229 |doi-access=free |pmc=10346751 |bibcode=2023Senso..23.6229D }}

In contrast to the Sahara region in the south, coastal plains are fertile in the central and northern regions of the country, and comprise the backbone of the country's agriculture, in which 95% of the population live. The direct exposure to the North Atlantic Ocean, the proximity to mainland Europe and the long stretched Rif and Atlas mountains are the factors of the rather European-like climate in the northern half of the country. That makes Morocco a country of contrasts. Forested areas cover about 12% of the country while arable land accounts for 18%. Approximately 5% of Moroccan land is irrigated for agricultural use.{{cite web|url=https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/2021-09/15725-WB_Morocco%20Country%20Profile-WEB.pdf|title=Climate Change Risk Profile Morocco|publisher=World Bank Group|accessdate=June 14, 2024}}

File:Merzouga sahara.jpg]]

File:Djebel Toubkal 01.jpg]]

In general, apart from the southeast regions (pre-Saharan and desert areas), Morocco's climate and geography are very similar to the Iberian peninsula. Thus Morocco has the following climate zones:

• Mediterranean: Dominates the coastal Mediterranean regions of the country, along the (500 km strip), and some parts of the Atlantic coast. Summers are hot to moderately hot and dry, average highs are between {{convert|29|C|1}} and {{convert|32|C|1}}. Winters are generally mild and wet, daily average temperatures hover around {{convert|9|C|1}} to {{convert|11|C|1}}, and average low are around {{convert|5|C|1}} to {{convert|8|C|1}}, typical to the coastal areas of the west Mediterranean. Annual Precipitation in this area varies from 600 to 800 mm in the west to 350–500 mm in the east. Notable cities that fall into this zone are Tangier, Tetouan, Al Hoceima, Nador and Safi.
• Sub-Mediterranean: It influences cities that show Mediterranean characteristics, but remain fairly influenced by other climates owing to their either relative elevation, or direct exposure to the North Atlantic Ocean. There are thus two main influencing climates:

:* Oceanic: Determined by the cooler summers, where highs are around {{convert|27|C|1}} and in terms of the Essaouira region, are almost always around {{convert|21|C|1}}. The medium daily temperatures can get as low as {{convert|19|C|1}}, while winters are chilly to mild and wet. Annual precipitation varies from 400 to 700 mm. Notable cities that fall into this zone are Rabat, Casablanca, Kénitra, Salé and Essaouira.

:* Continental: Determined by the bigger gap between highs and lows, that results in hotter summers and colder winters, than found in typical Mediterranean zones. In summer, daily highs can get as high as {{convert|40|C|1}} during heat waves, but usually are between {{convert|32|C|1}} and {{convert|36|C|1}}. However, temperatures drop as the sun sets. Night temperatures usually fall below {{convert|20|C|1}}, and sometimes as low as {{convert|10|C|1}} in mid-summer. Winters are cooler, and can get below the freezing point multiple times between December and February. Also, snow can fall occasionally. Fès for example registered {{convert|-8|C|1}} in winter 2005. Annual precipitation varies between 500 and 900 mm. Notable cities are Fès, Meknès, Chefchaouen, Beni-Mellal and Taza.

• Continental: Dominates the mountainous regions of the north and central parts of the country, where summers are hot to very hot, with highs between {{convert|32|C|1}} and {{convert|36|C|1}}. Winters on the other hand are cold, and lows usually go beyond the freezing point. And when cold damp air comes to Morocco from the northwest, for a few days, temperatures sometimes get below {{convert|-5|C|1}}. It often snows abundantly in this part of the country. Precipitation varies between 400 and 800 mm. Notable cities are Khenifra, Imilchil, Midelt and Azilal.
• Alpine: Found in some parts of the Middle Atlas Mountain range and the eastern part of the High Atlas Mountain range. Summers are very warm to moderately hot, and winters are longer, cold and snowy. Precipitation varies between 400 and 1200 mm. In summer highs barely go above {{convert|30|C|1}}, and lows are cool and average below {{convert|15|C|1}}. In winters, highs average around {{convert|8|C|1}}, and lows go well below the freezing point. In this part of the country, there are many ski resorts, such as Oukaimeden and Mischliefen. Notable cities are Ifrane, Azrou and Boulmane.
• Semi-arid: This type of climate is found in the south of the country and some parts of the east of the country, where rainfall is lower and annual precipitations are between 200 and 350 mm. However, one usually finds Mediterranean characteristics in those regions, such as the precipitation pattern and thermal attributes. Notable cities are Agadir, Marrakesh and Oujda.

South of Agadir and east of Jerada near the Algerian borders, arid and desert climate starts to prevail.

Due to Morocco's proximity to the Sahara desert and the North Sea of the Atlantic Ocean, two phenomena occur to influence the regional seasonal temperatures, either by raising temperatures by 7–8 degrees Celsius when sirocco blows from the east creating heatwaves, or by lowering temperatures by 7–8 degrees Celsius when cold damp air blows from the northwest, creating a coldwave or cold spell. However, these phenomena do not last for more than two to five days on average.{{cite journal|title=Impact of climate change on extremes events in Morocco|author1=W. Hammoudy|author2=R. Ilmen|author3=M. Sinan|journal=IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci.|date=2022 |volume=1090 |issue=1 |page=012034 |doi=10.1088/1755-1315/1090/1/012034|bibcode=2022E&ES.1090a2034H |doi-access=free}}

Climate change is expected to significantly impact Morocco on multiple dimensions. As a coastal country with hot and arid climates, environmental impacts are likely to be wide and varied. As of the 2019 Climate Change Performance Index, Morocco was ranked second in preparedness behind Sweden.{{cite web|title=Morocco: Ranked second worldwide in climate change control|url=https://www.afrik21.africa/en/morocco-ranked-second-worldwide-in-climate-change-control/|date=30 April 2020|website=Afrik 21|language=en-US|access-date=29 May 2020|archive-date=10 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210154206/https://www.afrik21.africa/en/morocco-ranked-second-worldwide-in-climate-change-control/|url-status=live}}

{{main|Wildlife of Morocco}}

File:Portrait of a father.jpg carrying his offspring, a behaviour rarely found in other primates]]

File:Caracal - Flickr - Ragnhild & Neil Crawford (cropped).jpg]]

Morocco has a wide range of biodiversity. It is part of the Mediterranean basin, an area with exceptional concentrations of endemic species undergoing rapid rates of habitat loss, and is therefore considered to be a hotspot for conservation priority.{{Cite journal|last1=Myers|first1=Norman|last2=Mittermeier|first2=Russell A.|last3=Mittermeier|first3=Cristina G.|last4=da Fonseca|first4=Gustavo A. B.|last5=Kent|first5=Jennifer|date= 2000|title=Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities|journal=Nature|volume=403|issue=6772|pages=853–858|doi=10.1038/35002501|pmid=10706275|bibcode=2000Natur.403..853M|s2cid=4414279}} Avifauna are notably variant.{{cite web |url=http://www.africanconservation.org/moroccoprofile.html |title=Profile on Morocco |access-date=10 May 2007 |publisher=African Conservation Foundation |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040302201903/http://www.africanconservation.org/moroccoprofile.html |archive-date = 2 March 2004}} The avifauna of Morocco includes a total of 454 species, five of which have been introduced by humans, and 156 are rarely or accidentally seen.{{cite journal|url=http://www.go-south.org/08_Go_SouthBulletin/gsb_7_15-55.pdf|author=Bergier, P.|author2=Thévenot, M.|year=2006|title=Liste des oiseaux du Maroc|journal=Go-South Bull|volume=3|pages=51–83|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118223945/http://www.go-south.org/08_Go_SouthBulletin/gsb_7_15-55.pdf|archive-date=18 January 2012}} Morocco is home to six terrestrial ecoregions: Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests, Mediterranean High Atlas juniper steppe, Mediterranean acacia-argania dry woodlands and succulent thickets, Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe, Mediterranean woodlands and forests and North Saharan steppe and woodlands.{{cite journal |last1=Dinerstein |first1=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant |last10=Noss |first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |last12=Locke |first12=Harvey |last13=Ellis |first13=Erle C |last14=Jones |first14=Benjamin |last15=Barber |first15=Charles Victor |display-authors=1 |year=2017 |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |volume=67 |issue=6 |pages=534–545 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |issn=0006-3568 |pmc=5451287 |pmid=28608869 |doi-access=free |last16=Hayes |first16=Randy |last17=Kormos |first17=Cyril |last18=Martin |first18=Vance |last19=Crist |first19=Eileen |last20=Sechrest |first20=Wes |last21=Price |first21=Lori |last22=Baillie |first22=Jonathan E. M. |last23=Weeden |first23=Don |last24=Suckling |first24=Kierán |last25=Davis |first25=Crystal |last26=Sizer |first26=Nigel |last27=Moore |first27=Rebecca |last28=Thau |first28=David |last29=Birch |first29=Tanya |last30=Potapov |first30=Peter |last31=Turubanova |first31=Svetlana |last32=Tyukavina |first32=Alexandra |last33=de Souza |first33=Nadia |last34=Pintea |first34=Lilian |last35=Brito |first35=José C. |last36=Llewellyn |first36=Othman A. |last37=Miller |first37=Anthony G. |last38=Patzelt |first38=Annette |last39=Ghazanfar |first39=Shahina A. |last40=Timberlake |first40=Jonathan |last41=Klöser |first41=Heinz |last42=Shennan-Farpón |first42=Yara |last43=Kindt |first43=Roeland |last44=Lillesø |first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow |last45=van Breugel |first45=Paulo |last46=Graudal |first46=Lars |last47=Voge |first47=Maianna |last48=Al-Shammari |first48=Khalaf F. |last49=Saleem |first49=Muhammad}}

The Barbary lion, hunted to extinction in the wild, was a subspecies native to Morocco and is a national emblem. The last Barbary lion in the wild was shot in the Atlas Mountains in 1922.{{Cite book|editor=Nowell K, Jackson P|title=Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan|chapter-url=http://carnivoractionplans1.free.fr/wildcats.pdf|year=1996|publisher=IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group|location=Gland, Switzerland|isbn=978-2-8317-0045-8|pages=17–21|chapter=Panthera Leo|access-date=20 March 2011|archive-date=7 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807215533/http://carnivoractionplans1.free.fr/wildcats.pdf|url-status=live}} The other two primary predators of northern Africa, the Atlas bear and Barbary leopard, are now extinct and critically endangered, respectively. Relic populations of the West African crocodile persisted in the Draa river until the 20th century."[http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0014734 Crocodiles in the Sahara Desert: An Update of Distribution, Habitats and Population Status for Conservation Planning in Mauritania] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810113430/http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0014734 |date=10 August 2018 }}". PLOS ONE. 25 February 2011. The Barbary macaque, a primate endemic to Morocco and Algeria, is also facing extinction due to offtake for trade{{Cite journal|last1=Nijman|first1=Vincent|last2=Bergin|first2=Daniel|last3=Lavieren|first3=Els van|date=1 July 2015|title=Barbary macaques exploited as photo-props in Marrakesh's punishment square|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280111452|journal=ResearchGate|volume=Jul–Sep|access-date=11 January 2017|archive-date=31 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031133214/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280111452|url-status=live}} human interruption, urbanisation, wood and real estate expansion that diminish forested area—the macaque's habitat.

Trade of animals and plants for food, pets, medicinal purposes, souvenirs and photo props is common across Morocco, despite laws making much of it illegal.{{Cite journal|last1=Bergin|first1=Daniel|last2=Nijman|first2=Vincent|date=21 December 2015|title=Potential benefits of impending Moroccan wildlife trade laws, a case study in carnivore skins|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287807462|journal=Biodiversity and Conservation|volume=25|issue=1|pages=199–201|doi=10.1007/s10531-015-1042-1|s2cid=34533018|access-date=11 January 2017|archive-date=7 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200107220433/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287807462_Potential_benefits_of_impending_Moroccan_wildlife_trade_laws_a_case_study_in_carnivore_skins|url-status=live}}{{Cite journal|last1=Bergin|first1=Daniel|last2=Nijman|first2=Vincent|date=1 November 2014|title=Open, Unregulated Trade in Wildlife in Morocco's Markets|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267748463|journal=ResearchGate|volume=26|issue=2|access-date=11 January 2017|archive-date=31 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031133219/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267748463|url-status=live}} This trade is unregulated and causing unknown reductions of wild populations of native Moroccan wildlife. Because of the proximity of northern Morocco to Europe, species such as cacti, tortoises, mammal skins, and high-value birds (falcons and bustards) are harvested in various parts of the country and exported in appreciable quantities, with especially large volumes of eel harvested – 60 tons exported to the Far East in the period 2009‒2011.{{Cite journal|last1=Nijman|first1=Vincent|last2=Bergin|first2=Daniel|last3=Lavieren|first3=Els van|date=1 September 2016|title=Conservation in an ever-globalizing world: wildlife trade in, from, and through Morocco, a gateway to Europe|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307598081|journal=ResearchGate|access-date=11 January 2017|archive-date=5 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905012505/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307598081_Conservation_in_an_ever-globalizing_world_wildlife_trade_in_from_and_through_Morocco_a_gateway_to_Europe|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Politics of Morocco}}

File:King Mohammed VI (cropped).jpg, Mohammed VI]]

According to the 2022 Economist Democracy Index, Morocco is ruled under a hybrid regime, scoring #3 in the Middle East and North Africa, and #95 in the world.{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Democracy Index 2022: Frontline democracy and the battle for Ukraine |url=https://pages.eiu.com/rs/753-RIQ-438/images/DI-final-version-report.pdf |website=Economist Intelligence Unit |language=en-GB |access-date=2 July 2023 |archive-date=30 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330123307/https://pages.eiu.com/rs/753-RIQ-438/images/DI-final-version-report.pdf |url-status=live }} Morocco has a "difficult" ranking on the 2023 World Press Freedom Index.{{Cite web |date=2023-05-19 |title=Morocco / Western Sahara |url=https://rsf.org/en/country/morocco-western-sahara |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=rsf.org |language=en |archive-date=2 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702083153/https://rsf.org/en/country/morocco-western-sahara |url-status=live }}

Following the March 1998 elections, a coalition government headed by opposition socialist leader Abderrahmane Youssoufi and composed largely of ministers drawn from opposition parties, was formed. Prime Minister Youssoufi's government was the first ever government drawn primarily from opposition parties, and also represents the first opportunity for a coalition of socialists, left-of-centre, and nationalist parties to be included in the government until October 2002. It was also the first time in the modern political history of the Arab world that the opposition assumed power following an election. The current government is headed by Aziz Akhannouch.

The Constitution of Morocco provides for a monarchy with a Parliament and an independent judiciary. With the 2011 constitutional reforms, the King of Morocco retains less executive powers whereas those of the prime minister have been enlarged.Schemm, Paul (17 June 2011) [https://web.archive.org/web/20110623180751/https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110617/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_morocco_king King declares Morocco a constitutional monarchy]. Associated Press.[https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0702/breaking8.html Moroccan king in referendum win] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024053618/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0702/breaking8.html |date=24 October 2012 }}. The Irish Times. 2 July 2011. The constitution grants the king honorific powers (among other powers); he is both the secular political leader and the "Commander of the Faithful" as a direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammed. He presides over the Council of Ministers; appoints the Prime Minister from the political party that has won the most seats in the parliamentary elections, and on recommendations from the latter, appoints the members of the government.

The constitution of 1996 theoretically allowed the king to terminate the tenure of any minister, and after consultation with the heads of the higher and lower Assemblies, to dissolve the Parliament, suspend the constitution, call for new elections, or rule by decree. The only time this happened was in 1965. The King is formally the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

File:Parliament of morocco.jpg

Since the constitutional reform of 1996, the bicameral legislature consists of two chambers. The Assembly of Representatives of Morocco (Majlis an-Nuwwâb/Assemblée des Répresentants) has 395 members elected for a five-year term, 305 elected in multi-seat constituencies and 90 in national lists consisting of women and youth.

The Assembly of Councillors (Majlis al-Mustasharin) has 120 members, elected for a six-year term. 72 members are elected at the regional level, 20 members are elected from trade unions, 8 seats from professional organisations and 20 from wage-earners.{{Cite web |title=Morocco - House of Councillors |url=https://data.ipu.org/parliament/MA/MA-UC01/ |access-date=2024-06-01}}

The Parliament's powers, though still relatively limited, were expanded under the 1992 and 1996 and even further in the 2011 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.{{Cite web |last=Amraoui |first=Ahmed El |title=Morocco election: Everything you need to know |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/9/30/morocco-election-everything-you-need-to-know |access-date=2024-06-01 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en |archive-date=10 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231210182618/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/9/30/morocco-election-everything-you-need-to-know |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2008-03-11 |title=Morocco |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100602.htm |access-date=2024-06-01 |website=US Department of State |archive-date=6 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206195317/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100602.htm |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Morocco: Government |url=https://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/morocco/government |access-date=2024-06-01 |website=globaledge.msu.edu |language=en-us |archive-date=5 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605041633/https://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/morocco/government |url-status=live }}

The latest parliamentary elections were held on 8 September 2021. Voter turnout in these elections was estimated to be 50.35% of registered voters.{{Cite web |title=2021 Elections: High Turnout in Southern Provinces, Tangible Proof of Attachment to Morocco - Mauritanian Political Parties {{!}} MapNews |url=https://www.mapnews.ma/en/actualites/politics/2021-elections-high-turnout-southern-provinces-tangible-proof-attachment-morocco |access-date=2024-06-01 |website=www.mapnews.ma |date=14 September 2021 |archive-date=1 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240601064949/https://www.mapnews.ma/en/actualites/politics/2021-elections-high-turnout-southern-provinces-tangible-proof-attachment-morocco |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last= |date=2021-09-09 |title=Morocco elections: Islamists suffer losses as liberal parties gain ground |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/09/islamists-suffer-losses-as-liberal-parties-gain-ground-in-morocco-elections |access-date=2024-06-01 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

File:Administrative Regions of Morocco.jpg

Morocco is officially divided into 12 regions,{{cite web |url=http://www.pncl.gov.ma/fr/EspaceJuridique/DocLib/d%C3%A9cret%20fixant%20le%20nombre%20des%20r%C3%A9gions.pdf |title=Décret fixant le nom des régions |access-date=11 July 2015 |work=Portail National des Collectivités Territoriales |language=fr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518083233/http://www.pncl.gov.ma/fr/EspaceJuridique/DocLib/d%C3%A9cret%20fixant%20le%20nombre%20des%20r%C3%A9gions.pdf |archive-date=18 May 2015}} which, in turn, are subdivided into 62 provinces and 13 prefectures.{{cite web|url=http://www.statoids.com/yma.html|title=Morocco Prefectures|website=www.statoids.com|access-date=4 November 2006|archive-date=16 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516150543/http://www.statoids.com/yma.html|url-status=live}}

Regions

1. Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima
2. Oriental
3. Fès-Meknès
4. Rabat-Salé-Kénitra
5. Béni Mellal-Khénifra
6. Casablanca-Settat
7. Marrakesh-Safi
8. Drâa-Tafilalet
9. Souss-Massa
10. Guelmim-Oued Noun
11. Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra
12. Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab

{{main|Foreign relations of Morocco}}

Morocco is a member of the United Nations and belongs to the African Union (AU), Arab League, Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Non-Aligned Movement and the Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN–SAD). Morocco's relationships vary greatly between African, Arab and Western states. Morocco has had strong ties to the West in order to gain economic and political benefits.{{cite web|url=http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/World-Leaders-2003/Morocco-FOREIGN-POLICY.html|title=Encyclopedia of the Nations: Morocco Foreign Policy|access-date=23 October 2009|archive-date=5 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205210719/http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/World-Leaders-2003/Morocco-FOREIGN-POLICY.html|url-status=live}} France and Spain remain the primary trade partners, as well as the primary creditors and foreign investors in Morocco. From the total foreign investments in Morocco, the European Union invests approximately 73.5%, whereas the Arab world invests only 19.3%. Many countries from the Persian Gulf and Maghreb regions are getting more involved in large-scale development projects in Morocco.{{cite web |url=http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?article=190 |title=GCC Countries Invest Heavily in Morocco |access-date=23 October 2009 |archive-date=7 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807190426/http://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?article=190 |url-status=live }}

File:Ceuta-melilla.png and Melilla.]]In 2002, a dispute with Spain in 2002 over the small island of Perejil arose, which brought attention to the issue of the sovereignty of Melilla and Ceuta.{{Cite news |last=Tremlett |first=Giles |date=2002-07-13 |title=Moroccans seize Parsley Island and leave a bitter taste in Spanish mouths |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jul/13/spain.gilestremlett |access-date=2024-04-03 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=16 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416115708/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jul/13/spain.gilestremlett |url-status=live }} These small enclaves on the Mediterranean coast are surrounded by Morocco and have been under Spanish administration for centuries.

In 2004, the George W. Bush administration granted Morocco the status of major non-NATO ally.{{Cite news|date=4 June 2004|title=US rewards Morocco for terror aid|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3776413.stm|access-date=7 November 2021|archive-date=29 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129053156/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3776413.stm|url-status=live}} Morocco was the first country in the world to recognise US sovereignty, in 1777. After gaining independence, Morocco established strong ties with the United States, receiving significant economic and military aid. This partnership flourished during the Cold War, with Morocco becoming a key ally against communist expansion in North Africa. In return, the US supported Morocco's territorial ambitions and efforts to modernise its economy. Morocco received more than $400 million in American aid between 1957 and 1963, which elevated it to the fifth-largest recipient of US agricultural assistance by 1966. The long-lasting relationship between the two nations has endured, with the US remaining one of Morocco's top allies. Additionally, Morocco is included in the European Union's European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), which aims at bringing the EU and its neighbours closer.{{Cite web |date=2024-02-01 |title=Morocco - European Commission |url=https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/european-neighbourhood-policy/countries-region/morocco_en |access-date=2024-04-03 |website=neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu |language=en |archive-date=3 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403192324/https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/european-neighbourhood-policy/countries-region/morocco_en |url-status=live }}

Morocco's membership in the African Union has been marked by significant events. In 1984, Morocco withdrew from the organisation after it admitted the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in 1982 without conducting a referendum of self-determination in the disputed territory of Western Sahara.{{cite news |date=30 January 2017 |title=Morocco rejoins African Union |url=http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/183967/morocco-rejoins-african-union |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720013737/http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/183967/morocco-rejoins-african-union |archive-date=20 July 2018 |access-date=31 January 2017 |publisher=Worldbulletin}}{{Cite news |date=30 January 2017 |title=Morocco to rejoin African Union despite Western Sahara dispute |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38795676 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200415234904/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38795676 |archive-date=15 April 2020 |access-date=31 January 2017 |work=BBC News |publisher=bbc.com}} This decision was made unilaterally by Morocco. However, in 2017, Morocco rejoined the AU, signaling a shift in its diplomatic stance. In November 2020, Brahim Ghali, leader of the Polisario Front and the Sahrawi president, unilaterally ended a 29-year-old ceasefire agreement with Morocco overseen by the United Nations.{{Cite web |last1=Paget |first1=Sharif |last2=McCluskey |first2=Mitchell |date=2020-11-15 |title=Western Sahara independence leader declares end of 29-year ceasefire with Morocco |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/15/world/polisario-front-morocco-western-sahara-ceasefire-intl/index.html |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=CNN |language=en}} In December 2020, Morocco had started to pursue military cooperation with Israel from a normalization agreement. Algeria backs the Polisario Front of Morocco's breakaway state, the Western Sahara.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-29 |title=Managing Tensions between Algeria and Morocco |url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/north-africa/247-algeria-morocco-western-sahara/managing-tensions-between |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=Crisis Group |language=en}} In August 2021, Algeria severed diplomatic relations with Morocco.{{cite web |date=24 August 2021 |title=Algeria cuts diplomatic ties with Morocco over 'hostile actions' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/24/algeria-cuts-diplomatic-ties-with-morocco |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404144707/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/24/algeria-cuts-diplomatic-ties-with-morocco |archive-date=4 April 2023 |access-date=29 August 2021 |website=Al-Jazeera |ref=1}} Algerian authorities have accused Rabat of supporting the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), which it classifies as a terrorist organisation.

{{main|Legal status of Western Sahara}}

File:Westernsaharamap.png control the territory east of the Moroccan berm (wall).]]

The status of the Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro regions is disputed. The Western Sahara War saw the Polisario Front, the Sahrawi rebel national liberation movement, battling both Morocco and Mauritania between 1976 and a ceasefire in 1991. The Moroccan government has stated that their claimed area of Western Sahara is referred to as the "Southern Provinces".{{Cite web |last=Brooke-Holland |first=Louisa |date=29 November 2023 |title=Western Sahara |url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9906/ |website=House of Commons Library}} A United Nations mission, MINURSO, is tasked with organising a referendum on whether the territory should become independent or recognised as a part of Morocco.

Part of the territory, the Free Zone, is a mostly uninhabited area that the Polisario Front controls as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Its administrative headquarters are located in Tindouf, Algeria. {{As of|2006}}, no UN member state had recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.{{cite web |title=Paragraph 37 |url=https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2006/249 |work=Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara (S/2006/249) |publisher=United Nations Security Council |page=10 |access-date=29 June 2017 |archive-date=18 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018112734/http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2006/249 |url-status=live }} In 2006, the government of Morocco suggested autonomous status for the region through the Moroccan Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS). The project was presented to the United Nations Security Council in mid-April 2007. The proposal was encouraged by Moroccan allies such as the United States, France, and Spain.{{cite web|url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/the-western-sahara-conflict-a-fragile-path-to-negotiations/|title=The Western Sahara conflict: A fragile path to negotiations|last=Fabiani|first=Riccardo|publisher=Atlantic Council|date=August 3, 2023|website=AtlanticCouncil.org|accessdate=June 14, 2024}} The Security Council has called upon the parties to enter into direct and unconditional negotiations to reach a mutually accepted political solution.{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/minurso/reports.shtml|title=Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara|date=13 April 2007|access-date=18 May 2007|work=UN Security Council|archive-date=28 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100228172226/http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/minurso/reports.shtml|url-status=live}}

In 2020, the United States under the Trump administration became the first Western country to back Morocco's contested sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, on the agreement that Morocco would simultaneously normalise relations with Israel.Majid, Jacob. "[https://www.timesofisrael.com/biden-reportedly-wont-reverse-trump-recognition-of-western-sahara-as-moroccos/ Biden reportedly won't reverse Trump recognition of Western Sahara as Morocco's] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016004918/https://www.timesofisrael.com/biden-reportedly-wont-reverse-trump-recognition-of-western-sahara-as-moroccos/|date=16 October 2021}}", The Times of Israel (1 May 2021). The Polisario later declared an end to the ceasefire; this led to occasional clashes between the two.{{Cite web |last1=McCluskey |first1=Mitchell |last2=Paget |first2=Sharif |date=2020-11-15 |title=Western Sahara independence leader declares end of 29-year ceasefire with Morocco |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/15/world/polisario-front-morocco-western-sahara-ceasefire-intl/index.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=CNN |language=en}}

{{main|Royal Moroccan Armed Forces}}

File:FREMM Mohammed VI - Lorient 2013-05.JPG of the Royal Moroccan Navy]]

Morocco's military consists of the Royal Armed Forces—this includes the Army (the largest branch), the Navy, the Air Force, the Royal Guard, the Royal Gendarmerie and the Auxiliary Forces. Internal security is generally effective, and acts of political violence are rare (with one exception, the 2003 Casablanca bombings which killed 45 peopleMigdalovitz, Carol (3 February 2010). [http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RS21579_20100203.pdf Morocco: Current Issues] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125150908/http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RS21579_20100203.pdf |date=25 January 2012}}, Congressional Research Service.).

The UN maintains a small observer force in Western Sahara, where a large number of Moroccan troops are stationed. The Sahrawi Polisario Front maintains an active militia of an estimated 5,000 fighters in Western Sahara and has engaged in intermittent warfare with Moroccan forces since the 1970s.

{{See also|Human rights in Morocco|LGBT rights in Morocco}}

During the early 1960s to the late 1980s, under the leadership of Hassan II, Morocco had one of the worst human rights records in both Africa and the world. Government repression of political dissent was widespread during Hassan II's leadership, until it dropped sharply in the mid-1990s. The decades during which abuses were committed are referred to as the Years of Lead (les années de plomb), and included forced disappearances, assassinations of government opponents and protesters, and secret internment camps such as Tazmamart. To examine abuses committed during the reign of King Hassan II (1961–1999), the government under King Mohammed set up an Equity and Reconciliation Commission (IER).[http://www.ictj.com/mena/morocco.asp ICTJ Activity in Morocco] – International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928230433/http://www.ictj.com/mena/morocco.asp |date=28 September 2007}}{{cite web|url=http://hrw.org/reports/2005/morocco1105/6.htm#_Toc119468378|title=Morocco's Truth Commission: Honoring Past Victims during an Uncertain Present: V. Constraints on the ERC|website=hrw.org|access-date=3 June 2017|archive-date=31 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031020038/https://www.hrw.org/reports/2005/morocco1105/6.htm#_Toc119468378|url-status=dead}}

According to a Human Rights Watch annual report in 2016, Moroccan authorities restricted the rights to peaceful expression, association and assembly through several laws. The authorities continue to prosecute both printed and online media which criticises the government or the king (or the royal family).{{cite book|url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2016/country-chapters/morocco/western-sahara|title=Morocco and Western Sahara|chapter=Morocco and Western Sahara: Events of 2015|date=12 January 2016|access-date=3 June 2017|archive-date=29 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170529211942/https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2016/country-chapters/morocco/western-sahara|url-status=live}} There are also persistent allegations of violence against both Sahrawi pro-independence and pro-Polisario demonstrators{{cite web|url=http://www.afrol.com/articles/18566|title=afrol News – Western Sahara activists released, re-arrested in riots|website=www.afrol.com|access-date=3 June 2017|archive-date=27 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170727232116/http://www.afrol.com/articles/18566|url-status=live}} in Western Sahara; a disputed territory which is occupied by and considered by Morocco as part of its Southern Provinces. Morocco has been accused of detaining Sahrawi pro-independence activists as prisoners of conscience.{{cite web|url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGMDE290072006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060422023532/http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGMDE290072006 |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: Sahrawi human rights defender on trial |website=Amnesty International |archive-date=22 April 2006}}

Homosexual acts as well as pre-marital sex are illegal in Morocco, and can be punishable by six months to three years of imprisonment.{{cite web |author=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/469cd6af0.html |title=Refworld | Morocco: The treatment of homosexuals, including protection offered by the state and the attitude of the population |publisher=UNHCR |date=5 March 2007 |access-date=3 June 2017 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010154533/http://www.refworld.org/docid/469cd6af0.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/law/help/criminal-laws-on-homosexuality/african-nations-laws.php |title=Laws on Homosexuality in African Nations |work=Library of Congress |date=2015 |access-date=3 June 2017 |archive-date=19 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619211045/http://www.loc.gov/law/help/criminal-laws-on-homosexuality/african-nations-laws.php |url-status=live }} It is illegal to proselytise for any religion other than Islam (article 220 of the Moroccan Penal Code), and that crime is punishable by a maximum of 15 years of imprisonment.{{cite book|title=Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam|author1=Saeed, A.|author2=Saeed, H.|date=2004|publisher=Ashgate|isbn=9780754630838|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HzFZKWc9SCgC|page=19}}{{cite web |url=http://www.bladi.net/famille-francaise-proselytisme-marrakech,42177.html |title=Une famille française arrêtée pour prosélytisme à Marrakech |date=4 July 2015 |work=bladi.net |language=fr |access-date=3 June 2017 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010160613/https://www.bladi.net/famille-francaise-proselytisme-marrakech,42177.html |url-status=live }} Violence against women and sexual harassment have been criminalised. The penalty can be from one month to five years, with fines ranging from $200 to $1,000.{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/09/morocco-violence-women-law-effect-180912061837132.html|title=Morocco criminalises violence against women and sexual harassment|website=Al Jazeera|access-date=14 September 2018|archive-date=13 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913214246/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/09/morocco-violence-women-law-effect-180912061837132.html|url-status=live}} It is also a criminal offence in Morocco to undermine the monarchy; in August 2023, a Moroccan resident of Qatar was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for criticising the King's policy decisions on Facebook.{{cite news |title=Moroccan man jailed for five years for criticising king in Facebook posts |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/03/moroccan-man-jailed-for-five-years-for-criticising-king-in-facebook-posts |website=Guardian |date=3 August 2023 |access-date=4 August 2023 |agency=Agence France-Presse }}

{{main|Economy of Morocco}}

File:Casablanca Finance City 37.jpg]]

Morocco's economy is considered a relatively liberal economy governed by the law of supply and demand. Since 1993, the country has followed a policy of privatisation of certain economic sectors which used to be in the hands of the government.{{cite book |last=Leonard |first=Thomas M. |title=Encyclopedia of the Developing World |publisher= Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-415-97663-3 |page=1085 |year=2006}} Morocco has become a major player in African economic affairs,[http://www.moroccobusinessnews.com/Content/Article.asp?idr=18&id=1299 Morocco major economic player in Africa, researcher] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304222839/http://www.moroccobusinessnews.com/Content/Article.asp?idr=18&id=1299 |date=4 March 2016 }}. Moroccobusinessnews.com (16 December 2009). Retrieved 17 April 2015. and is the sixth largest economy in Africa by GDP (PPP). Morocco was ranked as the first African country by the Economist Intelligence Unit's quality-of-life index, ahead of South Africa.{{Cite web |title=Democracy Index 2020 |url=https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2020/ |access-date=17 May 2022 |website=Economist Intelligence Unit |language=en-GB |archive-date=3 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303040250/https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2020/ |url-status=live }} However, in the years since that first-place ranking was given, Morocco has slipped into fourth place behind Egypt.

Government reforms and steady yearly growth in the region of 4–5% from 2000 to 2007, including 4.9% year-on-year growth in 2003–2007 helped the Moroccan economy to become much more robust compared to a few years earlier. For 2012, the World Bank forecast a rate of 4% growth for Morocco and 4.2% for following year, 2013.{{Cite web|url=http://english.nuqudy.com/General_Overview/North_Africa/IMF_Gives_Morocco_P-875|title=IMF Gives Morocco Positive Review. nuqudy.com (2012-02-09).|access-date=12 February 2012|archive-date=30 June 2017|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630031256/http://english.nuqudy.com/General_Overview/North_Africa/IMF_Gives_Morocco_P-875}} Between 2000 and 2019, the share of Moroccan workers in agriculture declined, while those that are in industry increased.{{Cite journal |date=2024 |title=Morocco Economic Monitor |url=https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099826007162422517/pdf/IDU12f69bf581e7fa144061b0cf15dc97f2b2bbd.pdf |journal=World Bank Document}}

{{main|Tourism in Morocco}}

File:Jamaa el Fna (7346063132).jpg in Marrakech]]

Tourism is one of the most important sectors in the Moroccan economy.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MyGjpyNAur0C&pg=PA367|title=Geography of Travel & Tourism|last1=Hudman|first1=Lloyd E.|last2=Jackson|first2=Richard H.|date=2003|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=0766832562|language=en}} It is a strong tourist industry focused on the country's coast, culture, and history. In 2022, tourism in Morocco had surpassed the average number of visitors in the 2010s, while setting an all-time high in 2023 with 14.5 million international tourist arrivals and MAD 104.7 billion in receipts. In 2010, the government launched its Vision 2020, which plans to make Morocco one of the top 20 tourist destinations in the world and to double the annual number of international arrivals to 20 million by 2020.{{cite web|url=http://www.travelnewsdigest.in/?p=16905|title=Morocco sets the goal of attracting 20 million tourists by 2020|work=India's leading B2B travel news website|access-date=26 July 2014|archive-date=27 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727215100/http://www.travelnewsdigest.in/?p=16905|url-status=dead}} In November 2024, Morocco had nearly 16 million tourists visiting that contributed to 7% of its GDP.{{Cite web |date=2024-12-14 |title=Morocco set to overtake Egypt as Africa's most visited country |url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20241214-morocco-set-to-overtake-egypt-as-africa-s-most-visited-country |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=RFI |language=en}}

File:Bab Bou Jeloud-Fez-3.jpg]]

Tourism is increasingly focused on Morocco's culture, such as its ancient cities. The modern tourist industry capitalises on Morocco's ancient and Islamic sites and on its landscape and cultural history. 60% of Morocco's tourists visit for its culture and heritage. Agadir is a major coastal resort and has a third of all Moroccan bed nights.{{cite book|title=Geography of Travel & Tourism|last=Hudman|first=Lloyd E.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MyGjpyNAur0C|year=2002|publisher=Thomson Delmar Learning|isbn=0-7668-3256-2|pages=367}} It is a base for tours to the Atlas Mountains. Other resorts in northern Morocco are also very popular.{{cite book |title=The Middle East and North Africa 2003 |year=2002 |publisher=Europa Publications, Routledge|isbn=978-1-85743-132-2 |page=863}}{{cite web|title=Home|url=http://morocco-berbertrips.com/|access-date=5 August 2020|website=Morocco berber trips|language=en-US|archive-date=11 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811215125/http://morocco-berbertrips.com/|url-status=usurped}}

Large government sponsored marketing campaigns to attract tourists advertised Morocco as an inexpensive and exotic, yet safe, place for tourists. Most of the visitors to Morocco continue to be European, with French nationals making up almost 20% of all visitors. Most Europeans visit between April and August.{{cite web |title=Dashboards |url=https://www.tourisme.gov.ma/en/tourism-figures/dashboards |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329175651/https://www.tourisme.gov.ma/en/tourism-figures/dashboards |archive-date=29 March 2020 |access-date=19 April 2020 |website=Kingdom of Morocco, Ministry of Tourism}} Casablanca is the major cruise port in Morocco, and has a developed market for tourists in Morocco. The Majorelle botanical garden in Marrakech is a popular tourist attraction. It was bought by the fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé in 1980.{{cite news |title=Yves Saint Laurent's Ashes Scattered In Marrakesh |url=https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/arts/entertainment-morocco-saintlaurent.html |work=The New York Times |date=11 June 2008 |access-date=14 June 2008 }}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} {{As of|2006}}, activity and adventure tourism in the Atlas and Rif Mountains are the fastest growth area in Moroccan tourism. These locations have walking and trekking opportunities from late March to mid-November. The government is investing in trekking circuits. They are also developing desert tourism in competition with Tunisia.{{cite book |title=Atlas of Travel And Tourism Development |last=Shackley |first=Myra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VWOw_U8WpZUC |year=2006 |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann |isbn=978-0-7506-6348-9 |pages=43–44}}

{{main|Agriculture in Morocco}}

{{Excerpt|Agriculture in Morocco}}

File:Al Boraq RGV2N2 at Tanger Ville.jpg RGV2N2 high-speed trainset at Tanger-Ville railway station in November 2018]]

According to the Global Competitiveness Report of 2019, Morocco Ranked 32nd in the world in terms of Roads, 16th in Sea, 45th in Air and 64th in Railways. This gives Morocco the best infrastructure rankings in the African continent.{{Cite web|url=https://wef.ch/2l9V8ND|title=Economy Profiles}} To meet the growing domestic demand, the Moroccan government invested more than $15 billion from 2010 to 2015 in upgrading its basic infrastructure.{{cite web|url=https://www.export.gov/article?id=Morocco-Infrastructure|title=Morocco - Infrastructure | export.gov|website=www.export.gov|access-date=24 November 2019|archive-date=13 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213063733/https://www.export.gov/article?id=Morocco-Infrastructure|url-status=live}} Morocco also has the largest port in Africa and the Mediterranean, Tanger-Med, which is ranked the 18th in the world with a handling capacity of over 9 million containers. It is situated in the Tangier free economic zone and serves as a logistics hub for Africa and the world.{{Cite web |title=Tanger Med Port Authority – Containers Activity |url=https://www.tmpa.ma/en/activites-services/activite-conteneurs/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902203857/https://www.tmpa.ma/en/activites-services/activite-conteneurs/ |archive-date=2 September 2021 |access-date=2 September 2021}}

In 2014, Morocco began the construction of the first{{Cite news |last=Doig |first=Will |date=2018-12-13 |title=Will Africa's first high-speed train be a £1.5bn magic bullet for Morocco? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/dec/13/africa-high-speed-train-magic-bullet-morocco |access-date=2025-01-26 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} high-speed railway system in Africa linking the cities of Tangier and Casablanca. It was inaugurated in 2018 by the King following over a decade of planning and construction by Moroccan national railway company Office National des Chemins de Fer (ONCF).{{Cite web |last=Bonaventure |first=Jean-Baptiste |title=Morocco's first high-speed trains |url=https://www.midnight-trains.com/post/moroccos-first-high-speed-trains |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=www.midnight-trains.com}} It is the first phase of what is planned to eventually be a 1,500 kilometeres (930 mi) high-speed rail network in Morocco. An extension of the line to Marrakesh is already being planned. The Moroccan Ministry of Equipment, Transport and Logistics aims to build an additional 3,380 kilometers of expressway and 2,100 kilometers of highway by 2030 with SNCF; the project came at an expected cost of US$9.6 billion. The project also involved purchasing 18 high-speed trains and 150 multi-service trains.{{Cite web |last=Burman |first=Theo |date=2025-01-24 |title=$10 billion plan for African high-speed rail unveiled |url=https://www.newsweek.com/africa-high-speed-rail-morocco-2020256 |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}

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{{main|Energy in Morocco}}

File:Isofoton Marruecos.JPG panels in eastern Morocco]]

In 2008, about 56% of Morocco's electricity supply was provided by coal.{{cite web |url=http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/morocco/electricity-production-from-coal-sources |title=Morocco – electricity production from coal sources |access-date=18 May 2011 |archive-date=8 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808221544/http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/morocco/electricity-production-from-coal-sources |url-status=live }} However, as forecasts indicate that energy requirements in Morocco will rise 6% per year between 2012 and 2050,{{cite web|url=http://english.nuqudy.com/North_Africa/Natural_Gas_to_Fuel-1576|title=Natural Gas to Fuel Morocco. Nuqudy.com (2012-04-12)|access-date=15 April 2012|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630022606/http://english.nuqudy.com/North_Africa/Natural_Gas_to_Fuel-1576|archive-date=30 June 2017}} a new law passed encouraging Moroccans to look for ways to diversify the energy supply, including more renewable resources. The Moroccan government has launched a project to build a solar thermal energy power plant{{cite web |url=http://www.afdb.org/en/projects-and-operations/project-portfolio/project/p-ma-fac-012/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406010949/http://www.afdb.org/en/projects-and-operations/project-portfolio/project/p-ma-fac-012/ |archive-date=6 April 2011 |title=Ain Beni Mathar, Morocco Solar Thermal Power Station Project |access-date=18 May 2011}} and is also looking into the use of natural gas as a potential source of revenue for Morocco's government.

Morocco has embarked upon the construction of large solar energy farms to lessen dependence on fossil fuels, and to eventually export electricity to Europe.{{cite news |title=Solar-powered plane lands in Morocco |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/solar-powered-plane-lands-morocco-223555031.html |author=Sschemm, Paul |agency=Associated Press |date=6 June 2012 |access-date=17 January 2017 |archive-date=21 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421195022/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/solar-powered-plane-lands-morocco-223555031.html |url-status=live }} On 17 April 2022, Rabat-Moroccan agency for solar energy (Masen) and the ministry of energy transition and sustainable development announced the launch of phase one of the mega project Nor II solar energy plant which is a multi-site solar energy project with a total capacity set at 400 megawatts (MN).{{Cite web |last=Rahhou |first=Jihane |date=April 17, 2022 |title=Morocco Launches First Phase of Solar Energy Mega Project Nor II |url=https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2022/04/348400/morocco-launches-first-phase-of-solar-energy-mega-project-nor-ii |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=Morocco World News |language=en}}

File:Cannabis Fields in Ketama Tidighine mountain, Morocco.jpg

Since the 7th century, cannabis has been cultivated in the Rif region.{{cite web |url=http://laniel.free.fr/INDEXES/GraphicsIndex/KIF_IN_MOROCCO/Histoire_CannabisMaroc.htm |title=Historique de la culture de cannabis au Maroc d'après l'UNODC |publisher=Laniel.free.fr |access-date=9 January 2013 |archive-date=9 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809050534/http://laniel.free.fr/INDEXES/GraphicsIndex/KIF_IN_MOROCCO/Histoire_CannabisMaroc.htm |url-status=live }} In 2004, according to the UN World Drugs Report, cultivation and transformation of cannabis represents 0.57% of the national GDP of Morocco in 2002.{{cite book|author=Nations Unies. Office pour le contrôle des drogues et la prévention du crime|title=Rapport mondial sur les drogues|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k6iHj5DNGxMC|year=2004|publisher=United Nations Publications|isbn=978-92-1-248122-7}}{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{page needed|date=January 2013}} According to a French Ministry of the Interior 2006 report, 80% of the cannabis resin (hashish) consumed in Europe comes from the Rif region in Morocco, which is mostly mountainous terrain in the north of Morocco, also hosting plains that are very fertile and expanding from Melwiyya River and Ras Kebdana in the East to Tangier and Cape Spartel in the West. Also, the region extends from the Mediterranean in the south, home of the Wergha River, to the north.{{cite web|url=http://www.interieur.gouv.fr/sections/a_votre_service/drogue/drogue-en-france/menaces-actuelles/view |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209000823/http://www.interieur.gouv.fr/sections/a_votre_service/drogue/drogue-en-france/menaces-actuelles/view |archive-date=9 February 2009 |title=Mildt – Mission interministérielle de lutte contre la drogue et la toxicomanie |publisher=Interieur.gouv.fr |date=1 October 2006 |access-date=20 December 2012}} In addition to that, Morocco is a transit point for cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe.{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2086.html#mo |title=Central Intelligence Agency |publisher=Cia.gov |access-date=20 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229044611/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2086.html#mo |archive-date=29 December 2010 }}

{{Main|Water supply and sanitation in Morocco}}

Water supply and sanitation in Morocco are provided by a wide array of utilities. They range from private companies in the largest city—Casablanca, Rabat, and two other cities—to public municipal utilities in 13 other cities, as well as a national electricity and water company.{{Cite journal |last1=Sassi |first1=Messrs. B. Ben |last2=Salawou |last3=Goetze |last4=Meyoupo |first4=J-C. |last5=Fouich |first5=A. |date=2006 |title=Kingdom of Morocco Ninth Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Project |url=https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Project-and-Operations/Morocco_-_Ninth_Drinking_Water_Supply_and_Sanitation_Project_-_Appraisal_Report.pdf |journal=Department of Infrastructure North, East and South Region |page=6}} Morocco's Office National de l’Eau Potable (ONEP) is in charge of bulk water supply in about 500 towns.{{Cite journal |last=Bakalian |first=Alexander E. |date=June 15, 2010 |title=Emerging Good Practice in Urban Water Projects |url=https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/729331468059686477/pdf/717220BRI0Box30m0Er0Rbia0Sanitation.pdf |journal=World Bank Document}} According to a study by the National Liquid Sanitation Master Plan (SNDAL) that started in 1994, only 15 of their 63 treatment plants are operational, and out of approximately 500{{Nbsp}}million cubic meters of wastewater generated annually, 95% is discharged untreated into natural water bodies.

There have been substantial improvements in access to water supply, and to a lesser extent to sanitation, over the past fifteen years. Remaining challenges include a low level of wastewater treatment (only 13% of collected wastewater is being treated), lack of house connections in the poorest urban neighbourhoods and limited sustainability of rural systems (20% of rural systems are estimated not to function). In 2005, a National Sanitation Programme was approved that aims at treating 60% of collected wastewater and connecting 80% of urban households to sewers by 2020.{{Cite web |title=National Sanitation Programme {{!}} European Investment Bank |url=https://www.eib.org/en/projects/pipelines/all/20100315 |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=www.eib.org |archive-date=20 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320130429/https://www.eib.org/en/projects/pipelines/all/20100315 |url-status=live }} The issue of lack of water connections for some of the urban poor is being addressed as part of the National Human Development Initiative, under which residents of informal settlements have received land titles and have fees waived that are normally paid to utilities in order to connect to the water and sewer network. An investment programme of about MAD 15 billion was made to cover the centres managed by ONEP from 2003–2017. Japanese and Canadian cooperators and AFESD have also financed several projects for ONEP.

Though, between 1960 and 2020, the per capita availability of renewable water resources went from 2,560{{Nbsp}}m³ to about 620{{Nbsp}}m³ per person annually. The World Bank has reported that they have supported the Noor Solar Power project in Morocco with US$700 million in financing the project "To address water scarcity and its impacts on agriculture".{{Cite web |date=March 10, 2023 |title=Morocco Country Climate Development Report: An Example in Parliamentary Engagement |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2023/03/10/morocco-country-climate-development-report-an-example-in-parliamentary-engagement |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=World Bank |language=en}}

{{Main|Science and technology in Morocco}}

File:Logo UM6P.jpg in Benguerir|295x295px]]

The Moroccan government has been implementing reforms to improve the quality of education and make research more responsive to socio-economic needs. In May 2009, Morocco's prime minister, Abbas El Fassi, announced that investment in science and technology would rise from US$620,000 in 2008 to US$8.5 million (69 million Moroccan dirhams) in 2009 to finance the laboratories construction, training courses for researchers and a scholarship programme for science during a meeting at the National Centre for Scientific and Technical Research.{{cite web|url=http://www.scidev.net/en/middle-east-and-north-africa/news/morocco-to-boost-investment-in-science.html|title=Morocco to boost investment in science|last=SciDev.Net|date=9 June 2009|access-date=13 June 2017|archive-date=1 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301035444/http://www.scidev.net/en/middle-east-and-north-africa/news/morocco-to-boost-investment-in-science.html|url-status=live}} Morocco was ranked 66th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024,{{Cite news |author=World Intellectual Property Organization |year=2024 |title=Global Innovation Index 2024: Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2024/en/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=www.wipo.int |page=18 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.50062 |isbn=978-92-805-3681-2}} an increase in ranking from 2020 at 75th.{{Cite journal |date=2022 |title=Global Innovation Index 2022 |url=https://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo_pub_2000_2022/ma.pdf |journal=World Intellectual Property Organization}}

The Moroccan Innovation Strategy was launched at the country's first National Innovation Summit in June 2009 by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Investment and the Digital Economy. The Moroccan Innovation Strategy fixed the target of producing 1,000 Moroccan patents and creating 200 innovative start-ups by 2014. In 2012, Moroccan inventors applied for 197 patents, up from 152 two years earlier. In 2011, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and New Technologies created a Moroccan Club of Innovation, in partnership with the Moroccan Office of Industrial and Commercial Property. The idea is to create a network of players in innovation to help them develop innovative projects.{{Cite book|url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002354/235406e.pdf|title=Arab States. In: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030|last1=Zou'bi|first1=Moneef|last2=Mohamed-Nour|first2=Samia|last3=El-Kharraz|first3=Jauad|last4=Hassan|first4=Nazar|publisher=UNESCO|year=2015|isbn=978-92-3-100129-1|location=Paris|pages=431–469|access-date=13 June 2017|archive-date=30 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630025557/http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002354/235406e.pdf|url-status=live}}

The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research is supporting research in advanced technologies. The Moroccan Phosphate Office (Office chérifien des phosphates) has invested in a project to develop a smart city, King Mohammed VI Green City, around Mohammed VI University located between Casablanca and Marrakesh,{{Cite web |title=Green City of Benguerir |url=https://sadv.ma/sites/default/files/2020-10/OCP_Brochure%20SADV_VilleVerte_VAng_Couv3Volets_22x22cm%20V2.pdf |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=Société D'aménagement & De Développement Vert}} at a cost of DH 4.7 billion (circa US$479 million).{{Cite book|title=Morocco: Growth Strategy for 2025 in an Evolving International Environment|last1=Agénor|first1=P.R.|last2=El-Aynaoui|first2=K.|publisher=Policy Centre of the Office chérifien des phosphates|year=2015|location=Rabat}} In 2012, the Hassan II Academy of Sciences and Technologies identified a number of sectors where Morocco has a comparative advantage and skilled human capital, including mining, fisheries, food chemistry and new technologies. It also identified a number of strategic sectors, such as renewable energies, health sectors, the environment and geosciences.{{Cite book|title=Developing Scientific Research and Innovation to Win the Battle of Competitiveness: an Inventory and Key Recommendations.|publisher=Hassan II Academy of Science and Technology|year=2012|location=Rabat}}

On 20 May 2015, less than a year after its inception, the Higher Council for Education, Training and Scientific Research presented a report to the king offering a Vision for Education in Morocco 2015–2030. The report advocated making education egalitarian and, thus, accessible to the greatest number. The report also recommended developing an integrated national innovation system which would be financed by gradually increasing the share of GDP devoted to research and development (R&D) from 0.73% of GDP in 2010 to '1% in the short term, 1.5% by 2025 and 2% by 2030'. As of 2015, Morocco had three technoparks. Since the first technopark was established in Rabat in 2005, a second has been set up in Casablanca, followed, in 2015, by a third in Tangers. The technoparks host start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises specialising in information and communication technologies (ICTs), 'green' technologies (namely, environmentally friendly technologies) and cultural industries. According to Office Marocain de la Propriété Industrielle et Commerciale, patent filing in Morocco grew by 167% during the period 2015–2019.{{Cite journal |last=Jabri |first=Khadija |date=2024 |title=Advancing Technology Transfer in Morocco |url=https://www.uneca.org/eca-events/sites/default/files/resources/documents/TCND/ARFSD2024/STI/case_studies/morocco_tt_report_august.pdf |journal=United Nations Economic Commission for Africa |page=13}}

In 2024, Morocco is among the top four most-connected populations of a country to the Internet in Africa by number of population.{{Cite web |title=Africa number of internet users by country 2024 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/505883/number-of-internet-users-in-african-countries/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250106211914/https://www.statista.com/statistics/505883/number-of-internet-users-in-african-countries/ |archive-date=6 January 2025 |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=Statista |language=en |url-status=live }} In 2022, the number of internet users in Morocco reached around 31.6 million.{{Cite web |title=Morocco: number of social media users 2024 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/1172771/number-of-social-media-users-morocco/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240810233324/https://www.statista.com/statistics/1172771/number-of-social-media-users-morocco/ |archive-date=10 August 2024 |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=Statista |language=en |url-status=live }} Later, as of January 2024, Morocco had approximately 34.5 million internet users; it has a penetration rate of about 90.7%.{{Cite web |date=2024-02-23 |title=Digital 2024: Morocco |url=https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2024-morocco |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=DataReportal – Global Digital Insights |language=en-GB}} Morocco has several Internet-related projects; an example of such is the National Digital Development Strategy 2030.{{Cite web |last=Njoya |first=Samira |title=Morocco Launches Program to Expand Internet Access to 1,800 Rural Areas |url=https://www.wearetech.africa/en/fils-uk/news/morocco-launches-program-to-expand-internet-access-to-1-800-rural-areas |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=www.wearetech.africa |language=fr-fr}} In 2024, as part of another program called the Connected Campus, the American wireless network provider Cambium Networks deployed 18,000 Wi-Fi access points for public universities in Morocco.{{Cite web |last=Kassouwi |first=Isaac K. |title=Morocco Deploys 18,000 Wi-Fi Access Points in 12 Public Universities |url=https://www.wearetech.africa/en/fils-uk/news/tech/morocco-deploys-18-000-wi-fi-access-points-in-12-public-universities |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=www.wearetech.africa}}

{{main|Demographics of Morocco|Moroccans}}

Morocco has a population of around {{UN_Population|Morocco}} inhabitants ({{UN_Population|Year}} estimate).{{UN_Population|ref}} Morocco's population was 11.6 million in 1960.{{cite web|url=http://www.hcp.ma/Population-du-Maroc-par-annee-civile-en-milliers-et-au-milieu-de-l-annee-par-milieu-de-residence-1960-2050_a677.html|title=Population du Maroc par année civile (en milliers et au milieu de l'année) par milieu de résidence : 1960 – 2050|first=Youssef|last=Maaroufi|access-date=7 January 2012|archive-date=27 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121227092030/http://www.hcp.ma/Population-du-Maroc-par-annee-civile-en-milliers-et-au-milieu-de-l-annee-par-milieu-de-residence-1960-2050_a677.html|url-status=dead}} In 2024, 49.7% of the population is female, while 50.3% of it is male. According to the 2014 Morocco population census, there were around 84,000 immigrants in the country. Of these foreign-born residents, most were of French origin, followed by individuals mainly from various nations in West Africa and Algeria.{{cite book |last1=OECD |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yTIxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA167 |title=Talent Abroad: A Review of Moroccan Emigrants |date=2017 |publisher=OECD Publishing |isbn=978-9264264281 |page=167 |access-date=31 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010194758/https://books.google.com/books?id=yTIxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA167 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |url-status=live}} There are also a number of foreign residents of Spanish origin. Some of them are descendants of colonial settlers, who primarily work for European multinational companies, while others are married to Moroccans or are retirees. Prior to independence, Morocco was home to half a million Europeans, most of whom were Christians.De Azevedo, Raimondo Cagiano (1994) [https://books.google.com/books?id=N8VHizsqaH0C&pg=PA25 Migration and development co-operation.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101114550/https://books.google.com/books?id=N8VHizsqaH0C&pg=PA25|date=1 November 2022}}. Council of Europe. p. 25. {{ISBN|92-871-2611-9}}. Also, prior to independence, Morocco was home to 250,000 Spaniards.[http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?id=97 Spain: Forging an Immigration Policy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140121133912/http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=97|date=21 January 2014}}, Migration Information Source Morocco's once prominent Jewish minority has decreased significantly since its peak of 265,000 in 1948, declining to around 3,500 in 2022.{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Morocco |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/morocco/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222135123/https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/morocco/ |archive-date=22 February 2024 |access-date=31 March 2024 |publisher=United States Department of State}}

Morocco has a large diaspora, most of which is located in France, which has reportedly over one million Moroccans of up to the third generation. There are also large Moroccan communities in Spain (about 700,000 Moroccans),{{Cite book |title=Avance del Padrón a 1 de enero de 2009. Datos provisionales |publisher=Instituto Nacional de Estadística |year=2009 |location=Spain |chapter=Población extranjera por sexo, país de nacionalidad y edad (hasta 85 y más). |ref=CITEREFINE2009 |access-date=13 June 2009 |chapter-url=http://www.ine.es/jaxi/tabla.do?path=/t20/e245/p04/provi/l0/&file=00000010.PX&type=pcaxis&L=0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710133750/http://www.ine.es/jaxi/tabla.do?path=/t20/e245/p04/provi/l0/&file=00000010.px&type=pcaxis&L=0 |archive-date=10 July 2019}} the Netherlands (360,000), and Belgium (300,000).{{cite web |date=October 2005 |title=Morocco: From Emigration Country to Africa's Migration Passage to Europe |url=http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=339 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140210100911/http://migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=339 |archive-date=10 February 2014 |access-date=1 August 2011 |publisher=Migrationinformation.org}} Other large communities can be found in Italy, Canada, the United States and Israel, where Moroccan Jews are thought to constitute the second biggest Jewish ethnic subgroup.{{cite web |date=2015 |title=Table 2.8 – Jews, by country of origin and age |url=https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/publications/DocLib/2016/2.ShnatonPopulation/st02_08x.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211013064516/https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/publications/DocLib/2016/2.ShnatonPopulation/st02_08x.pdf |archive-date=13 October 2021 |access-date=22 April 2021 |publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics}} Morocco is also the country with the largest Berber population in the world,{{Cite journal |last=Colon |first=Alexis |date=2018-10-01 |title=Who and What is Amazigh? Self-Assertion, Erasure, and Standardization |url=https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/3001/ |journal=Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection}}{{Cite web |title=Berber {{!}} Definition, People, Languages, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Berber |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}} with estimates typically ranging between 40–60% of the population.{{Cite journal |last1=Ncube |first1=Lyton |last2=Mkwendi |first2=Chengeto Pauline |last3=Batisayi |first3=Amos |date=2024-08-17 |title=Victory for Africa or the Arab world? Moroccan nationalism, Arab exceptionalism, pan-African solidarity and digital fandom during the 2022 FIFA World Cup |journal=Soccer & Society |language=en |volume=25 |issue=4–6 |pages=673–692 |doi=10.1080/14660970.2024.2332092 |issn=1466-0970|doi-access=free }}{{Cite journal |last=Laaguid |first=Brahim Ait |date=2022-05-08 |title=Amazigh in Morocco through the Lens of the U.S. State Department's Reports between 1999 and 2020: A Critical Discourse Analysis |url=https://arbitrer.fib.unand.ac.id/index.php/arbitrer/article/view/317 |journal=Jurnal Arbitrer |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=1–16 |doi=10.25077/ar.9.1.1-16.2022 |doi-broken-date=4 February 2025 |issn=2550-1011|doi-access=free }}

File:Morocco ethno 1973 all.svg

In Morocco, ethnic identity is deeply intertwined with language and culture, with the population primarily comprising two major groups: Arabs and Berbers.{{Cite journal |last=El Haimeur |first=Amar |date=2017 |title=Ethnolinguistic Identity in Morocco |url=https://dc.uwm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1057&context=fieldnotes |journal=Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology |access-date=3 September 2024}}{{Cite web |title=Maroc: population |url=https://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/divers/Maroc_population/185524 |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=Larousse |language=fr}} However, the Higher Planning Commission, the country’s state statistics bureau, does not collect data on ethnic demographics, citing the historical difficulty of distinguishing between Arabs and Berbers, even among Berber speakers.{{Cite news |last=Ibriz |first=Lina |date=2024-08-30 |title=Budget, RSU, langue ... : à la veille du RGPH 2024, Lahlimi Alami fait un dernier point |url=https://ledesk.ma/2024/08/30/budget-rsu-langue-a-la-veille-du-rgph-2024-lahlimi-fait-un-dernier-point/ |work=Le Desk}}{{Citation |title=Language, Race, and Territory |date=2021 |work=The Invention of the Maghreb: Between Africa and the Middle East |pages=123–169 |editor-last=Hannoum |editor-first=Abdelmajid |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/invention-of-the-maghreb/language-race-and-territory/0BB5D39C95D5CB83F968316FE3417031 |access-date=2024-11-21 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781108937337.004 |isbn=978-1-108-83816-0|url-access=subscription }}

Arabs form the largest and majority ethnic group,{{Cite book |last1=Teebi |first1=Ahmad S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6K_fj4Oicm8C&pg=PA30 |title=Genetic Disorders Among Arab Populations |last2=Farag |first2=Talaat I. |date=1997 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-509305-6 |language=en |quote=Majority Arabs, 35% Berbers}}{{Cite book |last1=Picard |first1=Louis A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ct4_CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA273 |title=Sustainable Development and Human Security in Africa: Governance as the Missing Link |last2=Buss |first2=Terry F. |last3=Seybolt |first3=Taylor B. |last4=Lelei |first4=Macrina C. |date=2015-04-22 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-4822-5543-0 |language=en |quote=Although the majority of Moroccans are Arabs, the Berbers (or Amazigh) represent 30%. Berbers are spread out in rural areas: the Rif Mountains, Middle High, and Anti-Atlas, and southern Souss Valley, as well as Morocco's major cities.}} making up between 65%{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fs0Fog7XneUC&pg=PA11 |title=The Report: Morocco 2012 |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford Business Group |isbn=978-1-907065-54-5 |language=en |quote=Morocco's population is approximately 67% Arab, 31% indigenous Berber and 2% Sahrawi |access-date=28 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307021801/https://books.google.com/books?id=fs0Fog7XneUC&pg=PA11 |archive-date=7 March 2023 |url-status=live}}{{Cite book |last1=Son |first1=George Philip & |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8UD0kOEb1XIC&pg=PA161 |title=Encyclopedic World Atlas |last2=Press |first2=Oxford University |date=2002-12-26 |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |isbn=978-0-19-521920-3 |language=en |quote=Arab 70%, Berber 30%}} and 80%{{Cite book |last=Sun |first=Xiaoming |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qvm4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA908 |title=World Health Systems |date=2019-12-12 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-50887-8 |language=en |quote=More than 80% of Moroccans are Arab, while the remaining 20% are Berber}} of the Moroccan population. It is estimated that the indigenous Berbers constitute between 30% and 35% of the population.{{Cite book |last=Arnold |first=Guy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e2S2AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA155 |title=Guide to African Political and Economic Development |date=2014-01-27 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-97062-8 |language=en |quote=Arab 70%}}{{Cite web |date=2017-08-01 |title=Who Are the Berber People? |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/who-are-the-berber-people.html |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=WorldAtlas |language=en-US |quote=The majority of the Berber people live in Morocco accounting for at least 35% of the population and in Algeria where they form at least 15% of the population.}} Berbers, who are also known as Amazigh, are typically divided into three main groups with varying dialects who live spread out in rural mountain areas, namely the Rifians in the Rif, the Central Atlas Amazigh in the Middle Atlas, and the Shilha people in the Anti-Atlas.{{Cite journal |last=Khazaal |first=Natalie |date=2013-08-01 |title=Re-evaluating Mohamed Choukri's Autobiography Al-Khubz al-Ḥāfi: The Oppression of Morocco's Amazigh Population, the Ṣaʿālīk, and Backlash |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1475262X.2013.843259 |journal=Middle Eastern Literatures |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=148 |doi=10.1080/1475262X.2013.843259 |issn=1475-262X |quote=He belonged to the Riffian Amazigh, who are one of the three major groups of Moroccan Amazigh—Riffian, Central Atlas Amazigh, and Shilha (Chleuh).}} Since the 7th century, the influx of Arab migrants from the Arabian Peninsula has contributed to shaping Morocco’s demographic, cultural, and genetic landscape.{{Cite journal |last1=Arauna |first1=Lara R. |last2=Mendoza-Revilla |first2=Javier |last3=Mas-Sandoval |first3=Alex |last4=Izaabel |first4=Hassan |last5=Bekada |first5=Asmahan |last6=Benhamamouch |first6=Soraya |last7=Fadhlaoui-Zid |first7=Karima |last8=Zalloua |first8=Pierre |last9=Hellenthal |first9=Garrett |last10=Comas |first10=David |date=February 2017 |title=Recent Historical Migrations Have Shaped the Gene Pool of Arabs and Berbers in North Africa |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=318–329 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msw218 |issn=0737-4038 |pmc=5644363 |pmid=27744413}} Additionally, a considerable portion of the population includes Haratin, Sahrawis, and Gnawa, descendants of West African or mixed-race enslaved peoples, as well as Moriscos, European Muslims expelled from Spain and Portugal in the 17th century.{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/254867/Haratin |title=Haratin (social class) |publisher=Britannica Online Encyclopedia |access-date=23 June 2022 |archive-date=13 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813024920/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/254867/Haratin |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Saharawis in Western Sahara |url=https://minorityrights.org/communities/saharawis/ |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=Minority Rights Group |language=en-US}}

According to Encyclopædia Britannica, 44% of Moroccans are Arab, 24% are Arabized Berbers, 21% are Berbers and 10% are Mauritanian Moors.{{cite web |date=23 August 2024 |title=Climate of Morocco |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Morocco/Climate#ref214372 |website=Britannica |language=en}} Additionally, Minority Rights Group International estimates that around 90,000 Sahrawis reside in internationally recognized Morocco, compared to approximately 190,000 in the disputed Western Sahara.

{{main|Religion in Morocco}}{{Multiple image

| total_width = 400

| image1 = Inside of a mosque in Fes (5364764412).jpg

| image2 = Hassan II mosque, Casablanca 2.jpg

| perrow = 2

| image3 = Bet El synagogue Casablanca - bima (1051699955).jpg

| image4 = Moroccan Christians from Tangier.jpg

| caption1 = The interior of a mosque in Fes, Islam is the predominant religion in Morocco

| caption2 = The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca

| caption3 = The Beth-El Synagogue in Casablanca, Judaism was the main minority religion in Morocco

| caption4 = The St Andrew's Church in Tangier, an Anglican church built in 1894

}}

The religious affiliation in the country was estimated by the Pew Forum in 2010 as 99% Muslim, with all remaining groups accounting for less than 1% of the population.{{cite web|title=Religious Composition by Country|url=http://www.pewforum.org/uploadedFiles/Topics/Religious_Affiliation/globalReligion-tables.pdf|work=Global Religious Landscape|publisher=Pew Forum|access-date=9 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309232331/http://www.pewforum.org/uploadedFiles/Topics/Religious_Affiliation/globalReligion-tables.pdf|archive-date=9 March 2013|df=dmy-all}} Of those affiliated with Islam, virtually all are Sunni Muslims, with Shia Muslims accounting for less than 0.1%.{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/morocco/#people-and-society |title=Morocco |work=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |date=12 September 2022 |access-date=18 September 2022 |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202191738/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/morocco/#people-and-society |url-status=live }} However, nearly 15% of Moroccans nonetheless describe themselves as non religious according to a 2018 survey conducted by the research network Arab Barometer; the same survey saw nearly 100 percent of respondents identify as Muslims.{{cite web|title=Survey Shows Faith in Decline in Morocco, in the Arab World|url=https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/06/276676/survey-islam-decline-morocco-arab-world/|work=Arab Barometer|date=25 June 2019 |access-date=9 August 2020|archive-date=25 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200825020928/https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/06/276676/survey-islam-decline-morocco-arab-world/|url-status=live}} Another 2021 Arab Barometer survey found that 67.8% of Moroccans identified as religious, 29.1% as somewhat religious, and 3.1% as non religious.{{Cite web |title=Data Analysis Tool – Arab Barometer |url=https://www.arabbarometer.org/survey-data/data-analysis-tool/ |access-date=11 November 2022 |language=en-US |archive-date=21 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821161350/https://www.arabbarometer.org/survey-data/data-analysis-tool/ |url-status=live }} The 2015 Gallup International poll reported that 93% of Moroccans considered themselves to be religious.{{Cite web |date=8 June 2015 |title=Losing Our Religion? Two Thirds of People Still Claim to Be Religious |url=https://www.gallup-international.bg/en/33531/losing-our-religion-two-thirds-of-people-still-claim-to-be-religious/ |access-date=11 November 2022 |website=Gallup International |language=en-US |archive-date=11 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411115246/https://www.gallup-international.bg/en/33531/losing-our-religion-two-thirds-of-people-still-claim-to-be-religious/ |url-status=live }}

Prior to Morocco's independence in 1956, the country was home to a significant Christian community, numbering over 500,000 Christians, predominantly of Spanish and French ancestry. These Catholic settlers had a historic legacy and a powerful presence. However, following Morocco's independence, many of these Christian settlers left to Spain or France.{{cite book|title=Area Handbook for Morocco|first=Richard |last=F. Nyrop|year= 1972| isbn= 9780810884939| page =97|publisher=University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign}} The predominantly Catholic and Protestant foreign-resident Christian community consists of approximately 40,000 practising members. Most foreign resident Christians reside in the Casablanca, Tangier, Marrakesh and Rabat urban areas.{{cite web|title=International Religious Freedom Report for 2023 – Morocco|url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/morocco/}} Meanwhile, the Moroccan Association of Human Rights estimates there are 25,000 Christian citizens.

Before the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, there were about 265,000 Jews{{worldhistory|quote=p. 966|section=3770}} in the country, which gave Morocco the largest Jewish community in the Muslim world. The most recent estimates put the size of the historic Casablanca Jewish community at about 2,500,Sergio DellaPergola, [http://www.bjpa.org/Publications/downloadPublication.cfm?PublicationID=16432 World Jewish population] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203032451/http://www.bjpa.org/Publications/downloadPublication.cfm?PublicationID=16432 |date=3 December 2013 }}, 2012, p. 62.{{cite web |title=The Jews of Morocco |url=https://dbs.bh.org.il/place/morocco |publisher=The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot |access-date=27 October 2022 |archive-date=10 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810080356/https://dbs.bh.org.il/place/morocco |url-status=dead }} and the Rabat and Marrakesh Jewish communities at about 100 members each. The remainder of the Jewish population is dispersed throughout the country. This population is mostly elderly, with a decreasing number of young people.{{cite web|title=International Religious Freedom Report for 2011 – Morocco|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm|publisher=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|access-date=21 May 2019|archive-date=25 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325215847/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm|url-status=live}} The Baháʼí Faith community, located in urban areas, numbers 350 to 400 persons.

{{main|Languages of Morocco}}

File:Morocco - Linguistic map.png

Morocco's official languages are Arabic and Berber.{{cite web|last=Government of Morocco|title=BO_5964-Bis_Ar.pdf|url=http://www.sgg.gov.ma/BO/bulletin/AR/2011/BO_5964-Bis_Ar.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316221623/http://www.sgg.gov.ma/BO/bulletin/AR/2011/BO_5964-Bis_Ar.pdf|archive-date=16 March 2012}} The country's distinctive group of Moroccan Arabic dialects is referred to as Darija.{{cite book|last1=Wehr|first1=Hans|title=A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic: (Arab.-Engl.)|date=1979|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=3447020024|page=319|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WTak55pG-_IC&pg=PA319|access-date=30 September 2017}} Approximately 92.7% of the whole population can speak Arabic. Berber languages are spoken by 24.8% of the population in three dialects (Tarifit spoken by 3.2%, Tashelhit spoken by 14.2% and Central Atlas Tamazight spoken by 7.4%). According to the 2024 census, 99.2%, or almost the entire literate population of Morocco, could read and write in Arabic, whereas 1.5% of the population could read and write in Berber. The census also reported that 80.6% of Moroccans consider Arabic to be their native language, while 18.9% regard any of the various Berber languages as their mother tongue.{{Cite news |last=Babas |first=Latifa |date=18 December 2024 |title=How many Moroccans consider Tamazight their mother tongue, and where do they live ? |url=https://en.yabiladi.com/articles/details/157719/many-moroccans-consider-tamazight-their.html |work=Yabiladi}} After Morocco declared independence in 1956, French and Arabic became the main languages of administration and education.

French is widely used in governmental institutions, media, mid-size and large companies, international commerce with French-speaking countries and often in international diplomacy.{{Citation|title=From Monolingualism to Multilingualism: Recent Changes in Moroccan Language Policy|date=2005|url=http://www.lingref.com/isb/4/117ISB4.PDF|work=ISB4: Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism|pages=1487–1500|editor-last=James Cohen|place=Somerville, MA|publisher=Cascadilla Press|access-date=30 April 2017|editor2-last=Kara T. McAlister|editor3-last=Kellie Rolstad|editor4-last=Jeff MacSwan}} French is taught as an obligatory language in all schools. According to the 2004 census, 2.19 million Moroccans spoke a foreign language other than French.[http://www.hcp.ma/ Site institutionnel du Haut-Commissariat au Plan du Royaume du Maroc] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929061323/http://www.hcp.ma/|date=29 September 2011}}. Hcp.ma. Retrieved 23 July 2011. English, while far behind French in terms of number of speakers, is the first foreign language of choice, since French is obligatory, among educated youth and professionals. In 2010, there were 10,366,000 French-speakers in Morocco, or about 32% of the population.{{cite web |title=Le dénombrement des francophones |url=http://www.francophonie.org/IMG/pdf/1e.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012052949/http://www.francophonie.org/IMG/pdf/1e.pdf |archive-date=12 October 2013 |access-date=9 January 2013 |publisher=Organisation internationale de la Francophonie}}

According to Ethnologue, as of 2016, there are 1,536,590 individuals (or approximately 4.5% of the population) in Morocco who speak Spanish.{{cite web|title=Spanish|work=Ethnologue (Free All) |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/spa|publisher=Ethnologue|access-date=28 January 2018|archive-date=23 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171123235008/https://www.ethnologue.com/language/spa|url-status=live}} Spanish is mostly spoken in northern Morocco and the former Spanish Sahara because Spain had previously occupied those areas.Leyre Gil Perdomingo and Jaime Otero Roth (2008) [http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/wcm/connect/dc29ac804f0199d3a40ee43170baead1/ARI116-2008_Gil_Otero_lengua_espanola_Sahara_Occidental.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=dc29ac804f0199d3a40ee43170baead1 "Enseñanza y uso de la lengua española en el Sáhara Occidental"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924090300/http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/wcm/connect/dc29ac804f0199d3a40ee43170baead1/ARI116-2008_Gil_Otero_lengua_espanola_Sahara_Occidental.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=dc29ac804f0199d3a40ee43170baead1 |date=24 September 2015 }}, in Analysis of the Real Instituto Elcano nº 116 Meanwhile, a 2018 study by the Instituto Cervantes found 1.7 million Moroccans who were at least proficient in Spanish, placing Morocco as the country with the most Spanish speakers outside the Hispanophone world (unless the United States is also excluded from Spanish-speaking countries).Saga, Ahlam Ben. [https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2018/11/259062/instituto-cervantes-1-7-million-moroccan-spanish Instituto Cervantes: 1.7 Million Moroccans Speak Spanish] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415113901/https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2018/11/259062/instituto-cervantes-1-7-million-moroccan-spanish/ |date=15 April 2021 }}, Morocco World News, 29 Nov 2018. Retrieved 11 Apr 2022. A significant portion of northern Morocco receives Spanish media, television signal and radio airwaves, which reportedly facilitate competence in the language in the region.{{cite book|author=Rouchdy, Aleya |title=Language Contact and Language Conflict in Arabic: Variations on a Sociolinguistic Theme|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WWZvxjoU948C&pg=PA71|year=2002|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-7007-1379-0|page=71}}

{{main|Education in Morocco}}{{bar box|title=Literate population of Morocco (2024)|titlebar=#ddd|left1=|right1=percent|float=right|bars={{bar percent|Can read and write in Arabic|Green|99.2}}

{{bar percent|Can read and write in French|Blue|57.7}}

{{bar percent|Can read and write in English|Red|20.5}}

{{bar percent|Can read and write in Berber languages|Yellow|1.5}}}}Education in Morocco is free and compulsory through primary school. The estimated literacy rate for the country in 2012 was 72%.[http://www.lavieeco.com/news/actualites/baisse-du-taux-d-analphabetisme-au-maroc-a-28--26483.html Baisse du taux d'analphabétisme au Maroc à 28%] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140801015845/http://www.lavieeco.com/news/actualites/baisse-du-taux-d-analphabetisme-au-maroc-a-28--26483.html |date=1 August 2014}}. Lavieeco.com (6 September 2013). Retrieved 17 April 2015. In September 2006, UNESCO awarded Morocco, amongst other countries such as Cuba, Pakistan, India and Turkey, the "UNESCO 2006 Literacy Prize".{{cite web |url=http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID%3D33384%26URL_DO%3DDO_TOPIC%26URL_SECTION%3D201.html |title=2006 UNESCO Literacy Prize winners announced |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=27 September 2006 |archive-date=12 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212221259/http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID%3D33384%26URL_DO%3DDO_TOPIC%26URL_SECTION%3D201.html |url-status=live }}

Morocco has more than four dozen universities, institutes of higher learning and polytechnics dispersed at urban centres throughout the country. Its leading institutions include Mohammed V University in Rabat, the country's largest university, with branches in Casablanca and Fès; the Hassan II Agriculture and Veterinary Institute in Rabat, which conducts leading social science research in addition to its agricultural specialties; and Al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane, the first English-language university in Northwest Africa,{{cite web |url=http://www.ccisabroad.org/program.php?link=morocco_ifrane_summer |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226185538/http://ccisabroad.org/program.php?link=morocco_ifrane_summer |archive-date=26 February 2009 |title=CCIS Ifrane Morocco Summer Study Abroad Program |publisher=Ccisabroad.org |date=1 April 2010 |access-date=2 June 2010}} inaugurated in 1995 with contributions from Saudi Arabia and the United States.

File:UIS Literacy Rate Morocco population +15 1980 to 2015.png literacy rate Morocco population above 15 years of age, 1980–2015]]

The al-Qarawiyin University, founded by Fatima al-Fihri in the city of Fez in 859 as a madrasa,Meri, Josef W. (ed.): Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, A–K, Routledge, 2006, {{ISBN|978-0-415-96691-7}}, p. 257 (entry "Fez") is considered by some sources, including UNESCO, to be the "oldest university of the world".{{cite encyclopedia|title=Qarawiyin|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/485494/Qarawiyin|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=8 December 2011|archive-date=29 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129044103/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/485494/Qarawiyin|url-status=live}} Morocco has also some of prestigious postgraduate schools, including: Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, l'{{ill|Institut national des postes et télécommunications|fr||ar|المعهد الوطني للبريد والمواصلات}}, École Nationale Supérieure d'Électricité et de Mecanique (ENSEM), EMI, ISCAE, INSEA, National School of Mineral Industry, École Hassania des Travaux Publics, Les Écoles nationales de commerce et de gestion and École supérieure de technologie de Casablanca.The Guinness Book Of Records, 1998, p. 242, {{ISBN|0-553-57895-2}}.{{Cite web |date=2019-12-23 |title=Classement meilleurs école d'études supérieures au Maroc |url=http://etudes-superieures.ma/meilleur-etablissement-superieur-au-maroc/ |access-date=2023-01-17 |website=Etudes superieures au Maroc |language=en-US |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117154441/http://etudes-superieures.ma/meilleur-etablissement-superieur-au-maroc/ |url-status=live }}

{{main|Health in Morocco}}

File:University Hospital Center in Tangier (general view).jpg in Tangier]]

Many efforts are made by countries around the world to address health issues and eradicate disease, Morocco included. Morocco is a developing country that has made many strides to improve these categories. According to research published, in 2005, only 16% of citizens in Morocco had health insurance or coverage.{{cite journal | vauthors = Ruger JP, Kress D | title = Health financing and insurance reform in Morocco | journal = Health Affairs | volume = 26 | issue = 4 | pages = 1009–16 | date = July 2007 | pmid = 17630444 | pmc = 2898512 | doi = 10.1377/hlthaff.26.4.1009}} In data from the World Bank, Morocco experiences high infant mortality rates at 20 deaths per 1,000 births (2017){{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.IMRT.IN?locations=MA|title=Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births)|website=data.worldbank.org|access-date=10 December 2018|archive-date=17 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181217111004/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.IMRT.IN?locations=MA|url-status=live}} and high maternal mortality rates at 121 deaths per 100,000 births (2015).{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.MMRT?locations=MA|title=Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births)|website=data.worldbank.org|access-date=10 December 2018|archive-date=17 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181217112527/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.MMRT?locations=MA|url-status=live}}

The government of Morocco sets up surveillance systems within the already existing healthcare system to monitor and collect data. Mass education in hygiene is implemented in primary education schools which are free for residents of Morocco. In 2005, the government of Morocco approved two reforms to expand health insurance coverage. The first reform was a mandatory health insurance plan for public and private sector employees to expand coverage from 16 percent of the population to 30 percent. The second reform created a fund to cover services for the poor. Both reforms improved access to high-quality care. Infant mortality has improved significantly since 1960 when there were 144 deaths per 1,000 live births, in 2000, 42 per 1,000 live births, and it is 15 per 1,000 live births in 2022. The country's under-five mortality rate dropped by 60% between 1990 and 2011.

According to data from the World Bank, the present mortality rate is still very high, over seven times higher than in neighbouring country Spain. In 2014, Morocco adopted a national plan to increase progress on maternal and child health.{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/features/2014/morocco-maternal-health/en/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302060442/http://www.who.int/features/2014/morocco-maternal-health/en/|archive-date=2 March 2014|title=WHO {{!}} Morocco takes a stride forward for mothers and children|website=WHO|access-date=17 December 2018}} The Moroccan Plan was started by the Moroccan Minister of Health, El Houssaine Louardi and Ala Alwan, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, on 13 November 2013 in Rabat. Morocco has made significant progress in reducing deaths among both children and mothers. Based on World Bank data, the nation's maternal mortality ratio fell by 67% between 1990 and 2010.

In 2014, spending on healthcare accounted for 5.9% of the country's GDP.{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS?locations=MA|title=Current health expenditure (% of GDP) {{!}} Data|website=data.worldbank.org|language=en-us|access-date=2 October 2018|archive-date=1 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201044658/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS?locations=MA|url-status=live}} Since 2014, spending on healthcare as part of the GDP has decreased. However, health expenditure per capita (PPP) has steadily increased since 2000. In 2015, the Moroccan health expenditure was $435.29 per capita.{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.CHEX.PP.CD?locations=MA|title=Current health expenditure per capita, PPP (current international $) {{!}} Data|website=data.worldbank.org|language=en-us|access-date=2 October 2018|archive-date=12 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612115113/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.CHEX.PP.CD?locations=MA|url-status=live}} In 2016, the life expectancy at birth was 74.3, or 73.3 for men and 75.4 for women, and there were 6.3 physicians and 8.9 nurses and midwives per 10,000 inhabitants.{{cite web|url=http://www.emro.who.int/entity/statistics/statistics.html|title=World Health Organization|access-date=29 September 2018|archive-date=5 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205075620/http://www.emro.who.int/entity/statistics/statistics.html|url-status=live}} In 2024, according to the World Factbook, life expectancy for Morocco is 74.2 years.{{Citation |title=Morocco |date=2025-01-16 |work=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/morocco/ |access-date=2025-01-26 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}

{{main|Culture of Morocco}}

File:Moroccan frills.jpg

Morocco is a country with a rich culture and civilisation.{{Cite book |last=Travel |first=D. K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LQ55DQAAQBAJ |title=DK Eyewitness Travel Guide Morocco |date=2017-02-01 |publisher=Dorling Kindersley Limited |isbn=978-0-241-30469-3 |language=en}} Through Moroccan history, it has hosted many people. Culturally speaking, Morocco has combined its Arabic, Berber and Jewish cultural heritage with external influences such as the French and the Spanish and, during the last decades, the Anglo-American lifestyles.{{cite web |title=Morocco town's Hollywood connection |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/archive/2005/12/2008410151243996817.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028093251/http://www.aljazeera.com/archive/2005/12/2008410151243996817.html |archive-date=28 October 2017 |access-date=27 October 2017 |website=Al Jazeera}}{{cite web |title=Return to Morocco |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/aljazeeraworld/2015/01/return-morocco-2015120124346751467.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924061207/http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/aljazeeraworld/2015/01/return-morocco-2015120124346751467.html |archive-date=24 September 2017 |access-date=27 October 2017 |website=Al Jazeera}}{{cite web |title=Boujloud: Morocco's unique Halloween |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/10/boujloud-morocco-unique-halloween-20141013161059822274.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028092923/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/10/boujloud-morocco-unique-halloween-20141013161059822274.html |archive-date=28 October 2017 |access-date=27 October 2017 |website=Al Jazeera}} Since independence, painting and sculpture, music, amateur theatre and filmmaking have developed.e.g. Khalid Amine and Marvin Carlson, The Theatres of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia: Performance Traditions of the Maghreb (Dordrecht NL: Springer, 2011), 124–28. {{ISBN|0230358519}} The Moroccan National Theatre (founded 1956) offers regular productions of Moroccan and French dramatic works. Art and music festivals take place throughout the country during the summer months, among them the World Sacred Music Festival at Fès.

{{main|Moroccan architecture}}

{{excerpt|Moroccan architecture|file=1}}

{{main|Moroccan literature}}

File:ChraibiDriss.jpg]]

Moroccan literature is written mostly in Arabic, Berber, Hebrew and French. Particularly under the Almoravid and Almohad empires, Moroccan literature was closely related to the literature of al-Andalus, and shared important poetic and literary forms such as zajal, the muwashshah and the maqama. Islamic literature, such as Quranic exegeses and other religious works such as Qadi Ayyad's Al-Shifa, were influential. The University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fes was an important literary centre attracting scholars from abroad, including Maimonides, Ibn al-Khatib, and Ibn Khaldun.

Under the Almohad dynasty Morocco experienced a period of prosperity and brilliance of learning. The Almohad built the Kutubiyya Mosque in Marrakesh, which accommodated no fewer than 25,000 people, but was also famed for its books, manuscripts, libraries and book shops, which gave it its name; the first book bazaar in history. The Almohad Caliph Abu Yakub had a great love for collecting books. He founded a great library, which was eventually carried to the Casbah and turned into a public library.

Modern Moroccan literature began in the 1930s. Two main factors gave Morocco a pulse toward witnessing the birth of modern literature. Morocco, as a French and Spanish protectorate left Moroccan intellectuals the opportunity to exchange and to produce literary works freely with the contact of other Arabic literature and Europe. Three generations of writers especially shaped 20th century Moroccan literature.Mohammed Benjelloun Touimi, Abdelkbir Khatibi and Mohamed Kably, Ecrivains marocains, du protectorat à 1965, 1974 éditions Sindbad, Paris and Hassan El Ouazzani, La littérature marocaine contemporaine de 1929 à 1999 (2002, ed. Union des écrivains du Maroc and Dar Attaqafa) The first was the generation that lived and wrote during the Protectorate (1912–1956), its most important representative being Mohammed Ben Brahim (1897–1955). The second generation played an important role in the transition to independence, with writers like Abdelkrim Ghallab (1919–2006), Allal al-Fassi (1910–1974) and Mohammed al-Mokhtar Soussi (1900–1963). The third generation is that of writers of the sixties. Moroccan literature had writers such as Mohamed Choukri, Driss Chraïbi, Mohamed Zafzaf and Driss El Khouri.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Morocco was a refuge and artistic centre and attracted writers as Paul Bowles, Tennessee Williams and William S. Burroughs. Moroccan literature flourished with novelists such as Mohamed Zafzaf and Mohamed Choukri, who wrote in Arabic, and Driss Chraïbi and Tahar Ben Jelloun who wrote in French. Other important Moroccan authors include: Abdellatif Laabi, Abdelkrim Ghallab, Fouad Laroui, Mohammed Berrada and Leila Abouzeid. Orature (oral literature) is also an integral part of Moroccan culture, be it in Moroccan Arabic or Berber.

{{main|Music of Morocco}}

Moroccan music is of Arabic, Berber and sub-Saharan origins. Rock-influenced chaabi bands are widespread, as is trance music with historical origins in Islamic music. Amazigh people have also played music using a lotar, a type of lute from the Rwais tribe in the High Atlas mountains. The lotar is usually played by a duo, which may also include a rebab.{{Cite web |last=Hartenberger |first=Aurelia |date=2021-01-05 |title=Morocco 'Lotar' (A) |url=https://wmic.net/morocco-lotar-a-2kbfa/ |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=Hartenberger World Musical Instrument Collection |language=en-US}} The Berber music is usually monodic with a pentatonic scale system.{{Cite journal |last=Blench |first=Roger |date=2021-01-01 |title=Reconstructing the history of Berber music |url=https://www.academia.edu/61777326 |journal=Approches pour l'histoire de la langue berbère: Mise en perspective d'une langue a travers les ages |url-access=registration |access-date=January 27, 2025}} Malḥūn poetry in oral form is also accompanied by traditional instruments, such as lutes, violins, rebabs and small drums.{{Cite web |title=UNESCO - Malhun, a popular poetic and musical art |url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/malhun-a-popular-poetic-and-musical-art-01592 |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=ich.unesco.org |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=Ennahid |first=Said |date=2007 |title=The Archaeology of Space in Moroccan Oral Tradition the Case of "Malḥūn" Poetry |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25803019 |journal=Quaderni di Studi Arabi |volume=2 |pages=71–84 |jstor=25803019 |issn=1121-2306}}

File:Musicians Jilala music in Morocco, 1900.png musicians in 1900]]

Aita is a Bedouin musical style sung in the countryside. Chaabi ("popular") is music consisting of numerous varieties that are descended from the multifarious forms of Moroccan folk music. Chaabi was originally performed in markets, but is now found at any celebration or meeting. Morocco is also home to Andalusian classical music that is found throughout Northwest Africa. It probably evolved under the Moors in Cordoba, and the Persian-born musician Ziryab is usually credited with its invention.{{Cite journal |last=YEE |first=Choonwoo |date=2019-12-31 |title=Arab Andalusian music and cultural identity –around the myth of Ziryab- |url=https://doi.org/10.32961/jwhc.2019.12.53.29 |journal=World History and Culture |volume=53 |pages=29–64 |doi=10.32961/jwhc.2019.12.53.29 |issn=1598-2823|url-access=subscription }} A genre known as Contemporary Andalusian music is the brainchild of Morisco visual artist, composer and oudist Tarik Banzi, founder of the Al-Andalus Ensemble. Artists like Nass El Ghiwane and Jil Jilala mix traditional styles with modern influences. Popular Western forms of music are also becoming increasingly popular in Morocco, such as fusion, rock, country, metal and, in particular, hip hop. Arabic pop artists such as Hatim Ammor and ElGrandeToto{{Cite web |title=ElGrandeToto (Monthly Listeners: 2,665,140) |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/2003726/page_view_timing/session_trace/jserrors/aggregate |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=Arab News |language=en}} are well-known.

{{main|Media of Morocco|Cinema of Morocco}}

Cinema in Morocco has a long history, stretching back over a century to the filming of Le chevrier Marocain ("The Moroccan Goatherd") by Louis Lumière in 1897. Between that time and 1944, many foreign movies were shot in the country, especially in the Ouarzazate area. In 1944, the {{ill|Moroccan Cinematographic Centre|fr|Centre cinématographique marocain}} (CCM), the nation's film regulatory agency, was established. Studios were also opened in Rabat.

In 1952, Orson Welles' Othello won the {{Lang|fr|Palme d'Or|italic=no}} at the Cannes Film Festival under the Moroccan flag. However, the Festival's musicians did not play the Moroccan national anthem, as no one in attendance knew what it was.{{cite web|url=http://www.wellesnet.com/filming_othello.htm|title=Wellesnet: Filming Othello|website=www.wellesnet.com|access-date=21 July 2014|archive-date=17 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817155640/http://www.wellesnet.com/filming_othello.htm|url-status=live}} Six years later, Mohammed Ousfour would create the first Moroccan movie, Le fils maudit ("The Damned Son"). In 1968, the first Mediterranean Film Festival was held in Tangier. In its current incarnation, the event is held in Tetouan. This was followed in 1982 with the first national festival of cinema, which was held in Rabat. In 2001, the first International Film Festival of Marrakech (FIFM) was held in Marrakech. Some of Moroccan television channels include 2M, Al Aoula (Societe Nationale de Radiodiffusion et de Television) and Medi 1 TV.

{{main|Moroccan cuisine}}

File:Couscous of Fes.JPG]]

Moroccan cuisine is considered one of the most diversified cuisines in the world. This is a result of the centuries-long interaction of Morocco with the outside world.{{cite web|url=http://fescooking.com/come-cook-with-us/the-art-of-moroccan-cuisine|title=The Art of Moroccan Cuisine|date=10 October 2007|access-date=18 July 2014|archive-date=5 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105070323/http://fescooking.com/come-cook-with-us/the-art-of-moroccan-cuisine|url-status=live}} The cuisine of Morocco is mainly a fusion of Moorish, European and Mediterranean cuisines. Spices are used extensively in Moroccan cuisine. While spices have been imported to Morocco for thousands of years, many ingredients such as saffron from Tiliouine, mint and olives from Meknes, and oranges and lemons from Fez, are home-grown.

Chicken is the most widely eaten meat in Morocco. The most commonly eaten red meat in Morocco is beef; lamb is preferred but is relatively expensive.{{Cite web |date=2023-05-16 |title=The food in Morocco, a delight for the senses. |url=https://triumphadventure.es/en/the-food-in-morocco-a-delight-for-the-senses/ |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=Triumph |language=en-GB}} The main Moroccan dish most people are familiar with is couscous,[http://maroccankitchenrecipes.blogspot.com/2014/05/moroccan-couscous.html "Moroccan Couscous Recipe"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531091005/http://maroccankitchenrecipes.blogspot.com/2014/05/moroccan-couscous.html |date=31 May 2014 }}. [http://maroccankitchenrecipes.blogspot.com/ Maroccan Kitchen Recipes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531104957/http://maroccankitchenrecipes.blogspot.com/ |date=31 May 2014 }} (Website). Retrieved 1 April 2014. the old national delicacy. Beef is the most commonly eaten red meat in Morocco, usually eaten in a tagine with vegetables or legumes. Chicken is also very commonly used in tagines; one of the most famous tagine is the tagine of chicken, potatoes and olives. Lamb is also consumed, but as Northwest African sheep breeds store most of their fat in their tails, Moroccan lamb does not have the pungent flavour that Western lamb and mutton have. Poultry is also very common, and the use of seafood is increasing in Moroccan food. In addition, there are dried salted meats and salted preserved meats such as kliia/khlia{{cite web|url=http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/glossary/g/khlea_khlii.htm|title=klii|author=Benlafquih, Christine|publisher=About.com|access-date=20 July 2014|archive-date=11 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140711003053/http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/glossary/g/khlea_khlii.htm|url-status=dead}} and "g'did" which are used to flavor tagines or used in "el ghraif", a folded savory Moroccan pancake.

Among the most famous Moroccan dishes are Couscous, Pastilla (also spelled Bsteeya or Bestilla), Tajine, Tanjia and Harira. Although the latter is a soup, it is considered a dish in itself and is served as such or with dates especially during the month of Ramadan. Pork consumption is forbidden in accordance with Sharia, religious laws of Islam.

A big part of the daily meal is bread. Bread in Morocco is principally from durum wheat semolina known as khobz. Bakeries are very common throughout Morocco and fresh bread is a staple in every city, town and village. The most common is whole grain coarse ground or white flour bread. There are also a number of flat breads and pulled unleavened pan-fried breads. The most popular drink is "atai", green tea with mint leaves and other ingredients.

{{main|Sport in Morocco}}

File:Morocco vs Algeria, June 04 2011-10.jpg

Football is the country's most popular sport, popular among the urban youth in particular. In 1986, Morocco became the first Arab and African country to qualify for the second round of the FIFA World Cup. Morocco hosted the Africa Cup of Nations in 1988 and will host it again in 2025 after original host Guinea was stripped from hosting rights due to inadequacy of hosting preparations. Morocco was originally scheduled to host the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations,{{cite web |url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/872480/morocco-to-stage-the-2015-african-nations-cup?cc=5901 |title=Morocco to stage the 2015 African Nations Cup – ESPN Soccernet |publisher=ESPN FC |date=29 January 2011 |access-date=1 August 2011 |archive-date=29 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429011957/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/872480/morocco-to-stage-the-2015-african-nations-cup?cc=5901 }} but refused to host the tournament on the scheduled dates because of fears over the Ebola outbreak on the continent.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30004279|title=Africa Cup of Nations: Morocco will not host finals over Ebola fears|newspaper=BBC Sport|date=11 November 2014|access-date=13 February 2018|archive-date=8 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108050911/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30004279|url-status=live}} Morocco made six attempts to host the FIFA World Cup but lost five times to the United States, France, Germany, South Africa and a Canada–Mexico–United States joint bid, however Morocco will co-host it in 2030 along with Portugal and Spain having finally won the bid in their sixth attempt. In 2022, Morocco became the first African and Arab team to reach the semifinals and finished 4th in the tournament.{{Cite web |last=Ronald |first=Issy |date=2022-12-10 |title=Morocco becomes first ever African team to reach World Cup semifinals with historic victory over Portugal |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/10/football/morocco-portugal-quarterfinals-world-cup-2022-spt-intl/index.html |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=CNN |language=en}}

At the 1984 Olympic Games, two Moroccans won gold medals in track and field. Nawal El Moutawakel won in the 400 metres hurdles; she was the first woman from an Arab or Islamic country to win an Olympic gold medal. Saïd Aouita won the 5000 metres at the same games. Hicham El Guerrouj won gold medals for Morocco at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the 1500 metres and 5000 metres and holds several world records in the mile run.

Spectator sports in Morocco traditionally centred on the art of horsemanship until European sports—football, polo, swimming and tennis—were introduced at the end of the 19th century. Tennis and golf have become popular.{{cite news|url=https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2023/06/356114/morocco-emerges-as-top-class-golf-destination|title=Morocco Emerges As 'Top-Class' Golf Destination|last=Hamaan|first=Jasper|newspaper=Moroccan World News|date=June 24, 2023|accessdate=June 14, 2024}}{{cite news|url=https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2024/05/362609/moroccan-tennis-teams-triumph-at-african-championships-despite-talent-oversight|title=Moroccan Tennis Teams Triumph at African Championships, Despite Talent Oversight|last=El Kanouni|first=Zakaria|newspaper=Moroccan World News|date=May 12, 2024|accessdate=June 14, 2024}} Several Moroccan professional players have competed in international competition, and the country fielded its first Davis Cup team in 1999. Morocco established one of Africa's first competitive leagues in basketball.{{cite news |first=Lee |last=Nxumalo |title=Basketball's next frontier is Africa |url=https://www.newframe.com/basketballs-next-frontier-is-africa/ |access-date=11 January 2021 |work=New Frame |date=20 December 2020 |archive-date=16 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116062357/https://www.newframe.com/basketballs-next-frontier-is-africa/ |url-status=dead }} Rugby came to Morocco in the early 20th century, mainly by the French who occupied the country.Bath, Richard (ed.) The Complete Book of Rugby (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 {{ISBN|1-86200-013-1}}) p71 As a result, Moroccan rugby was tied to the fortunes of France, during the first and second World War, with many Moroccan players going away to fight. Like many other Maghreb nations, Moroccan rugby tended to look to Europe for inspiration, rather than to the rest of Africa. Kickboxing is also popular in Morocco.{{cite journal|url=https://research.vu.nl/en/publications/kickboksen-een-marokkaanse-route-naar-succes|title=Kickboksen, een Marokkaanse route naar succes?|author=F.H.M. van Gemert|journal=Tijdschrift voor Veiligheid|date=October 1, 2019|volume=18 |issue=3–4 |pages=56–74 |doi=10.5553/TvV/187279482019018304004|hdl=1871.1/879c2ee1-a047-4286-94bb-fbb3e2ed01bf |hdl-access=free}} The Moroccan-Dutch Badr Hari, heavyweight kickboxer and martial artist, is a former K-1 heavyweight champion and K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 and 2009 finalist.{{cite web|url=https://www.mmafighting.com/2011/09/28/badr-hari-to-retire-from-kickboxing-k-1-world-gp-possibly-in-je|title=Badr Hari to Retire From Kickboxing|last=Herbertson|first=Daniel|publisher=Vox Media, LLC|date=September 28, 2011|website=MMAFighting.com|accessdate=June 14, 2024}}

• Index of Morocco-related articles
• Outline of Morocco

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{{Reflist}}

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• {{Free-content attribution

| title = UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030

| author = UNESCO

| publisher = UNESCO Publishing

| page numbers = 431–467

| source =

| documentURL = http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002354/235406e.pdf

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| license = CC BY-SA IGO 3.0

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{{refend}}

• {{cite book |last=Gazzotti |first=Lorena |title=Immigration Nation: Aid, Control, and Border Politics in Morocco |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/immigration-nation/03F962C53C352BBDE5F1AB5C6861C29F |isbn=9781009024129 |year=2021 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}
• Pennell, C. R. Morocco: From Empire to Independence, Oneworld Publications, 2013. {{ISBN|9781780744551}} ([https://books.google.com/books?id=TYXrAQAAQBAJ preview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405093231/https://books.google.com/books?id=TYXrAQAAQBAJ |date=5 April 2023 }})
• Stenner, David. Globalizing Morocco: Transnational Activism and the Postcolonial State (Stanford UP, 2019). [http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=54410 online review] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522153512/https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=54410 |date=22 May 2020 }}
• [https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/39042 In Morocco by Edith Wharton]

; In French

• Bernard Lugan, Histoire du Maroc, Éd. Perrin, 2000. {{ISBN|2-262-01644-5}}
• Michel Abitbol, Histoire du Maroc, Éd. Perrin, 2009. {{ISBN|9782262023881}}

{{Library resources box}}

• [https://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=MA Key Development Forecasts for Morocco] from International Futures

• [https://www.maroc.ma/en Kingdom of Morocco] – official website of the Kingdom of Morocco
• [https://www.sgg.gov.ma Bulletins of the government of Morocco] – gateway to government websites
• [https://www.cg.gov.ma Prime Minister] – official website of the prime minister of Morocco
• [http://www.parlement.ma Parliament] – official website of the parliament of Morocco
• [https://www.hcp.ma Statistics] – official website of High Commission for Planning

• [https://www.visitmorocco.com/en/discover-morocco/dynastic-history-of-morocco "History"] – Moroccan History at Morocco's tourism portal

• [https://www.visitmorocco.com/en Travel to Morocco] – Morocco's official tourism portal

• {{Wikiatlas}}
• {{Osmrelation-inline|3630439}}

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