1990 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1990 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
Mediterranean, becoming more extreme in the interior
Coastline
1,835 km
Comparative area
slightly larger than California
Contiguous zone
24 nm;
Continental shelf
200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Disputes
claims and administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty is unresolved; armed conflict in Western Sahara; Spain controls two coastal presidios or places of sovereignty (Ceuta, Melilla)
Environment
northern mountains geologically unstable and subject to earthquakes; desertification
Extended economic zone
200 nm;
Land boundaries
2,002 km total; Algeria 1,559 km, Western Sahara 443 km
Land use
18% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 28% meadows and pastures; 12% forest and woodland; 41% other; includes 1% irrigated
Natural resources
phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead, zinc, fish, salt
Note
strategic location along Strait of Gibraltar
Terrain
mostly mountains with rich coastal plains
Territorial sea
12 nm
Total area
446,550 km2; land area: 446,300 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
31 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate
8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Ethnic divisions
99.1% Arab-Berber, 0.7% non-Moroccan, 0.2% Jewish
Infant mortality rate
78 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Labor force
7,400,000; 50% agriculture, 26% services, 15% industry, 9% other (1985)
Language
Arabic (official); several Berber dialects; French is language of business, government, diplomacy, and postprimary education
Life expectancy at birth
63 years male, 66 years female (1990)
Literacy
28%
Nationality
noun--Moroccan(s); adjective--Moroccan
Net migration rate
- 1 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Organized labor
about 5% of the labor force, mainly in the Union of Moroccan Workers (UMT) and the Democratic Confederation of Labor (CDT)
Population
25,648,241 (July 1990), growth rate 2.2% (1990)
Religion
98.7% Muslim, 1.1% Christian, 0.2% Jewish
Total fertility rate
4.0 children born/woman (1990)
Government
Administrative divisions
36 provinces (provinces, singular--province) and 2 municipalities* (wilayas, singular--wilaya); Agadir, Al Hoceima, Azilal, Beni Mellal, Ben Slimane, Boulemane, Casablanca*, Chaouen, El Jadida, El Kelaa des Srarhna, Er Rachidia, Essaouira, Fes, Figuig, Guelmim, Ifrane, Kenitra, Khemisset, Khenifra, Khouribga, Laayoune, Marrakech, Meknes, Nador, Ouarzazate, Oujda, Rabat-Sale*, Safi, Settat, Sidi Kacem, Tanger, Tan-Tan, Taounate, Taroudannt, Tata, Taza, Tetouan, Tiznit
Capital
Rabat
Communists
about 2,000
Constitution
10 March 1972
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Ali BENGELLOUN; Chancery at 1601 21st Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 462-7979; there is a Moroccan Consulate General in New York; US--Ambassador Michael USSERY; Embassy at 2 Avenue de Marrakech, Rabat (mailing address is P. O. Box 120, Rabat, or APO New York 09284); telephone [212] (7) 622-65; there are US Consulates General in Casablanca and Tangier
Elections
Chamber of Representatives--last held on 14 September 1984 (were scheduled for September 1990, but postponed until NA 1992); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(306 total, 206 elected) CU 83, RNI 61, MP 47, Istiqlal 41, USFP 36, PND 24, others 14
Executive branch
monarch, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Flag
red with a green pentacle (five-pointed, linear star) known as Solomon's seal in the center of the flag; green is the traditional color of Islam
Independence
2 March 1956 (from France)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court
Leaders
Chief of State--King HASSAN II (since 3 March 1961); Head of Government--Prime Minister Dr. Azzedine LARAKI (since 30 September 1986)
Legal system
based on Islamic law and French and Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of Supreme Court
Legislative branch
unicameral Chamber of Representatives (Majlis al Nuwab)
Long-form name
Kingdom of Morocco
Member of
AfDB, Arab League, CCC, EC (associate), FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
National Day (anniversary of King Hassan II's accession to the throne), 3 March (1961)
Political parties and leaders
Morocco has 15 political parties; the major ones are Istiqlal Party, M'Hamed Boucetta; Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), Abderrahim Bouabid; Popular Movement (MP), Secretariat General; National Assembly of Independents (RNI), Ahmed Osman; National Democratic Party (PND), Mohamed Arsalane El-Jadidi; Party for Progress and Socialism (PPS), Ali Yata; Constitutional Union (UC), Maati Bouabid
Suffrage
universal at age 21
Type
constitutional monarchy
Economy
Agriculture
50% of employment and 30% of export value; not self-sufficient in food; cereal farming and livestock raising predominate; barley, wheat, citrus fruit, wine, vegetables, olives; fishing catch of 491,000 metric tons in 1987
Aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.2 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $6.3 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $4.8 billion; Communist countries (1970-88), $2.3 billion
Budget
revenues $5.1 billion; expenditures $6.0 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.4 billion (1988)
Currency
Moroccan dirham (plural--dirhams); 1 Moroccan dirham (DH) = 100 centimes
Electricity
2,140,000 kW capacity; 7,760 million kWh produced, 300 kWh per capita (1989)
Exchange rates
Moroccan dirhams (DH) per US$1--8.093 (January 1990), 8.488 (1989), 8.209 (1988), 8.359 (1987), 9.104 (1986), 10.062 (1985)
Exports
$3.1 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--food and beverages 30%, semiprocessed goods 23%, consumer goods 21%, phosphates 17%; partners--EC 58%, India 7%, Japan 5%, USSR 3%, US 2%
External debt
$22.2 billion (1989)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
$21.9 billion, per capita $880 (1988); real growth rate 4.5% (1989 est.)
Illicit drugs
illicit producer of cannabis; trafficking on the increase for both domestic and international drug markets; shipments of cannabis mostly directed to Western Europe; occasional transit point for cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe.
Imports
$5.1 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--capital goods 24%, semiprocessed goods 22%, raw materials 16%, fuel and lubricants 16%, food and beverages 13%, consumer goods 10%; partners--EC 53%, US 11%, Canada 4%, Iraq 3%, USSR 3%, Japan 2%
Industrial production
growth rate 4% (1989 est.)
Industries
phosphate rock mining and processing, food processing, leather goods, textiles, construction, tourism
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
6% (1989)
Overview
After registering a robust 10% growth in 1988, the economy slowed in 1989 because of higher prices for food and oil imports, lower worker remittances, and a trade dispute with India over phosphoric acid prices that cost Rabat $500 million. To meet the foreign payments shortfall, Rabat has been drawing down foreign exchange reserves. Servicing the $22 billion foreign debt, high unemployment, and Morocco's vulnerability to external forces remain severe problems for the 1990s.
Unemployment rate
15% (1988)
Communications
Airports
75 total, 68 usable; 26 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 14 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 27 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
23 major transport aircraft
Highways
59,198 km total; 27,740 km bituminous treated, 31,458 km gravel, crushed stone, improved earth, and unimproved earth
Merchant marine
54 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 334,931 GRT/513,762 DWT; includes 11 cargo, 2 container, 14 refrigerated cargo, 5 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 12 chemical tanker, 4 bulk, 3 short-sea passenger
Pipelines
362 km crude oil; 491 km (abandoned) refined products; 241 km natural gas
Ports
Agadir, Casablanca, El Jorf Lasfar, Kenitra, Mohammedia, Nador, Safi, Tangier; also Spanish-controlled Ceuta and Melilla
Railroads
1,893 km 1.435-meter standard gauge (246 km double track, 974 km electrified)
Telecommunications
good system composed of wire lines, cables, and radio relay links; principal centers are Casablanca and Rabat, secondary centers are Fes, Marrakech, Oujda, Tangier, and Tetouan; 280,000 telephones; stations--14 AM, 6 FM, 47 TV; 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations--2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 ARABSAT; radio relay to Gibraltar, Spain, and Western Sahara; coaxial cable to Algeria; microwave network linking Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco
Military and Security
Branches
Royal Moroccan Army, Royal Moroccan Navy, Royal Moroccan Air Force, Royal Gendarmerie
Defense expenditures
7.1% of GDP (1987)
Military manpower
males 15-49, 6,203,759; 3,946,408 fit for military service; 293,893 reach military age (18) annually; limited conscription