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Travel to Morocco — Unbiased reviews and
great deals from TripAdvisorMorocco
| Kingdom of Morocco National
name: al-Mamlaka al-Maghrebia Ruler: King Muhammed VI (1999) Prime Minister: Abbas El Fassi
(2007)
Current government officials
Land area: 172,317 sq mi (446,301 sq km);
total area: 172,413 sq mi (446,550 sq km) Population (2008 est.): 34,272,968 (growth
rate: 1.5%); birth rate: 21.3/1000; infant mortality rate: 37.4/1000;
life expectancy: 71.5; density per sq km: 76
Capital (2003 est.):
Rabat, 1,636,600 Largest cities: Casablanca, 3,397,000;
Fez, 941,800; Marrakech, 755,200 Monetary
unit: Dirham
Languages:
Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often
used for business, government, and diplomacy
Ethnicity/race:
Arab-Berber 99.1%, Jewish 0.2%, other 0.7%
Religions:
Islam 99%, Christian 1%
National Holiday:
Throne Day, July 30 Literacy rate: 52.3% (2004 est.) Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.):
$125.3 billion; per capita $4,100. Real growth rate: 2.1%.
Inflation: 2%. Unemployment: 10.2%. Arable land:
19%. Agriculture: barley, wheat, citrus, wine, vegetables,
olives; livestock. Labor force: 11.35 million; agriculture 40%,
services 45%, industry 15% (2003 est.). Industries: phosphate
rock mining and processing, food processing, leather goods, textiles,
construction, tourism. Natural resources: phosphates, iron ore,
manganese, lead, zinc, fish, salt. Exports: $12.73 billion
f.o.b. (2007 est.): clothing, fish, inorganic chemicals, transistors,
crude minerals, fertilizers (including phosphates), petroleum
products, fruits, vegetables. Imports: $22.15 billion f.o.b.
(2007 est.): crude petroleum, textile fabric, telecommunications
equipment, wheat, gas and electricity, transistors, plastics. Major
trading partners: France, Spain, UK, Italy, India, Germany,
Russia, Saudi Arabia, China (2006). Communications: Telephones: main lines in
use: 1.266 million (2006); mobile cellular: 16.005 million (2006).
Radio broadcast stations: AM 27, FM 25, shortwave 6 (1998).
Radios: 6.64 million (1997). Television broadcast stations:
35 (plus 66 repeaters) (1995). Televisions: 3.1 million
(1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 137,187 (2007).
Internet users: 6.1 million (2006). Transportation: Railways: total: 1,907 km
(2006). Highways: total: 57,493 km; paved: 32,716 km (includes
507 km of expressways); unpaved: 24,777 km (2004). Ports and
harbors: Agadir, El Jadida, Casablanca, El Jorf Lasfar, Kenitra,
Mohammedia, Nador, Rabat, Safi, Tangier; also Spanish-controlled Ceuta
and Melilla. Airports: 60 (2007). International disputes: claims and
administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty remains unresolved -
UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September
1991, but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus
far have rejected other proposals; Morocco protests Spain's control
over the coastal enclaves of Ceuta, Melilla, and Penon de Velez de la
Gomera, the islands of Penon de Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, and
surrounding waters; Morocco also rejected Spain's unilateral
designation of a median line from the Canary Islands in 2002 to set
limits to undersea resource exploration and refugee interdiction;
Morocco allowed Spanish fishermen to fish temporarily off the coast of
Western Sahara after an oil spill soiled Spanish fishing
grounds.
Major sources and definitions
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Geography
Morocco, about one-tenth larger than California,
lies across the Strait of Gibraltar on the Mediterranean and looks out on
the Atlantic from the northwest shoulder of Africa. Algeria is to the east
and Mauritania to the south. On the Atlantic coast there is a fertile
plain. The Mediterranean coast is mountainous. The Atlas Mountains,
running northeastward from the south to the Algerian frontier, average
11,000 ft (3,353 m) in elevation.
Government
Constitutional monarchy.
History
Morocco has been the home of the Berbers since
the second millennium B.C. In A.D. 46, Morocco was annexed by Rome as part of the
province of Mauritania until the Vandals overran this portion of the
declining empire in the 5th century. The Arabs invaded circa 685, bringing
Islam. The Berbers joined them in invading Spain in 711, but then they
revolted against the Arabs, resenting their secondary status. In 1086,
Berbers took control of large areas of Moorish Spain until they were
expelled in the 13th century.
The land was rarely unified and was usually
ruled by small tribal states. Conflicts between Berbers and Arabs were
chronic. Portugal and Spain began invading Morocco, which helped to unify
the land in defense. In 1660, Morocco came under the control of the
Alawite dynasty. It is a sherif dynasty—descended from the prophet
Muhammad—and rules Morocco to this day.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, Morocco was
one of the Barbary States, the headquarters of pirates who pillaged
Mediterranean traders. European powers showed interest in colonizing the
country beginning in 1840, and there were frequent clashes with the French
and Spanish. Finally, in 1904, France and Spain concluded a secret
agreement that divided Morocco into zones of French and Spanish influence,
with France controlling almost all of Morocco and Spain controlling the
small southwest portion, which became known as Spanish Sahara. Morocco
grew into an even greater object of European rivalry by the turn of the
century, almost leading to a European war in 1905 when Germany attempted
to gain a foothold in the mineral-rich country. By the terms of the
Algeciras Conference (1906), the sultan of Morocco maintained control of
his lands and France's privileges were curtailed. The conference was an
indication of what was to come in World War I, with Germany and
Austria-Hungary lining up on one side of the territorial dispute, and
France, Britain, and the United States on the other.
In 1912, the sultan of Morocco, Moulay Abd
al-Hafid, permitted the French protectorate status. Nationalism expanded
during World War II. Sultan Muhammed V was deposed by the French in 1953
and replaced by his uncle, but nationalist agitation forced his return in
1955. In 1956, France and Spain recognized the independence and
sovereignty of Morocco. At his death on Feb. 26, 1961, Muhammed V's son
succeeded him as King Hassan II. In the 1990s, King Hassan promulgated
“Hassanian democracy,” which allowed for significant political
freedom while at the same time retaining ultimate power for the monarch.
In Aug. 1999, King Hassan II died after 38 years on the throne and his
son, Prince Sidi Muhammed, was crowned King Muhammed VI. Since then
Muhammed VI has pledged to make the political system more open, allow
freedom of expression, and support economic reform. He has also advocated
giving more rights to women, a position opposed by Islamic
fundamentalists. The entrenched political elite and the military have also
been leery of some reform proposals. With about 20% of the population
living in dire poverty, economic expansion is a prime goal.
Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara (formerly
Spanish Sahara) has been repeatedly criticized by the international
community. In the 1970s, tens of thousands of Moroccans crossed the border
into Spanish Sahara to back their government's contention that the
northern part of the territory was historically part of Morocco. Spain,
which had controlled the territory since 1912, withdrew in 1976, creating
a power vacuum that was filled by Morocco in the north and Mauritania in
the south. When Mauritania withdrew in Aug. 1979, Morocco overran the
remainder of the territory. A rebel group, the Polisario Front, has fought
against Morocco since 1976 for the independence of Western Sahara on
behalf of the indigenous Saharawis. The Polisario and Morocco agreed in
Sept. 1991 to a UN-negotiated cease-fire, which was contingent on a
referendum regarding independence. For the past decade, however, Morocco
has opposed the referendum. In 2002, King Muhammed VI reasserted that he
“will not renounce an inch of” Western Sahara.
On May 16, 2003, terrorists believed to be
associated with al-Qaeda killed 33 people in several simultaneous attacks.
Four bombs targeted Jewish, Spanish, and Belgian buildings in Casablanca.
In the 2004 terrorist bombings in Madrid, Spain, numerous Moroccans were
implicated.
A wave of suicide bombings struck Casablanca in
March and April 2007. Authorities were not certain if the attacks were
related
See also Encyclopedia: Morocco.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Morocco
Information Please® Database, © 2008 Pearson
Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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