Morocco

THE KINGDOM OF Morocco is located on the northwest coast of Africa and is bounded by the countries of Algeria and Western Sahara, the north Atlantic Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea. Morocco gained independence from France in 1956. In the late 1970s, Morocco annexed Western Sahara. However, a final legal resolution on this action has not yet been made. The coastal areas are the most productive agriculturally, with 20 percent of the total land area designated as arable.

Forty percent of Morocco's labor force are engaged in agriculture, 15 percent in industry, and 45 percent in the service sector. Agricultural products include grains, citrus, vegetables, a variety of wines, olives, and livestock. Industrial activity is devoted to the mining and processing of phosphate rock, food production and processing, leather goods, and textiles.

Tourism has also become an important economic activity in the country. Morocco's exports include clothing, fish, and a variety of minerals, fruits, vegetables, and petroleum products. Oil reserves in Morocco are 300 million barrels and reserves of natural gas equal 665 million cubic meters (2004 estimates). Morocco's most important trading partners are France and Spain. It is noteworthy that Morocco imports crude oil from Saudi Arabia despite having proven oil reserves within its borders. This is because consumption of oil within the country far exceeds internal production.

Morocco's population is approximately 32.7million (2005) and its rate of natural increase is 1.6 percent, a figure slightly higher than the world average of 1.2 percent. Life expectancy at birth is a respectable 68 years. Despite these promising demographic characteristics, Morocco is nonetheless characterized as a developing country and it faces a number of poverty challenges.

During the decade of the 1990s, absolute poverty in Morocco increased. This condition is attributed to declines in manufacturing exports, a slowdown in agricultural production, declines in new job creation, and increasing inequity in the rural regions. Although the rural areas of the country have 45 percent of the total population, nearly two-thirds of the poor people live there.

However, increases in poverty have also been seen in urban areas. Government actions to alleviate poverty include improvements in the education system. At present only 68 percent of youth (ages 15 to 24) are literate. In addition, attempts are under way to reduce infant mortality rates, currently at 40 per thousand live births; to improve health care delivery especially to the rural areas; to improve conditions for households with children; to ensure food subsidies for the poor; to expand public works projects within rural areas; and to restructure the welfare system.

Poverty alleviation in Morocco continues to be a government priority. The Living Standards Measurement Study conducted in 1999 placed priority on social policies, including education, health, social insurance, and social assistance. The primary aim of this program is to find ways to improve economic growth and to raise the living standards of the poor throughout Morocco. King Mohammed VI, enthroned in July 1999, stated that the attack on poverty is a priority. This stance gained him the title “Guardian of the Poor.” One of the king's significant reforms is the Mudawana, a law enacted in 2004. The law expands rights to women but more conservative members of the Moroccan society have opposed it.

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