Morocco
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
News•
Morocco, mountainouscountry of westernNorth Africa that lies directly across theStrait of Gibraltar fromSpain.
The traditional domain ofindigenous peoples now collectively known asBerbers (self-nameImazighen; singular, Amazigh), Morocco has been subject to extensive migration and has long been the location of urbancommunities that were originally settled by peoples from outside the region. Controlled byCarthage from an early date, the region was later the westernmost province of the Roman Empire. Following theArab conquest of the late 7th centuryce, the broader area of North Africa came to be known as theMaghrib (Arabic: “the West”), and the majority of its people acceptedIslam. Subsequent Moroccan kingdoms enjoyed political influence that extended beyond the coastal regions, and in the 11th century the first native Amazighdynasty of North Africa, theAlmoravids, gained control of an empire stretching from Andalusian (southern) Spain to parts ofsub-Saharan Africa. Attempts by Europeans to establish permanent footholds in Morocco beginning in the late 15th century were largely repulsed, but the country later became the subject of Great Power politics in the 19th century. Morocco was made a Frenchprotectorate in 1912 but regained independence in 1956. Today it is the onlymonarchy in North Africa.
- Head Of Government:
- Prime Minister2: Aziz Akhannouch
- Capital:
- Rabat
- Population:
- (2025 est.) 37,137,000
- Head Of State:
- King:Muhammad VI
- Form Of Government:
- constitutional monarchy with two legislative houses (House of Councillors [1201]; House of Representatives [395])
- Official Languages:
- Arabic; Tamazight2
- Official Religion:
- Islam
- Official Name:
- Al-Mamlakah al-Maghribiyyah (Kingdom of Morocco)
- Total Area (Sq Km):
- 417,000
- Total Area (Sq Mi):
- 161,004
- Monetary Unit:
- Moroccan dirham (DH)
- Population Rank:
- (2025) 40
- Population Projection 2030:
- 38,923,000
- Density: Persons Per Sq Mi:
- (2025) 230.7
- Density: Persons Per Sq Km:
- (2025) 89.1
- Urban-Rural Population:
- Urban: (2023) 64.8%
- Rural: (2023) 35.2%
- Life Expectancy At Birth:
- Male: (2022) 75.2 years
- Female: (2022) 78.6 years
- Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate:
- Male: (2021) 85%
- Female: (2021) 67%
- Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000):
- (2023) 142,289
- Gni Per Capita (U.S.$):
- (2023) 3,700
- All seats indirectly elected.
- Per constitutional reforms adopted by referendum in July 2011.
Although the country is rapidly modernizing and enjoys a risingstandard of living, it retains much of its ancient architecture and even more of its traditional customs. Morocco’s largest city and majorAtlantic Ocean port isCasablanca, an industrial and commercial centre. The capital,Rabat, lies a short distance to the north on the Atlantic coast. Other port cities includeTangier, on the Strait of Gibraltar,Agadir, on the Atlantic, andAl-Hoceïma, on theMediterranean Sea. The city ofFès is said to have some of the finest souks, or open-air markets, in all of North Africa. Scenic and fertile, Morocco well merits the praise of a native son, themedieval travelerIbn Baṭṭūṭah, who wrote that “it is the best of countries, for in it fruits are plentiful, and running water and nourishing food are never exhausted.”
Land
Morocco bordersAlgeria to the east and southeast,Western Sahara to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north. It is the only African country with coastal exposure to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Its area—excluding the territory of Western Sahara, which Morocco controls—is slightly larger than theU.S. state ofCalifornia. Two small Spanishenclaves,Ceuta andMelilla, are situated on the country’s northern coast.