Morocco

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

In total, Morocco spends US$3.7 billion, or 3.3 percent of its GDP on its military. This makes Morocco the 49th highest military spender in the world representing 0.19 percent of total global military expenditure.

The Moroccan military consists of an Army, Navy and an Air Force and was established right after its independence. Its military is mainly supplied by the United States, which also gives it military training along with France.

Military membership

It is also a member of five international military organizations which makes it the 79th most militarily connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Conference on Disarmament
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
International Atomic Energy Agency
Non-Aligned Movement

Military membership

International wars

Since its independence, Morocco has fought 11 international wars. These are:

Hispano-Moroccan War 1859–1860
First Melillan campaign 1893-1894
French conquest of Morocco 1911-1911
Ifni War 1957-1958
Sand War 1963-1963

Six-Day War 1967-1967
Yom Kippur War 1973-1973
Western Sahara War 1975-1991
Perejil Island crisis 2001-2001
Houthi insurgency in Yemen 2004-2015

Syrian Civil War 2011-present

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

Morrocco is a member of 12 international political organizations which makes it the 91st most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member state of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
Union for the Mediterranean
African Union
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
Member states of the Organization internationale de la Francophonie
Arab League
Organization of Islamic Cooperation
Interpol

Permanent Court of Arbitration
South Centre (organization)
World Organization for Animal Health

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Despite having relatively free and fair elections, the king of Morocco has the supreme rule which allows him to bypass democratically chosen institutions. This makes Morocco the 111th most democratic state in the world.

Democracy/Dictatorship

The politics of Morocco are in the form of a parliamentary monarchy where the Prime Minister is head of government and the King of Morocco is head of state as well as head of the military.

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If you want to know more about other states, click on the flag on the right to discover Mozambique.

Morocco, named after its former capital city Marrakesh, is mostly known for its beaches as well as the Sahara Desert. The territory of Morocco was first inhabited by the Berbers that lived a nomadic lifestyle. From the first century until the fifth century, the territory was annexed and conquered by the Roman empire until it collapsed during the sixth century. After the spread of Islam and the Arab invasions, Morocco became an Arab state in the seventh century. At the start of the eighth century, Morocco conquered a large part of Spain until they were expelled in the 13th century. After several wars between Morocco and Spain as well as France at the start of the 20th century the latter states invaded Morocco and made it part of their colonies. After gaining independence in 1956, Morocco has laid claim on several territories within Algeria as well as Western Sahara. This has led to military tensions between Morocco and Algeria as well as Morocco and the people that inhabit Western Sahara.

Located in the most northwestern part of Africa, Morocco is home to low-lying plains as well as a mountain range that is located in the central and eastern part of Morocco. Its landscape varies from lightly forested areas and low-lying vegetation in the north to the Sahara Desert to the southeast. Despite being separated by the Strait of Gibraltar from mainland Spain, Spain still holds two territories that are situated in the north of Morocco. To the east, Morocco borders Algeria and to its south it borders the disputed area of Western Sahara. And to the west it borders the Atlantic Ocean.

Morocco is the 57th largest state in the world with a total surface area of 448,783 square kilometers or 173,272 square miles. This makes Morocco slightly larger than Iraq and slightly smaller than Uzbekistan.

Morocco has a total water surface area for 251 square kilometers or 97 square miles which is the 129th highest in the world.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

Most of its water is derived from groundwater and is considered not safe to drink.

The climate of Morocco is a Mediterranean climate with hot and dry summers and mild winters in the northern and most populated part. More inland, Morocco experiences a desert climate which has extreme temperature differences between day and night. The average temperature is 17.8 degrees Celsius or 64 degrees Fahrenheit which makes it the 122nd warmest state in the world.

During summer, from June to September, the average temperature is 22.5 degrees Celsius or 72.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

During winter, between December and February, the average temperature is 12.3 degrees Celsius or 54.1 degrees Fahrenheit.

Rainfall is unevenly spread out throughout Morocco with its northern parts receiving 12 times as much as its southern part. The average amount of rainfall in Morocco is 42.8 centimetres or 16.9 inches per year which makes it the 165th state with the highest amount of rainfall.

The capital of Morocco, Rabat, is home to approximately 1 million people. The capital that is closest located to Rabat is Lisbon Portugal with a distance of 559 kilometers or 347 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Rabat is Wellington New Zealand with a distance of 19,196 kilometers or 11,928 miles.

Since its independence, Morocco has struggled with its economic development. However, at the start of the 21st century, the economy has started to stabilize and has shown a steady growth throughout the last two decades. Its economy is considered to be a free market economy with high amounts of individual enterprise and low governmental interference. Most products that Morocco exports are phosphate and transporting equipment which are mainly exported to France and Spain which represent more than 45 percent of all exports. Most of its imports comes from China France and Spain which combined represent nearly 40 percent of all imports.

Morocco is a member of 12 international economic organizations which makes it the 102nd most economically connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Alliance for Financial Inclusion
African development Bank
Bank for International Settlements
International Monetary Fund
Islamic Development Bank
World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
Arab Maghreb Union
International Renewable Energy Agency
Group of 77
Group of 24

Its GDP is US$115 billion which makes it the 61st highest in the world and represents 0.40 percent of total global GDP.

Its GDP per surface area is US$257,000 per square kilometer or US$666,000 per square mile which is the 120th highest in the world.

Its GDP per capita is US$3315 which is the 129th highest in the world.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power per capita is 8012 US dollars which is the 130th highest in the world.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

With a total population of 36.5 million people, Morocco is the 39th most populous state in the world. The ethnicities in Morocco are roughly divided into the Arab population and the Berber population. The languages of these populations are the official languages of Morocco. Other languages that are spoken within Morocco are French and Spanish which are mainly used by businessman.

It has the 100th highest population density in the world with 81 people per square kilometer or 210 people per square mile.

More than 2.7 million people, or 7.7 percent of its population have migrated to other states. The largest destinations for migrants were France Germany, Spain and the Netherlands which were in high demand of low skilled labour. This makes Morocco the 24th state with the highest number of emigrants and represents 1.1 percent of total global emigration.

Immigration to Morocco has been relatively low with just over 80,000 people, or 0.22 percent of the population. These are mainly retired Moroccans that have re-migrated back from Europe.

Education in Morocco is free and compulsory between the ages of five and 15. Despite doubling its literacy rate since its independence, Morocco still has the 156th highest literacy rate in the world with 72.9 percent. This is largely due to a discrepancy between the availability of education to men and women as well as the inaccessibility of education in the more rural areas.

Since its economic uptake at the start of the 21st century, Morocco has started to invest heavily in its healthcare system. This has led to an increase in the average life expectancy which currently is 77.5 years, or the 64th highest in the world. Women reach 78.7 years and men reach 76.2 years. The leading causes of death have also shifted to noncommunicable diseases with cancer and cardiovascular diseases being the leading cause of death.

As a Muslim majority state, Morocco has put restrictions on following other religions aside from the Sunni denomination which range from ostracizing religions to imprisonment.

Christianity is followed by less than 0.1 percent of the population which makes it the 168th most Christian state in the world. Christianity first appeared when Morocco was part of the Roman empire and declined with the rise of Islam in the region.

On the right, the global share of Christians per state is displayed

Islam is represented by 99.9 percent of the population with the Sunni denomination being the dominant branch of Islam. This makes Morocco the most Islamic state in the world.

Buddhism is represented by less than 5000 people, or less than 0.01 percent of the population. Most Buddhists are practicing their religion in private.

There are no official Hindu organizations in Morocco.

Morocco was home to the largest Jewish community in Africa. These mainly arrived in Morocco as a result of the Spanish Inquisition. However, since the creation of Israel and the Israeli Arab war, religious tensions arose between the Islamic and the Jewish population in Morocco which has seen a large emigration of Jews from Morocco to Israel. Today, less than 0.05 percent of the population adheres to Judaism in Morocco.

Other religions are represented by 0.07 percent of the population and are mainly represented by adherents of the Baha'i faith. The Baha'i faith started to spread before Moroccan independence, but was quickly eradicated by the Moroccan government which have executed several permanent members.

Irreligion is represented by less than 0.03 percent of the population.