Morocco is a very diverse country in North Africa and therefore very popular with tourists. The northeast of the country lies on the Mediterranean Sea, while the west already faces the Atlantic. The Western Sahara region has been fighting for its independence for years.
- Morocco was once a Spanish and French colonial territory.
- The country has been an independent kingdom since 1956 and a constitutional monarchy since 1992.
- Nine important sites in Morocco are on the World Heritage List.
Rabat – The 446,550 square kilometer Morocco is the westernmost of the Maghreb countries. With its historic port cities, its oriental flair and its deserts and oases, the country has become a popular holiday destination. Nevertheless, the fairy-tale kingdom has had to contend with a number of challenges recently – among other things, the conflict with Western Sahara has not yet been finally resolved.
Morocco: Antiquity and Islamization
Homo erectus appeared in what is now Morocco 700,000 years ago, followed by Homo sapiens. The Berber peoples settled here from the 2nd millennium BC. The Phoenicians founded their trading posts here in ancient times. After Rome conquered Carthage in 146 BC, Morocco also became part of the Roman Empire under the name Mauretania Tingitana. This was replaced again in the 5th century by the invasion of the Vandals.
With the advance of the Arabs into Morocco in the 7th century, the country was also Islamized. The region was given the name Maghreb (the Arabic word for “west”) and was ruled by the Idrisids. From the Middle Ages onwards there were changing power relations between different ruling families, including the Almoravids, the Almohads, the Merinids, the Wattasids, the Saadian and the Alawid. The last three ruling families mentioned are still the most important royal families of the Maghreb state.
Morocco: French and Spanish colonization
Portugal and Spain occupied coastal cities in Morocco as early as the 16th century. However, it was not until the 19th century that the colonial powers began to fight. In addition to Germany, France and Spain also showed great interest in Northwest Africa. Germany surrendered in 1911 and recognized French rule. The country was divided: the north became French Morocco, while the southern colony – Western Sahara – became a Spanish protectorate as Spanish Morocco.
At that time there was resistance from the Berber tribes against foreign rule. The uprising of the so-called Rif-Kabyles broke out in the Spanish zone in 1921. But the unrest also spread to the French colony. In 1926, the resistance movement of France and Spain was crushed – among other things with the help of mustard gas bombs.
Morocco: development since independence
In the 1950s, tensions between the sultan and the French protectorate administration increased. France and Spain were soon unable to maintain protectorate power. In 1956 Morocco finally gained its independence. In 1957, Muhammad V became king of the country. In 1961 his son Hassan II became the new king, and he remained in office until 1999. In the years that followed, Morocco had to deal with both the Algerian border war (1963) and conflicts with Western Ahara.
In 1976, Spain gained independence from its colony of Spanish Sahara (Western Sahara). After the area was divided between Mauritania and Morocco, bloody clashes ensued again and again, which ended in 1991 with a ceasefire. Nevertheless, the status of Western Sahara has not yet been clarified internationally. Since 1999 Mohammed VI. new king.
Morocco: The Political System
Morocco is a nominal constitutional monarchy under the 1992 constitution (last amended in 1996 and 2011). Compared to European monarchs, the king has extensive powers under a limited separation of powers. He appoints the prime minister and individual ministers and has to approve the entire cabinet, he is the supreme commander of the armed forces and has the right to dissolve parliament and declare a state of emergency at any time.
Since the constitutional reform of 1996, Morocco has had a bicameral system, consisting of the National Assembly (directly elected for five years) and the Senate (elected for nine years). The country’s legal system is based on the French model. The judges of the Supreme Court are also appointed by the King. However, foreign observers have repeatedly criticized the country’s human rights situation due to the restricted freedom of expression, association and assembly.
Morocco: facts at a glance
- Capital: Rabat
- Official language: Arabic and Tamazight (Berber); French with semi-official status
- Area: 446,550 square kilometers
- Population: 36.5 million (as of 2019)
- Currency: Dirham (MAD)
- Administrative division: 12 regions
- Religion: Islam (state religion)
Morocco: Languages and Population
Arabic is the official language in Morocco. About 90 percent of the population speak Moroccan Arabic, also known as Darija. A good half of the Moroccans also speak one of the Berber languages, which is why the Tamazight in the Middle Atlas still has an important meaning. But French also has an important role to play as a commercial, educational and unofficial working language.
Around 36.5 million people live in Morocco, almost half of whom are Berbers. Most of them have settled down in the meantime, only a minority still lives as nomads or semi-nomadic in more remote areas. While northern Morocco is more likely to be of Arabic descent, southern Morocco is predominantly populated by residents of Berber descent. The population is rather unequally distributed. About two thirds of the inhabitants live in just one tenth of the area in the northwest or west. The coastal areas and cities are the main conurbations.
Morocco: Geography and Cities
Morocco is located in northwest Africa and is separated from the European continent by the Strait of Gibraltar. It is therefore located on both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. In the east it borders with Algeria, in the south it shares the border with the embattled Western Sahara. Flora and fauna are divided in two by the Atlas Mountains. The landscape alternates between beautiful coastal regions, mountain landscapes and deserts.
The country has a very old and traditional urban culture, which is why urbanization progressed relatively slowly here. This is also noticeable in the historical buildings, city centers and markets in cities such as Casablanca, Marrakech and Fès. Although Casablanca has the largest agglomeration in terms of population, Rabat is the country’s capital.
The largest cities in Morocco at a glance
- 1 Casablanca: 3,359,818 inhabitants, Casablanca-Settat region
- 2 Fès: 1,112,072 inhabitants, Fès-Meknès region
- 3 Tangier: 947,952 inhabitants, Tangier-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma region
- 4 Marrakech: 928,850 inhabitants, Marrakech-Safi region
- 5 Rabat: 577,827 inhabitants, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region
- 6 Meknès: 520,428 inhabitants, Fès-Meknès region
- 7 Oujda: 494,252 inhabitants, Oriental region
- 8th Kenitra: 431,282 inhabitants, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region
- 9 Agadir: 421,844 inhabitants, Souss-Massa region
- 10 Tétouan: 380,787 inhabitants, Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma region
Morocco: Interesting facts about the country
Morocco is one of the economically strongest countries in Africa. Phosphate is the country’s most important natural resource and Morocco is also the world’s largest phosphate exporter. Nevertheless, foreign debt is high. One percent of the population lives below the poverty line and ten percent of Moroccans are unemployed. Crafts such as carpets, leather goods, copper and silver work are still traditionally made here. In addition, 40 percent of the population work in agriculture, where mainly grapes, olives, barley, wheat and citrus fruits are grown. Livestock is specialized in sheep, cattle, goats and chickens. However, this sector only accounts for 14 percent of total economic output.
Tourism is all the more important for the country. Every year, around twelve million visitors from Europe (mainly France and Spain) come to the Maghreb country, which has numerous historical sights to offer and has so far been represented by nine sites on the World Heritage List. These include the medina of Fès, the medina of Marrakech, the fortified old town of Aït-Ben-Haddou, the medina of Meknès, the archaeological site of Volubilis, the medina of Tétouan, the medina of Essaouira, the Portuguese city of Mazagan and the capital Rabat mir its historic city center.
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