Kingdom of Morocco

National name: al-Mamlaka al-Maghrebia

Ruler: King Muhammed VI (1999)

Prime Minister: Driss Jettou (2002)

Land area: 172,317 sq mi (446,301 sq km); total area: 172,414 sq mi (446,550 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 33,241,259 (growth rate: 1.6%); birth rate: 22.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 40.2/1000; life expectancy: 70.9; density per sq mi: 193

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%

Literacy rate: 52% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $140.9 billion; per capita $4,300. Real growth rate: 1.2%. Inflation: 2.1%. Unemployment: 10.5%. Arable land: 19%. Agriculture: barley, wheat, citrus, wine, vegetables, olives; livestock. Labor force: 11.19 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: $9.472 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): clothing, fish, inorganic chemicals, transistors, crude minerals, fertilizers (including phosphates), petroleum products, fruits, vegetables. Imports: $18.15 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): crude petroleum, textile fabric, telecommunications equipment, wheat, gas and electricity, transistors, plastics. Major trading partners: France, Spain, UK, Italy, U.S., Germany, Russia, Saudi Arabia, China (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 1.391 million (1998); mobile cellular: 116,645 (1998). 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): 8 (2000). Internet users: 400,000 (2002).

Transportation: Railways: total: 1,907 km (2002). Highways: total: 57,707 km; paved: 32,547 km (including 481 km of expressways); unpaved: 25,160 km (2000). Ports and harbors: Agadir, El Jadida, Casablanca, El Jorf Lasfar, Kenitra, Mohammedia, Nador, Rabat, Safi, Tangier; also Spanish-controlled Ceuta and Melilla. Airports: 63 (2002).

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.

 

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