Home/Countries/Morocco

North Africa

Morocco

Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Mauritania.

Muslim population99%of the population

Population37.3 millionpeople (current)

CapitalRabatUTC+1

Currency9.94 = $1Moroccan dirhams (MAD) (2024)

Country basics

Morocco is a North African kingdom with Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts and the Atlas range.

Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with Rabat as its capital, Casablanca as its largest city, and Arabic and Tamazight official. The dirham is the currency, and phosphates, vehicle assembly, farm produce and tourism lead its export earnings.

Official name

Kingdom of Morocco

Region

Africa · Northern Africa

Government

Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy

Time zonesCheck the offset for your own city

UTC

Driving side

Right

Phone code

+212

Currency

Moroccan dirham (MAD, د.م.)

Member of

Arab League; UN; African Union

Website

https://www.maroc.ma

Faith and language

Religions

Muslim 99% (official; virtually all Sunni, <0.1% Shia), other 1% (includes Christian, Jewish, and Baha'i); note - Jewish about 3,000-3,500

Languages

Arabic; Standard Moroccan Tamazight

People and cities

Population

37.3 million (current)

Median ageHalf the population is younger than this

30.9 years (2025)

Living in cities

65.1% (2023)

Largest cities

Casablanca 3.893 million · Rabat (capital) 1.959 million · Fes 1.290 million · Tangier 1.314 million · Marrakech 1.050 million

Money and cost of living

Exchange rateYearly average; check today’s rate before you budget

9.94 Moroccan dirhams (MAD) per US dollar (2024)

Income per personGDP per person, adjusted for local prices (2021 dollars)

$9,100 (2024)

InflationHow much prices rose over the year

1% (2024)

Unemployment

9% (2024)

Spent on foodShare of an average household’s spending

34.5% (2023)

Health and daily life

Life expectancy

74.2 years (2024)

Doctors

0.74 per 1,000 people (2021)

Hospital beds

0.7 per 1,000 people (2020)

Safe drinking water

87% of people (2022)

Electricity

100% of people (2022)

Internet users

91% of people (2023)

Land and climate

Climate

Mediterranean in the north, becoming more extreme in the interior; in the south, hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew

SizeSlightly larger than twice the size of California

446,550 sq km

Natural hazards

In the north, the mountains are geologically unstable and subject to earthquakes; periodic droughts; windstorms; flash floods; landslides; in the south, a hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility

National holiday

Throne Day (accession of King MOHAMMED VI to the throne), 30 July (1999)