Morocco Morocco. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Rabat, Morocco

camel caravan in the Sahara
Morocco



flag of Morocco

National anthem of Morocco

OFFICIAL NAME

Al-Mamlakah al-Maghribiyyah (Kingdom of Morocco)

FORM OF GOVERNMENT

constitutional monarchy with two legislative houses (House of Councillors [120¹]; House of Representatives [395])

HEAD OF STATE

King: Muhammad VI

HEAD OF GOVERNMENT

Prime Minister²: Saadeddine El Othmani

CAPITAL

Rabat

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES

Arabic; Tamazight²

OFFICIAL RELIGION

Islam

MONETARY UNIT

Moroccan dirham (DH)

POPULATION

(2019 est.) 35,020,000

POPULATION RANK

(2019) 39

POPULATION PROJECTION 2030

38,923,000

TOTAL AREA (SQ MI)

169,827

TOTAL AREA (SQ KM)

439,850

DENSITY: PERSONS PER SQ MI

(2018) 205.8

DENSITY: PERSONS PER SQ KM

(2018) 79.5

URBAN-RURAL POPULATION

Urban: (2018) 62.5%

Rural: (2018) 37.5%

LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH

Male: (2017) 74 years

Female: (2017) 80.3 years

LITERACY: PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION AGE 15 AND OVER LITERATE

Male: (2015) 78.4%

Female: (2015) 58.7%

GNI (U.S.$ ’000,000)

(2017) 103,900

GNI PER CAPITA (U.S.$)

(2017) 2,860

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  ¹All seats indirectly elected.
  
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  ²Per constitutional reforms adopted by referendum in July 2011.
  

Relief

Most of Morocco lies at high elevations, averaging about 2,600 feet (800 metres) above sea level. Two chains of mountains divide eastern from Atlantic Morocco: the Rif Mountains in the north form a buffer along the Mediterranean coastline, whereas the Atlas Mountains create a barrier across the centre. The two parts of the country are connected by the narrow Taza Gap in the northeast as well as by roads that follow older traditional routes. The Atlas and Rif ranges were formed during the Paleogene and Neogene periods (between about 65 to 2.6 million years ago) by the folding and uplifting of sediment that had accumulated in the Tethys Sea, which, at that time, bordered the northern coast of Africa.

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The Rif Mountains are geologically part of the cordilleras (mountain chains) reaching southward from the Iberian Peninsula of Europe, from which Africa was separated only after the Neogene Period (i.e., during the past 2.6 million years). The crescent-shaped range rises abruptly from a narrow Mediterranean coastal plain. Most of the limestone peaks in the Rif Mountains surpass 4,900 feet (1,500 metres) and rise to 8,058 feet (2,456 metres) at Mount Tidirhine.