Morocco

Morocco's long struggle for independence from France ended in 1956. The internationalized city of Tangier was turned over to the new country that same year. Morocco virtually annexed Western Sahara during the late 1970s, but final resolution on the status of the territory remains unresolved. Gradual political reforms in the 1990s resulted in the establishment of a bicameral legislature in 1997.

• land degradation/desertification (soil erosion resulting from farming of marginal areas, overgrazing, destruction of vegetation);
• water supplies contaminated by raw sewage;
• siltation of reservoirs;
• oil pollution of coastal waters

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea

0-14 years:

33.2% (male 5,360,666; female 5,162,168)

15-64 years:

62% (male 9,766,222; female 9,876,647)

65 years and over:

4.8% (male 676,357; female 847,205) (2003 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.8 male(s)/female

total population:

1 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

noun:

Moroccan(s)

adjective:

Moroccan

conventional long form:

Kingdom of Morocco

conventional short form:

Morocco

local short form:

Al Maghrib

local long form:

Al Mamlakah al Maghribiyah

chief of state:

King MOHAMED VI (since 23 July 1999)

head of government:

Prime Minister Driss JETTOU (since 9 October 2002)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch

elections:

• none;
• the monarch is hereditary;
• prime minister appointed by the monarch following legislative elections

• Action Party or PA [Muhammad EL IDRISSI];
• Alliance of Liberties or ADL [Ali BELHAJ];
• Annahj Addimocrati or Annahj [Abdellah EL HARIF];
• Avant Garde Social Democratic Party or PADS [Ahmed BENJELLOUN];
• Citizen Forces or FC [Abderrahman LAHJOUJI];
• Citizen's Initiatives for Development [Mohamed BENHAMOU];
• Constitutional Union or UC [Mohamed ABIED (interim)];
• Democratic and Independence Party or PDI [Abdelwahed MAACH];
• Democratic and Social Movement or MDS [Mahmoud ARCHANE];
• Democratic Socialist Party or PSD [Aissa OUARDIGHI];
• Democratic Union or UD [Bouazza IKKEN];
• Environment and Development Party or PED [Ahmed EL ALAMI];
• Front of Democratic Forces or FFD [Thami EL KHYARI];
• Istiqlal Party (Independence Party) or PI [Abbas El FASSI];
• Justice and Development Party (formerly the Constitutional and Democratic Popular Movement) or PJD [Abdelkrim EL KHATIB];
• Moroccan Liberal Party or PML [Mohamed ZIANE];
• National Democratic Party or PND [Abdallah KADIRI];
• National Ittihadi Congress Party or CNI [Abdelmajid BOUZOUBAA];
• National Popular Movement or MNP [Mahjoubi AHERDANE];
• National Rally of Independents or RNI [Ahmed OSMAN];
• National Union of Popular Forces or UNFP [Abdellah IBRAHIM];
• Parti Al Ahd or Al Ahd [Najib EL OUAZZANI, chairman];
• Party of Progress and Socialism or PPS [Ismail ALAOUI];
• Party of Renewal and Equity or PRE [Chakir ACHABAR];
• Party of the Unified Socialist Left or GSU [Mohamed Ben Said AIT IDDER];
• Popular Movement or MP [Mohamed LAENSER];
• Reform and Development Party or PRD [Abderrahmane EL KOUHEN];
• Social Center Party or PSC [Lahcen MADIH];
• Socialist Union of Popular Forces or USFP [Abderrahman EL-YOUSSOUFI]

• Democratic Confederation of Labor or CDT [Noubir AMAOUI];
• General Union of Moroccan Workers or UGTM [Abderrazzak AFILAL];
• Moroccan Employers Association or CGEM [Hassan CHAMI];
• National Labor Union of Morocco or UNMT [Abdelslam MAATI];
• Union of Moroccan Workers or UMT [Mahjoub BENSEDDIK]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Aziz MEKOUAR

consulate(s) general:

New York

FAX:

[1] (202) 265-0161

telephone:

[1] (202) 462-7979 through 7982

chancery:

1601 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

chief of mission:

Ambassador Ms. Margaret TUTWILER

embassy:

2 Avenue de Mohamed El Fassi, Rabat

mailing address:

PSC 74, Box 021, APO AE 90718

telephone:

[212] (37) 76 22 65

FAX:

[212] (37) 76 56 61

consulate(s) general:

Casablanca

lowest 10%:

2.6%

highest 10%:

30.9% (1998-99)

general assessment:

modern system with all important capabilities; however density is low with only 4.6 main lines available for each 100 persons

domestic:

• good system composed of open-wire lines, cables, and microwave radio relay links;
• Internet available but expensive;
• principal switching centers are Casablanca and Rabat;
• national network nearly 100% digital using fiber-optic links;
• improved rural service employs microwave radio relay

international:

• 7 submarine cables;
• satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat;
• microwave radio relay to Gibraltar, Spain, and Western Sahara;
• coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Algeria;
• participant in Medarabtel;
• fiber-optic cable link from Agadir to Algeria and Tunisia (1998)

total:

1,907 km

standard gauge:

1,907 km 1.435-m gauge (1,003 km electrified) (2002)

total:

57,707 km

paved:

32,547 km (including 481 km of expressways)

unpaved:

25,160 km (2000)

total:

39 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 247,591 GRT/268,356 DWT

ships by type:

cargo 8, chemical tanker 7, container 6, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 7, short-sea passenger 2

note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1, Hong Kong 1, Netherlands 2, Norway 2 (2002 est.)

• 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

• illicit producer of hashish;
• trafficking increasing for both domestic and international drug markets;
• shipments of hashish mostly directed to Western Europe;
• transit point for cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe