Morocco

total:

12.6 cu km/yr (10%/3%/87%)

per capita:

400 cu m/yr (2000)

• 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

Environmental Modification

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.75 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

noun:

Moroccan(s)

adjective:

Moroccan

conventional long form:

Kingdom of Morocco

conventional short form:

Morocco

local long form:

Al Mamlakah al Maghribiyah

local short form:

Al Maghrib

name:

Rabat

geographic coordinates:

34 01 N, 6 49 W

time difference:

UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• based on Islamic law and French and Spanish civil law systems;
• judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of Supreme Court;
• has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

chief of state:

King MOHAMMED VI (since 30 July 1999)

head of government:

Prime Minister Abbas EL FASSI (since 19 September 2007)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch

elections:

the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch following legislative elections

• Action Party or PA [Mohammed EL IDRISSI];
• Al Ahd (The Covenant) Party [Najib EL OUAZZANI];
• Alliance des Libert'es (Alliance of Liberty) or ADL [Ali BELHAJ];
• An-Nahj Ad-Dimocrati or An-Nahj [Abdellah EL HARIF];
• Authenticity and Modernity Party or PAM [Mohamed Cheikh BIADILLAH, Secretary General];
• Choura et Istiqlal (Consultation and Independence) Party or PCI [Abdelwahed MAACH];
• Citizens' Forces or FC [Abderrahman LAHJOUJI];
• Citizenship and Development Initiative or ICD [Mohamed BENHAMOU];
• Constitutional Union Party or UC [Mohammed ABIED];
• Democratic and Social Movement or MDS [Mahmoud ARCHANE];
• Democratic Forces Front or FFD [Touhami EL KHIARI];
• Democratic Socialist Vanguard Party or PADS [Ahmed BENJELLOUN];
• Democratic Society Party or PSD [Zhor CHEKKAFI];
• Democratic Union or UD [Bouazza IKKEN];
• Environment and Development Party or PED [Ahmed EL ALAMI];
• Istiqlal (Independence) Party or PI [Abbas EL FASSI];
• Justice and Development Party or PJD [Abdelilah BENKIRANE];
• Labor Party or PT [Abdelkrim BENATIK];
• 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 [Mustapha EL MANSOURI];
• National Union of Popular Forces or UNFP [Abdellah IBRAHIM];
• Popular Movement or MP [Mohamed LAENSER];
• Progress and Socialism Party or PPS [Ismail ALAOUI];
• Reform and Development Party or PRD [Abderrahmane EL KOUHEN];
• Renaissance and Virtue Party or PRV [Mohamed KHALIDI];
• Renewal and Equity Party or PRE [Chakir ACHABAR];
• Social Center Party or PSC [Lahcen MADIH];
• Socialist Democratic Party or PSD [Aissa OUARDIGHI];
• Socialist Union of Popular Forces or USFP [Abdelwahed RADI];
• Unified Socialist Left Party or PGSU [Mohamed Ben Said AIT IDDER]

• 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

chancery:

1601 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:

[1] (202) 462-7979

FAX:

[1] (202) 265-0161

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Robert P. JACKSON

embassy:

2 Avenue de Mohamed El Fassi, Rabat

mailing address:

PSC 74, Box 021, APO AE 09718

telephone:

[212] (37) 76 22 65

FAX:

[212] (37) 76 56 61

consulate(s) general:

Casablanca

• red with a green pentacle (five-pointed, linear star) known as Sulayman's (Solomon's) seal in the center of the flag;
• red and green are traditional colors in Arab flags, although the use of red is more commonly associated with the Arab states of the Persian gulf;
• design dates to 1912

agriculture:

44.6%

industry:

19.8%

services:

35.5% (2006 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.7%

highest 10%:

33.2% (2007)

general assessment:

• modern system with all important capabilities;
• however, density is low with only 9 fixed lines available for each 100 persons;
• mobile-cellular subscribership reached 65 per 100 persons in 2008

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:

• country code - 212;
• landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3 optical telecommunications submarine cable that provides connectivity to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe;
• 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 (2008)

total:

1,907 km

country comparison to the world: 74

standard gauge:

1,907 km 1.435-m gauge (1,022 km electrified) (2008)

total:

57,625 km

country comparison to the world: 76

paved:

35,664 km (includes 639 km of expressways)

unpaved:

21,961 km (2006)

males age 16-49:

9,152,580

females age 16-49:

9,080,830 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

7,779,589

females age 16-49:

7,881,024 (2009 est.)

male:

356,014

female:

343,520 (2009 est.)

• claims and administers Western Sahara whose 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 all brokered 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;
• discussions have not progressed on a comprehensive maritime delimitation, setting limits on resource exploration and refugee interdiction, since Morocco's 2002 rejection of Spain's unilateral designation of a median line from the Canary Islands;
• Morocco serves as one of the primary launching areas of illegal migration into Spain from North Africa

• one of the world's largest producers of illicit hashish;
• shipments of hashish mostly directed to Western Europe;
• transit point for cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe;
• significant consumer of cannabis