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

noun:

Moroccan(s)

adjective:

Moroccan

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.96 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.83 male(s)/female

total population:

0.97 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

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)

daylight saving time:

+1 hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in July

• 10 March 1972;
• revised 4 September 1992, amended September 1996;
• new constitution approved in referendum July 2011

chief of state:

King MOHAMMED VI (since 30 July 1999)

head of government:

Prime Minister Abdelilah BENKIRANE (since 29 November 2011)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

the monarchy 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 Samuel L. KAPLAN

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;
• the pentacle represents the five pillars of Islam and signifies the association between God and the nation;
• design dates to 1912

name:

"Hymne Cherifien" (Hymn of the Sharif)

lyrics/music:

Ali Squalli HOUSSAINI/Leo MORGAN

note: music adopted 1956, lyrics adopted 1970

agriculture:

44.6%

industry:

19.8%

services:

35.5% (2006 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.7%

highest 10%:

33.2% (2007)

• barley, wheat, citrus fruits, grapes, vegetables, olives;
• livestock;
• wine

general assessment:

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

domestic:

fixed-line teledensity is roughly 10 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership approached 75 per 100 persons in 2009

international:

• country code - 212;
• landing point for the Atlas Offshore, Estepona-Tetouan, Euroafrica, Spain-Morocco, and SEA-ME-WE-3 fiber-optic telecommunications undersea cables that provide 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 (2009)

• 2 television broadcast networks with state-run Radio-Television Marocaine (RTM) operating one network and the state partially owning the other;
• foreign TV broadcasts are available via satellite dish;
• 3 radio broadcast networks with RTM operating one;
• the government-owned network includes 10 regional radio channels in addition to its national service (2007)

total:

2,067 km

country comparison to the world: 70

standard gauge:

2,067 km 1.435-m gauge (1,022 km electrified) (2010)

total:

58,256 km

country comparison to the world: 76

paved:

39,480 km (includes 866 km of expressways)

unpaved:

18,776 km (2008)

• 20 years of age for voluntary military service;
• no conscription;
• service obligation - 18 months (2011)

males age 16-49:

8,252,682

females age 16-49:

8,691,419 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

7,026,016

females age 16-49:

7,377,045 (2010 est.)

male:

300,327

female:

298,366 (2010 est.)

• claims and administers Western Sahara whose sovereignty remains unresolved;
• 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;
• both countries claim Isla Perejil (Leila Island);
• 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;
• Algeria's border with Morocco remains an irritant to bilateral relations, each nation accusing the other of harboring militants and arms smuggling;
• the FLN's assertions of a claim to Chirac Pastures in southeastern Morocco is a dormant dispute

• 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