Morocco

total:

12.61 cu km/yr (12%/4%/84%)

per capita:

428.1 cu m/yr (2005)

• 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

0-14 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.94 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.82 male(s)/female

total population:

0.97 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

total number:

500,960

percentage:

8 % (2007 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 last Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in September

• several previous;
• latest drafted 17 June 2011, approved by referendum 1 July 2011;
• note - sources disagree on whether the 2011 referendum was for a new constitution or for reforms to the previous constitution (2011)

• Action Party or PA [Mohammed EL IDRISSI]
• Al Ahd (The Covenant) Party [Najib EL OUAZZANI]
• Alliance des Libert'es (Alliance of Liberties) or ADL [Ali BELHAJ]
• An-Nahj Ad-Dimocrati or An-Nahj [Abdellah EL HARIF]
• Authenticity and Modernity Party or PAM [Mustapha BAKKOURY, 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 [Hamid CHABAT]
• Labor Party or LP [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 [Salaheddine MEZOUAR]
• National Union of Popular Forces or UNFP [Abdellah IBRAHIM]
• Party of Justice and Development or PJD [Abdelillah BENKIRANE]; Popular Movement or MP [Mohamed LAENSER]
• Progress and Socialism Party or PPS [Nabil BENABDELLAH]
• 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 [Driss LACHGAR]
• 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]
• Justice and Charity Organization or JCO
• 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 Mohammed Rachad BOUHLAL (since 22 December 2011)

chancery:

1601 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:

[1] (202) 462-7979

FAX:

[1] (202) 462-7643

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Matthew LUSSENHOP (since July 2013)

embassy:

2 Avenue de Mohamed El Fassi, Rabat

mailing address:

Unit 9400, Box 021, DPO AE 09718

telephone:

[212] (537) 76 22 65

FAX:

[212] (537) 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

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

agriculture:

44.6%

industry:

19.8%

services:

35.5% (2006 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.7%

highest 10%:

33.2% (2007)

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 exceeds 100 per 100 persons

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 (2011)

• 2 TV 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) (2008)

total:

58,395 km

country comparison to the world: 74

paved:

41,116 km (includes 1,080 km of expressways)

unpaved:

17,279 km (2010)

major seaport(s):

Casablanca, Jorf Lasfar, Mohammedia, Safi, Tangier

container port(s) (TEUs):

Tangier (2,093,408)

• 20 years of age for voluntary military service;
• no conscription;
• service obligation - 18 months (2012)

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 National Liberation Front's assertions of a claim to Chirac Pastures in southeastern Morocco is a dormant dispute

current situation:

• Morocco is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children who are subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking;
• Moroccan adults and children are exploited for forced labor and forced prostitution in the Middle East and Europe;
• some Moroccan girls recruited to work as maids experience conditions of forced labor, while some Moroccan boys are forced to work as apprentices in the artisan and construction industries and in mechanic shops;
• women and children from sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia who voluntarily enter Morocco are subsequently coerced into prostitution or, less frequently, domestic service;
• women and children from Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Nigeria are also vulnerable to sex trafficking and, to a lesser extent, forced labor in Morocco

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Morocco does not comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• the government does not demonstrate progress in investigating, prosecuting, convicting, and adequately punishing trafficking offenders and has failed to provide law enforcement data;
• it has not developed or employed systematic procedures to proactively identify trafficking victims among vulnerable groups, particularly the sub-Saharan migrant community, but has made some efforts to offer protective services to Moroccan women and child trafficking victims;
• Morocco continues to lack a single comprehensive anti-trafficking law (2013)

• 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