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Kingdom of Morocco Chairman of the Group of 77 & China for 2003 |
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Morocco: Country Profile
Located on the extreme North-West of the African continent, Morocco, a country of Maghreb, is bordered on the east and the south-east by Algeria, on the south by Mauritania, on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the north by the Mediterranean.
Area
Morocco has an area of 710 850 km².
Climate & vegetation
Moroccan climate varies from area to area: Mediterranean to the north, Atlantic to the west and Saharian to the South. Coastal regions alone have tempered climate.
In fall, the mountainous regions have cool and humid climate (abundant snows in the Atlas at the foot of which the city of Marrakech is sited). It is advisable to put on clothing accordingly.
Yet, the average sun is of more than 8 hours per day and the average temperature reaches approximately 18°C in December in Marrakech.
In the Northern half, the climate witnesses a dry season (from May till the end of September), as well as a tempered and humid period (from the start of October to the end of April).
Vegetation is of mediterranean type, with thuya in mountains, holm oak, cedar, juniper and diverse mountain plants. In the plains, grows the cork oak, the olive tree, the mastic and the argan tree. In the interior regions, grows the esparto plant, artemisia plant, while the south oases are the most convenient fields for palm trees.
The Moroccan population reaches 30 million inhabitants, with a growth rate of 1, 8% and life expectancy of 67 years in average.
Capital
The capital of the Kingdom of Morocco is Rabat counting 658 000 inhabitants.
Main cities
Apart from the capital, the other big cities of Morocco by population are:
Casablanca: 3 200 000 inhabitant,
Fez: 719 000 inhabitant,
Marrakech: 644 000 inhabitant,
Meknes: 484 000 inhabitant,
Tetouan: 484 000 inhabitant,
Agadir: 420 000 inhabitant,
Tangier: 410 000 inhabitant.
Laayoun: 174 000 inhabitant
Political structure
Regime: Constitutional Monarchy.
Constitution dated 13th September 1996
Head of State: His Majesty King MOHAMMED VI
Prime Minister: His Excellency Mr. Driss JETTOU
Parliament:
*Chamber of Representatives: 325 representatives elected for five years by direct universal suffrage. The current Chamber was elected on September 27th 2002.
*Chamber of Counselors: 270 counselors elected by indirect suffrage for five years the third of which can be renewed every 3 years.
Languages
Official language: Arabic.
Other language: Berber.
Foreign languages: French, Spanish and English.
National day
Throne Day: 30th July
Morocco has considerable mining resources: He is the third producer and first phosphates exporter world-wide (around. 20 million t.). The country is rich also in iron ore and non ferrous metals in the mountains: baryta, lead, manganese, cobalt, copper, iron, zinc, antimony, molybdenum, fluorine. On the other hand, energy resources are more limited: anthracite, oil and natural gas are covering barely 20% of the needs and cannot stop recourse to imports. Yet, the discovery of natural gas close to Essaouira provides a new lease of hope.
The main agricultural productions are cereals (wheat, barley, and corn), the legumes (broad beans, peas, small peas, and green beans), market gardening, citrus fruits, and sugar plants. Fruit tree cultivation and olive trees provide an additional large resource.
Animal husbandry occupies a predominant place in the agropastoral sector.
As to the industrial sector, it represents about 28% of the GDP, with food industries ranking at the top, followed by textile industries, leather and the building industry.
Transport represents a sufficiently developed sector. Morocco has a road network of 59 474 km and a railway network of 1 893 km.
The main airports are Casablanca, Rabat, Fez, Agadir, Marrakech, Tangier and Laayoun.
The main ports are Casablanca, Mohammedia, Tangier, Dakhla and Nador.
The tertiary sector is dominated by tourism which generated in 2002 2,6 billion $ of receipts.
GDP is of 40 ,3 billion $, that is 1 361 $ per inhabitant
Map
The Mediterranean
L
The Atlas
The
Sahara
The Mamora
Rabat
Casablanca
Karaouine
(Fez)
Bab Mansour (Meknes)
Armory
HM The King
of Morocco
t
The Government
The Parliament
Phosphate (Khouribga)
Orange gathering (Area of
Marrakech)
Casablanca Port