Country Facts

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Size
• Total area: 446,550km2
• Land: km²
• Water: 250km² (0,056%)

Population
• 2009 estimate 31,993,000
• 2004 census 29,680,069
• Arab-Berber 99.1%
• other 0.7%
• Jewish 0.2%
• Growth rate: 1.479% (2009 est.)
• Birth rate: 20.96 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
• Death rate: 5.45 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
• female: 72.61 years (2009 est)
• Life expectancy: 71.8 years (2009 est)
• male: 69.42 years (2009 est); female: 74.3 years (2009 est.) Fertility rate: 2.51 children born/woman (2009 est.)

Neighboring country
The immediate neighboring countries of Morocco are as furnished bellow:
• Portugal
• Spain
• Western Sahara
• Algeria
• Mauritania

Currency
• The currency used in Morocco is the Moroccan Dirham, often abbreviated as Dh.
• The exchange rates fluctuates, at the time of writing one pound is worth approximately 12 Dirhams; One Euro is closer to 11 Dirhams.
• 1 Moroccan dirham = 0.126772 U.S. dollars

Politics
Politics of Morocco take place in a framework of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, whereby the Prime Minister of Morocco is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives of Morocco and the Assembly of Councilors. The Moroccan Constitution provides for a monarchy with a Parliament and an independent judiciary.

Language
There are several different forms of the various languages spoken in Morocco, as well as a few that are non-verbal. The following is a breakdown of the 11 listed languages that are or were spoken in Morocco:

Living Languages
Moroccan Arabic - This is the official language of Morocco. Though it is somewhat different from most other types of Arabic, most Moroccans can understand conventional Arabic.
Hassaniyya Arabic - Also known as Moor. Over 40 000 in Southern Morocco people speak this form of Arabic.
Judeo-Moroccan Arabic - Only about 8 925 people speak this form of Arabic. It is generally confined to certain small areas in Morocco.
Standard Arabic - Most Moroccans can understand this form of Arabic which is spoken and written much throughout the rest of the Middle East and North Africa. Most Arabic television programs are in this form of Arabic.
Moroccan Sign Language - There is a large number of deaf men who speak sign language in the city of Oujda. It is hard to determine how many women are capable of sign language as they do not speak it in the streets. There are a few small deaf schools which teach the language though it is not generally used in Rabat, Tangier and Casa Blanca. Most people who use MSL cannot read or write Arabic. MSL is very different from American Sign Language and people conversant in the two sign languages would struggle to understand each other.
Spanish - Over 20 000 people in Morocco are capable of speaking Spanish. Besides being only a short distance away, Spain also acted as a protectorate of Morocco for a while after 1912. This resulted in Spanish influence in culture and language.
Tachelhit - 3 to 4 million of the people of Morocco speak this form of Berber.
Central Atlas Tamazight - This is also spoken by roughly 3 million of the inhabitants of Morocco. It is a dialect of Berber.
Tarifit - a lesser used dialect of the Berber language. It is spoken by about 1.5 million people in Morocco.

Extinct Languages
Ghomara - was a dialect of Berber which is generally considered to no longer be in use.
Senhaja de Srair - this is the fifth dialect of Berber which has also unfortunately fallen into disuse.

Other Languages
French - though not seen as an indigenous language in Morocco, at least half of the population is capable of speaking it. This is due to the strong French influence during the period of 1912 to 1956, which has also left a large amount of French architecture in parts of Morocco.

Religion
• The totally dominating religion of Morocco is Muslim (99.7%).
• Minority religions:
• Christianity (0.3%); Judaism (<0.1%); Baha’i (<0.1%).

Culture
• Population: 33,757,176 (July 2007 est.)
• Ethnic groups: Arab by identity 60 % Berber 40 %
• Languages: Classical Arabic (official, though not used in daily speech), Darija-Arabic (spoken by some 70%), Berber (spoken language by some 30%), French often the language of business, government, military and diplomacy.
• Literacy: (definition: age 15 and over can read and write) total population: 52.3% (male: 64.7% / female: 40.6%) (2004 census)
• Legal system: based on Islamic law, French and Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of Supreme Court
• The history of Moroccan literature starts in the early Middle Ages. In the era of the Berber dynasties, coinciding with the flowering of Al-Andalus there were several important Moroccan writers, especially in the field of religion and historiography, but also poets employed in the courts of, for instance, the Marinid sultans. The same goes for the period of the Saadian and Alaouite kings. The influence of France and the English world (Paul Bowles) on Morocco starts in the 30s of the 20th century.
• Cinema:
o 1944: Establishment of the "Moroccan Cinematographic Center" (CCM/The governing body). Studios were open in Rabat..
o 1958: Mohammed Ousfour creates the first Moroccan movie "Le fils maudit" (The damned son).
o 1982: The first national festival of cinema. – Rabat.
o 1968: The first Mediterranean Film Festival is held in Tangier. The Mediterranean Film Festival in its new version is held in Tetouan.
o 2001: The first International Film Festival of Marrakech is held in Marrakech.
• Dar, the name given to one of the most common types of domestic structures in Morocco, is a home found in a medina, or walled urban area of a city. Most Moroccan homes traditionally adhere to the Dar al-Islam, a series of tenets on Islamic domestic life.
• Moroccan Cuisine is one of the most sensual in the world. It appeals directly to the senses of smell, sight and taste in a way that not many other cuisines can match. Come to Morocco, Africa and enjoy their delicious gastronomy. Moroccan Cuisine is one of the most sensual in the world. It appeals directly to the senses of smell, sight and taste in a way that not many other cuisines can match. Come to Morocco, Africa and enjoy their delicious gastronomy.

Sports
Sport in Morocco includes football, golf, skiing, riding, 4 wheel driving, water sports, tennis, surfing, motor sports, fishing.

Imp cities
Among the major cities of Morocco, the most important ones are Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakesh, Agadir, Fez, Meknes, Tangier.
• Casablanca (business capital of increasing importance)
• Rabat (The capital of a modern nation, Rabat symbolizes the infinite variety of Morocco)
• Marrakesh
• Asilah
• Tetouan
• Taroudann
• Essaouira
• Chefchaouen