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Demographics of Morocco
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This article is about the demographic features of the population of Morocco, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Most Moroccans are Sunni Muslims of Berber, Arab or mixed Arab-Berber stock. Morocco was inhabited by Berbers since at least 5000 years ago. The Arabs conquered the territory that would become Morocco in the 7th and 11th centuries, at the time under the rule of various late Byzantine Roman princips and indigenous Berber and Romano-Berber principalities, laying the foundation for the emergence of an Arab-Berber culture.
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Encyclopedia
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Morocco, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Most Moroccans are Sunni Muslims of Berber, Arab or mixed Arab-Berber stock. Morocco was inhabited by Berbers since at least 5000 years ago. The Arabs conquered the territory that would become Morocco in the 7th and 11th centuries, at the time under the rule of various late Byzantine Roman princips and indigenous Berber and Romano-Berber principalities, laying the foundation for the emergence of an Arab-Berber culture. A portion of the population is identified as Haratin and Gnaoua, black or highly mixed race Moroccans. Morocco's Jewish minority has decreased significantly and numbers about 7,000 (See History of the Jews in Morocco). Most of the 100,000 foreign residents are French or Spanish, largely professionals working for European multinationals or descendants of colonists.
Recent studies make clear no significant genetic differences exist between Arabic and non-Arabic speaking populations, highlighting that in common with most of the Arab World, Arabization was mainly via acculturation of indigenous populations over time. According to the European Journal of Human Genetics, Morrocans from North-Western Africa were genetically closer to Iberians than to Sub-Saharan Africans of Bantu ethnicity. .
Languages
See also Languages of Morocco
Classical Arabic is Morocco's official language (it is the "classical" Arabic of the Qur'an, literature and news media). The country has a distinctive dialect known as Moroccan-Arabic.
Approximately 12 million Moroccans speak Berber — which exists in Morocco in three different dialects (Tarifit, Tashelhit, and Tamazight) — either as a first language or bilingually with the spoken Arabic dialect. French, which remains Morocco's unofficial third language, is taught at universally and still serves as Morocco's primary language of commerce and economics; it is also widely used in education and government. Morocco is a member of La Francophonie. Amazigh (Berber) activists have struggled for half a century for the recognition of their language as the official language of Morocco in the Moroccan constitution. They also demand that this language should be taught in all Moroccan schools and universities.
About 20,000 Moroccans in the northern part of the country speak Spanish. English, while still far behind French and Spanish in terms of the number of speakers, is rapidly becoming the second foreign language of choice among educated youth, after French. As a result of national education reforms entering into force in late 2002, English will be taught in all public schools from the fourth year on.
Emancipation of women
The literacy rate is 51% for males and 42.5% for females. Gender bias is commonplace. Only 26% of the non-agricultural labor is female. However, the ratio of girls to boys in primary and secondary schools is reasonable at 87.9. Under the rule of Mohammed VI, the government has taken many initiatives to improve the status of women in society. For instance, the Moudawana 2003 code of law has greatly improved the family status code. It has given women the right to decisions on crucial issues like marriage, divorce, and custody of children in the case of remarriage/divorce.
Main populated areas
Most people live west of the Atlas Mountains, a range that insulates the country from the Sahara Desert. Casablanca is the center of commerce and industry and the leading port; Rabat is the seat of government; Tangier is the gateway to Morocco from Spain and also a major port; Fez is the cultural and religious center; and Marrakech is a major tourist center.
| Ethnic groups of Morocco | Population | % of total Population |
|---|
| Arabs (and Arabised-Berbers) | 26 000 000 | 80% | | Berbers | 6 000 000 | 19% | | Sahrawis | 250 000 | 0.8% | | Other | 110 000 | 0.2% |
Education
Education in Morocco is free and compulsory through primary school (age 15). Nevertheless, many children--particularly girls in rural areas--still do not attend school. The country's illiteracy rate is usually around 50% for most of the country, but reaches as high as 90% among girls in rural regions. In July 2006, Prime minister Driss Jettou announced that illiteracy rate has declined by 39%, while two million people had attended literacy courses during the past four years.
Morocco has about 230,000 students enrolled in 14 public universities. The oldest and in some ways the most prestigious is Mohammed V in Rabat, with faculties of law, sciences, liberal arts, and medicine. University of Karueein, in Fez, has been a center for Islamic studies for more than 1,000 years. Morocco has one private university, Al Akhawayn University, in Ifrane. Al-Akhawayn, founded in 1993 by King Hassan II and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, is an English-medium, American-style university comprising about 1,000 students.
CIA World Factbook demographic statistics
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.
Population
33,241,259 (July 2006 est.)
- Arab-berber 99%
- Other 1 %
Age structure
0-14 years:
31.6% (male 5,343,976; female 5,145,019)
15-64 years:
63.4% (male 10,505,018; female 10,580,599)
65 years and over:
5% (male 725,116; female 941,531) (2006 est.)
Population growth rate
1.6% (2006 est.)
Birth rate
21.98 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate
5.58 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate
-0.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.77 male(s)/female
total population:
0.99 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate
40.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population:
70.94 years
male:
68.62 years
female:
73.37 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.68 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Nationality
noun:
Moroccan(s)
adjective:
Moroccan
- :Category:Moroccan people
Ethnic groups
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