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In this page: Economic Outline | Political Outline | COVID-19 Country Response

 

Economic Outline

Economic Overview

For the latest updates on the key economic responses from governments to address the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, please consult the IMF's policy tracking platform Policy Responses to COVID-19.

In recent years, the Moroccan economy has been characterised by macroeconomic stability and low levels of inflation, relying mostly on exports, a boom in private investment, and tourism. However, the COVID-19 shock has pushed the Moroccan economy into its first recession since 1995. The country’s GDP rebounded in 2021 when it grew an estimated 7.9%, but was hindered by global shocks and a severe drought in 2022, with GDP growing by only 0.8% (IMF). The recovery of tourism, strong remittances, and resilient exports have partially offset the shocks derived from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which fueled inflation and reduced households’ purchasing power. The IMF expects Morocco’s growth rate to hover around 3% this year and the next, assuming a gradual improvement of external conditions and an average agricultural season.

The fiscal impact of the health and social protection reform and postponement of the liquefied petroleum gas and flour subsidy reform slowed the consolidation of the budget deficit, which was estimated at 5.1% of GDP in 2022. The government published its three-year budget plans as part of the 2023 Budget, which envisages a continued reduction of the deficit to closer to pre-pandemic levels (projected at 5.2% of GDP this year and 4.5% in 2024 – IMF). The debt-to-GDP ratio has been increasing in recent years, reaching 70.3% in 2022 (from 68.9% one year earlier), and is expected to remain stable over the forecast horizon. The average annual inflation rate reached 6.2% in 2022 as a result of the 11% increase in the food index and the 3.9% increase in the non-food index (data HCP). Higher energy prices contributed to inflationary pressures (the country’s energy bill has more than doubled in the first eleven months of the year), and the Central Bank raised its benchmark interest rate to 2.5% in December in an effort to curb inflation.

Albeit its high levels, the unemployment rate has been declining in recent years and averaged 11.1% in 2022. For 2023 and 2024, the IMF expects it to further decrease to 10.7% and 10.2%, respectively. According to the Moroccan Higher Planning Commission, unemployment particularly affects the youth (15-24 years of age – at 31.8% as of August 2022 – latest data available) and recent graduates. The rate of poverty remains one of the highest in the Mediterranean region, with almost one-fifth of the population living near the poverty line. Finally, the GDP per capita (PPP) was estimated at USD 9,808 in 2022 by the IMF.

 
Main Indicators 202020212022 (E)2023 (E)2024 (E)
GDP (billions USD) 121.35142.87138.05138.78147.08
GDP (Constant Prices, Annual % Change) -7.27.91.13.03.1
GDP per Capita (USD) 3,3753,9343,7653,7493,936
General Government Balance (in % of GDP) -5.5-5.9-5.0-4.9-4.4
General Government Gross Debt (in % of GDP) 72.268.968.868.368.4
Inflation Rate (%) 0.61.46.64.62.8
Unemployment Rate (% of the Labour Force) 12.211.912.911.010.5
Current Account (billions USD) -1.42-3.24-5.96-5.18-5.08
Current Account (in % of GDP) -1.2-2.3-4.3-3.7-3.5

Source: IMF – World Economic Outlook Database, Latest data available.

Note : (E) Estimated data

 

Main Sectors of Industry

Given the richness of Morocco's soil, the economy is dominated by the agricultural sector, which employs one-third of the workforce and contributes 12% of GDP (World Bank, latest data available). Barley, wheat, citrus fruits, grapes, vegetables, argan, olives, livestock and wine are the country's main crops. In recent years, the government has focused on the sector through its "Green Morocco Plan" and the Agricultural Development Fund. The country’s cereal production is highly variable, with local dams providing irrigation for only 15% of the agricultural land and rainfed agricultural production accounting for 85% of the aggregate output (FAO). According to preliminary data by the Ministry for Agriculture, the agricultural sector’s value-added decreased by 14% year-on-year during the 2021/22 crop year. The production of the main cereals (common wheat, durum wheat and barley) for the 2021/2022 crop year was estimated at 32 million quintals, down 69% from the previous year's record production, also due to the drought experienced by the country: at the end of April 2022, a rainfall level of 188mm was recorded, which is 42% lower than the average for the last 30 years (327 mm) and 35% lower than the previous year (289 mm).

Industry contributes 26.1% of the GDP and employs 23% of the workforce. The main sectors are textiles, leather goods, food processing, oil refining, and electronic assembly. However, new sectors have been booming: chemistry, automotive parts, computers, electronics and the aerospace industry. The automotive industry, in particular, has been growing in the last decade, with double-digit annual growth in terms of job creation and exports (becoming the country’s main exporting sector and Africa’s main automotive hub). Overall, the manufacturing sector is estimated to account for 15% of GDP. The emergence of new industries should allow the country to reduce its dependence on the agricultural sector. Morocco’s industrial sector is the largest beneficiary of foreign direct investment. The country has around 75% of the world's estimated reserves of phosphates, and the mineral sector accounts for almost 30% of exports (Oxford Business Group). Mining accounts for 10% of GDP, of which 90% derives from phosphates.

The services sector accounts for slightly above half of GDP (51.6%) and gives employment to 44% of the workforce. It is spearheaded by real estate and tourism, which has been very dynamic in recent years (accounting for around 11% of GDP and hitting a record of nearly 13 million arrivals in 2019). Although tertiary activities recorded a downward trend following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particularly weak tourism performance, improvements were achieved in 2022 when tourist arrivals reached 84% of the pre-pandemic level and the value tourist receipts in foreign currency stood at MAD 81.7 billion at the end of November 2022 (data Ministry of Tourism). Finally, the Moroccan banking sector is dominated by locally owned banks, which account for more than 80% of industry assets (U.S. Department of Commerce).

 
Breakdown of Economic Activity By Sector Agriculture Industry Services
Employment By Sector (in % of Total Employment) 33.3 23.1 43.7
Value Added (in % of GDP) 12.0 26.1 51.6
Value Added (Annual % Change) 17.6 6.8 6.4

Source: World Bank, Latest data available.

 

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Indicator of Economic Freedom

Definition:

The Economic freedom index measure ten components of economic freedom, grouped into four broad categories or pillars of economic freedom: Rule of Law (property rights, freedom from corruption); Limited Government (fiscal freedom, government spending); Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labour freedom, monetary freedom); and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom). Each of the freedoms within these four broad categories is individually scored on a scale of 0 to 100. A country’s overall economic freedom score is a simple average of its scores on the 10 individual freedoms.

Score:
63,3/100
World Rank:
81
Regional Rank:
9

Economic freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Index of Economic Freedom, Heritage Foundation

 

Business environment ranking

Definition:

The business rankings model measures the quality or attractiveness of the business environment in the 82 countries covered by The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Country Forecast reports. It examines ten separate criteria or categories, covering the political environment, the macroeconomic environment, market opportunities, policy towards free enterprise and competition, policy towards foreign investment, foreign trade and exchange controls, taxes, financing, the labour market and infrastructure.

Score:
5.48/10
World Rank:
61/82

Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit - Business Environment Rankings 2020-2024

 

Country Risk

See the country risk analysis provided by Coface.

 

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Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
King: MOHAMED VI (since 30 July 1999) - hereditary
Prime Minister: Aziz AKHANNOUCH (since 7 October 2021)
Next Election Dates
House of Representatives: 30 September 2026
House of Councillors: 31 October 2027
Current Political Context
King Mohammed VI – who has been ruling the country since 1999 - appointed a new government comprising a coalition of liberal and conservative parties, led by Aziz Akhannouch, after the victory of his National Rally of Independents (RNI) party in the general elections that were held in September 2021, which revealed the collapse of the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) that had led the government over the previous two legislative terms (from 125 seats in the assembly to only 13 seats out of 395).
A new coalition government was thus formed by the liberal RNI and Authenticity and Modernity (PAM) parties together with the conservative Istiqlal. The three parties together enjoy a comfortable majority, holding 270 seats compared to the 198 needed to pass legislation, with a shared common platform focusing on economic and social reforms. The coalition government published its three-year budget plans as part of the 2023 budget, focusing on employment creation measures and an extension of social programmes while also seeking a reduction of the deficit.
The dispute with the Polisario Front, which is seeking independence for Western Sahara, remains one of Morocco's main political challenges.
Main Political Parties
Multi-party system, consisting of numerous parties. Parties work with each other to form coalition governments.

- National Rally of Independents (RNI): centrist, relatively inclined towards social liberalism. Was the leading party in the last elections
- Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM): modernist and reform-oriented, formed by an advisor to the King and former Interior Minister
- "Istiqlal" Independence Party (PI): conservative nationalist
- Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP): left-wing socialist
- People's Movement (MP): centrist, dominated by Berber (Tamazight) speakers, but without a distinct Berber agenda
- Constitutional Union (UC): economically liberal, conservative on societal matters
- Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS): socialist, formerly communist
- Justice and Development Party (PJD): moderate Islamist, heads the ruling coalition
Type of State
Morocco is a Constitutional Monarchy Kingdom with an elected parliament.
Executive Power
The executive power is shared between the government and the King. The Prime Minister is promoted to head of government and as such presides over the Governing Council, but the Council of Ministers continues to be chaired by the King. The Government Council consists of all the ministers, deputy ministers and other Secretaries of State. It discusses public and sectoral policies, the commitment of the government's responsibility to the House of Representatives, current issues related to human rights and public order, bills, decrees, draft regulatory decrees and the appointment of secretaries and central directors of the public administration, university presidents, deans and directors of schools and higher institutes. The Governing Council only has deliberative power concerning the general policy of the State, international conventions, and the finance bill. The Council of Ministers, where only the head of government and the ministers sit, is responsible for the strategic direction of the state policy, the revision of the Constitution, drafting organic laws, general guidance of the finance bill, amnesty, draft texts related to the military, the declaration of a state of siege, the declaration of war.
Legislative Power
The Parliament comprises the House of Representatives (395 deputies elected by universal direct suffrage for 5 years) and the House of Councillors (120 members elected by indirect universal suffrage for 6 years).
The Parliament votes the law; any bill must be successively examined by the two Houses. It moreover shares the initiative of the laws with the Prime Minister.
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
136/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Partly Free
Political Freedom:
5/7
Civil Liberties:
5/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

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COVID-19 Country Response

Travel restrictions
Regularly updated travel information for all countries with regards to Covid-19 related entry regulations, flight bans, test and vaccines requirements is available on TravelDoc Infopage.
To find information about the current travel regulations, including health requirements, it is also advised to consult Travel Regulations Map provided and updated on a daily basis by IATA.
Import & export restrictions
A general overview of trade restrictions which were adopted by different countries during the COVID-19 pandemic is available on the International Trade Centre's COVID-19 Temporary Trade Measures webpage.
Economic recovery plan
For the general overview of the key economic policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic (fiscal, monetary and macroeconomic) undertaken by the government of Morocco, please consult the country's dedicated section in the IMF’s Policy Tracker platform.
Support plan for businesses
For an evaluation of impact of the Covid pandemic on SMEs and an inventory of country responses to foster SME resilience, refer to the OECD's SME Covid-19 Policy Responses document.
You can also consult the World Bank's Map of SME-Support Measures in Response to COVID-19.

 

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Latest update: September 2023

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