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Economy

An economic power

After very slow economic growth in the 1990s, the Moroccan government began a series of structural reforms of the labour market and financial sectors, resulting in Morocco’s economic growth having been reasonable since 2000. Morocco is now ranked highly by the African Development Bank as being the fifth economic power in Africa after South Africa, Algeria, Egypt and Nigeria, with a GDP of approximately $50 billion.

Vital industries

Morocco’s top three sources of income are the mining of phosphates, the transfer of money from nationals living abroad back to their relatives, and tourism. Morocco is also one of the world’s largest producers of hashish, an illicit trade employing 96,000 families and supplying up to 80% of the hashish consumed in Europe. Other key industries include food processing, leather, textiles and fishing.

Sectors of industry

The labour force is currently divided as follows: 40% in agriculture, 45% in services and 15% in industry. Agriculture can be a precarious industry, notably in the late 1990s when drought significantly depressed the sector and grain had to be imported. The rains have been kinder over recent years and this has brought increased growth, although the government is keen to reduce reliance on the sector.

GDP growth

Morocco’s rate of GDP real growth is 9.4% (2006 est.) with a GDP purchasing power parity of $152.5 billion (2006 est.). The unemployment rate is currently at 7.7% (2006 est.), which is around the EU average for 2006.

A stable future

Morocco has signed two key free trade agreements in order to increase foreign direct investment (FDI). In 2004, Morocco signed a free trade agreement with the US, which came into force on 1st January 2006, meaning that 98% of bilateral trade in consumer and industrial products is duty-free (previously subject to tariffs of up to 20%). Morocco has also signed up to a European-Mediterranean free zone incorporating 27 countries and to come into effect in 2010. Morocco’s FDI has been increasing year-on-year and rose from $1.07 billion in 2004 to $2.9 billion in 2005.

Reliance on tourism

Tourism is seen as a solution to Morocco’s overdependence on the unreliable agriculture sector. With such a rich landscape and year-round sunshine, the country has much to offer, and King Mohammed VI is working hard to incentivise tourism with a target of 10 million visitors annually by 2010.

Related items

Documents and Reports

	Morocco property investment report (386Kb)
	Morocco country guide (954Kb)
	Morocco property buying guide (828Kb)
Documents and Reports

Other related pages

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