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Morocco: SOCIETY
Population: As of mid-2006, Morocco had an estimated total population of 33.2 million. During 1998–2006, the population grew at an average 1.6 percent annual rate. The population is concentrated in the northwestern part of the country, west of the Atlas Mountains. Some 58 percent of the population lives in cities. The net migration rate was estimated to be –0.87 migrants per 1,000 in 2005. About 100,000 foreign nationals reportedly reside in Morocco.
Demography: According to 2006 estimates by the U.S. government, the age structure of Morocco’s population was as follows: 0–14, 31.6 percent; 15–64, 63.4 percent; and 65 and older, 5 percent. The median age was 23.9 years. The birthrate in 2006 was estimated to be almost 22 per 1,000; the sex ratio, 1.05 males per female at birth; and the total fertility rate, almost 2.7 children born per woman. The death rate in 2006 was estimated at about 5.6 per 1,000 people. The infant mortality rate was estimated at 40.2 per 1,000 live births, although other estimates range from 36 to nearly 50 per 1,000 live births. Life expectancy was estimated to be 70.9 years for the population as a whole, or 68.6 years for men and 73.4 years for women, about average internationally.
Ethnic Groups: The population is 99 percent Arab-Berber (an indigenous North African group that has adopted Arab customs).
Languages: Arabic is the official language. Berber dialects also are spoken and increasingly used as a language of instruction in schools. French is often the language of business, government, and diplomacy and is taught in the schools. Spanish is spoken in the northern part of the country.
Religion: Islam is the official religion of Morocco. Muslims constitute 99 percent of the population; about 90 percent of Muslims adhere to Sunni Islam. The population also includes very small numbers of Christians and Jews, who are able to worship without restriction.
Education and Literacy: Morocco’s adult literacy rate was estimated at nearly 52 percent in 2003, 64.1 percent for males and 39.4 percent for females. Between 75 and 83 percent of women in rural areas are considered to be illiterate. However, the government has set up literacy centers where more than 80 percent of the attendees are women. The education system includes nine years of free and compulsory education, but attendance rates are low, especially among girls. The World Bank estimates that 2.5 million children, mostly rural girls, do not attend school. Moroccan schools also have very poor retention rates. Higher education is offered in 14 public universities, which had 290,000 enrolled students in 2002–3, and one private university, an American-style, English-language institution with about 1,000 students. Moroccan university graduates reportedly often find themselves ill prepared for the workforce.
Health: According to the latest available information, Morocco has inadequate numbers of physicians (0.5 per 1,000 people) and hospital beds (1.0 per 1,000 people) and poor access to water (82 percent of the population) and sanitation (75 percent of the population). The health care system includes 122 hospitals, 2,400 health centers, and 4 university clinics, but they are poorly maintained and lack adequate capacity to meet the demand for medical care. Only 24,000 beds are available for 6 million patients seeking care each year, including 3 million emergency cases. The health budget corresponds to 1.1 percent of gross domestic product and 5.5 percent of the central government budget.
In 2001 the principal causes of mortality in the urban population were circulatory system diseases (20.4 percent); perinatal diseases (9.3 percent); cancer (8.5 percent); endrocrinological, nutritional, and metabolic diseases (7.6 percent); respiratory system diseases (6.9 percent); and infectious and parasitic diseases (4.7 percent). In 2004 the minister of health announced that the country had eradicated a variety of childhood diseases, specifically diphtheria, polio, tetanus, and malaria, but other diseases continue to pose challenges. Although still high at more than 40 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2006, the infantry mortality rate shows considerable improvement since 1981, when it was estimated at 91 deaths per 1,000 live births. According to estimates for 2001, approximately 0.1 percent of the population between the ages of 15 and 49 was infected with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS).
Welfare: The National Fund for Social Security (La Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale—CNSS) has managed Morocco’s social security program for wage earners since April 1961. This public agency is responsible for collecting contributions from companies and also paying out benefits to workers employed in the principal sectors of the economy: industry and commerce, agriculture and fishing, and the trades. Benefit payments protect workers (and their families) against the loss of wages as a result of illness, pregnancy, disability, or old age. With a staff of about 5,000, the agency maintains 50 offices throughout the country.
AKI,Rabat, 24 Oct. (AKI) - Morocco's king Mohammed VI pardoned 617 prisoners to mark Eid ul-Fitr, the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the state news ... 10th Moroccan detainee transferred home from Guantanamo - 24 Oct 2006 International Herald Tribune,RABAT, Morocco US authorities have returned a Moroccan detainee from Guantanamo Bay to his home country, but his whereabouts remain unknown, a Moroccan human ... Referees to 29 October - Oct 23, 2006 Planet Rugby,...go to France. In the case of Morocco and Nambia it is a straight fight between the two. The winner goes to France. The four European ... Prayer leader in Belgium condemns western attacks on Prophet (PBUH ... - Oct 23, 2006 Islamic Republic News Agency,An estimated 450,000 Muslims mainly from Morocco, Turkey, Tunisia and Pakistan live in Belgium, which has a population of 10 million. Increased tourism means promise, peril for Morocco - Oct 20, 2006 Dallas Morning News (subscription),TARFAYA, Morocco – In this fishing village on Morocco's southern coast, French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery dreamed of the faraway worlds visited by his ... Morocco’s magic - Oct 22, 2006 Langley Times,Moments like this bring visitors back to Morocco over and over again, add to that great hospitality, weather and scenery and you have the complete exotic ... Morocco donates power generating sets to Mauritania - Oct 22, 2006 AngolaPress,Rabat, Morocco, 10/22 - The Moroccan government Friday donated five electricity generating sets with combined capacity of 440 KWA to Mauritania, to help stem ... ZU to participate in Morocco conference - Oct 22, 2006 Middle East North Africa Financial Network,...the college will participate in the four-day 11th "International Conference of the Arab-US Association for Communication Educators in Morocco, Khaleej Times ... FOREIGN OFFICE: NEW AMBASSADORS FOR ZAMBIA AND MOROCCO - Oct 21, 2006 Agenzia Giornalistica Italia,...(AGI) - Rome, 21 Oct - A change of guard in the embassies in Zambia and Morocco: the cabinet has appointed Giovanni Ceruti as ambassador in Lusaka and Umberto ... Morocco disbands riot police unit - Oct 17, 2006 BBC News,By Richard Hamilton. The Moroccan security forces have disbanded their riot police unit - the GUS - as part of a major reorganisation ... Morocco vying for clinical trial attention - Oct 18, 2006 OutSourcing-Pharma.com,18/10/2006 - As the clinical trial activities continue to flock towards emerging countries such as India, Morocco wants its share has been making efforts to ... Russia to develop partnership with Morocco - Lavrov - Oct 18, 2006 ITAR-TASS,MOSCOW, October 18 (Itar-Tass) - Russia is going to develop partnership with Morocco, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said opening his talks with his ... WESTERN SAHARA: ANNAN CALLS FOR MOROCCO-POLISARIO PEACE TALKS - Oct 19, 2006 AKI,New York, 19 Oct. (AKI) - Morocco and the Frente Polisario should drop any preconditions and begin negotiations to try to find a lasting solution to their long ... Annan calls for Morocco-Polisario peace talks - Oct 19, 2006 Alarab online,Morocco and the Frente Polisario should drop any preconditions and begin negotiations to try to find a lasting solution to their long-standing conflict in ... US TO INCLUDE LIBYA IN N. AFRICAN CI NETWORK - Oct 22, 2006 Middle East Newsline,Partnership. The group contains nine African states, including Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. Morocco joined the group in 2005. The ... Morocco's under-17 team to face Nigeria in African Cup of Nations ... - Oct 17, 2006 magharebia.comMorocco's under-17 team will face Nigeria in the second round of the 2007 African Cup of Nations. The first leg will be played in ... Morocco's Olympic football team to play Belgium in friendly match - Oct 18, 2006 magharebia.comMorocco's Olympic football team will play their Belgian counterpart in a friendly match on November 15th, assistant coach Jamal Fathi announced. ... Big plans for Flames - Oct 22, 2006 The Nation, Malawi,...to a big club particularly in Europe to gain experience and that the national team should have a least three friendly matches before they meet Morocco in the ... RUSSIA-MOROCCO HOLD TALKS - Oct 18, 2006 Bahrain News Agency,MOSCOW, OCT. 18, (BNA)--RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SERGEY LAVROV HELD A MEETING IN MOSCOW TODAY WITH HIS MOROCCAN COUNTERPART MOHAMMED ... Morocco faces a choice between modernism and obscurantism - Oct 16, 2006 Daily Star - Lebanon,As Morocco prepares for the next parliamentary elections in 2007, the electoral-campaign battle has already begun, and intellectuals and civil society are ... Literacy programmes in Morocco and Rajasthan share first UNESCO ... - Oct 17, 2006 UNESCO (Communiqués de presse),16-10-2006 - An innovative national literacy scheme for marginalized adolescents in rural Morocco and a gender-sensitive Rajasthani continuing education ... Morocco's Groupes Urbains de Sécurité disbanded - Oct 18, 2006 magharebia.comThe Directorate General of National Security in Morocco announced Monday (October 16th) its decision to disband the Groupes Urbains de Sécurité (GUS) riot ... Breakfast with a view of Morocco - Oct 19, 2006 Radio Polonia,For Zbigniew Duchowicz his house, or rather castle, is the place to get away from everyday stress. ‘Beautiful gardens, I can look at Morocco if I wish ... FDI into Morocco reach nearly $3 billion in 2005 - Oct 17, 2006 magharebia.comForeign direct investment (FDI) into Morocco increased from $1.07 billion to $2.9 billion from 2004 to 2005, Marwane Mansouri, head of the studies and ... This series of profiles of foreign nations is part of the Country Studies Program, formerly the Army Area Handbook Program. The profiles offer brief, summarized information on a country’s historical background, geography, society, economy, transportation and telecommunications, government and politics, and national security. In addition to being featured in the front matter of published Country Studies, they are now being prepared as stand-alone reference aides for all countries in the series, as well as for a number of additional countries of interest. The profiles offer reasonably current country information independent of the existence of a recently published Country Study and will be updated annually or more frequently as events warrant. |
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