The Demographic Aspect

The inhabitants of Morocco – whether they are Arabs or Amazigh- are mainly identified through the language they speak: Arabic or Amazigh.

The population density of Morocco reached 39.5/km² in 1997 A.D. it varies strongly from one region to another as it gets as high as 60/km² in coastal areas and between 50 and 100 per km² in agricultural areas, whereas it gets as low as 1 per 5 km² in the desert and 10/km² in the east of Morocco and in the Sahara Atlas.

Concerning demographic growth, the population of Morocco experienced an important increase, as it reached 11.626.000 in the period between 1960 and 1982, with a 2.8% growth ratio. According to the September 2^nd,1994 Census, the population of Morocco reached 26.073.717, while it reached 29.840.273, 51.435 of whom are foreigners, according to the 2004 Census.

These numbers demonstrate that the estimated annual growth ratio is 2.06%, which is a lower rate than the one detected in the period between 1971 and 1982 and which reached 2.6%.

The population is divided according to their living area as13.415.659 living in urban areas (corresponding to 51.4%) and 12.658.058 g in rural areas (corresponding to 48.6%).

Morocco has changed during this period from a society with a rural population majority into an extensively urbanized society. Total fertility rate has dropped from 4.23 children per woman in 1982 to 3.62 children per woman in 1994, corresponding to a 13% decrease. This decrease reached 18% in urban areas and 5% in rural areas. According to 2003 estimates, fertility level has deteriorated into 2.89 children per woman.

The population structure is as follows:

a-      Population growth rate: 1.64%, according to 2003 estimates.

b-      Birth rate: 32.26‰, according to 2003 estimates.

c-      Death rate: 5.78‰, according to 2003 estimates.

d-     Migration rate: 1.03‰, according to 2003 estimates.

e-      Sex ratio: 0.99 male(s)/female, according to 2003 estimates.

2004 General Census

According to the last Census executed by the High Planning Commission, the Moroccan population number is 29.891.708. Processing the initial data enabled to determine the total number of the legal population which amounts to 29.840.273, while the foreign population amounts to 51.435. According to the census that was carried out in September 2004, the urban population amounts to 16.463.634, while the rural population amounts to 13.428.074. The urbanization rate has reached 55.1% rising from 51.4% in 1994. These results indicate that one third of the population of Morocco live in three regions.

The Greater Casablanca region population amounts to approximately 3.600.000, which means that the population of this region constitutes 12.1% of the population of Morocco. The Souss-Massa-Draâ region and the Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz region populations are both estimated to amount to 3.100.000 each. The rest of the population of Morocco is distributed variously between 0.3% in Oued Ed-Dahab-Lagouira and 8.3% in Tangier-Tétouan.

According to the results of the general Census, Casablanca is a special case with a 2.950.000 population, which corresponds to 10% of the total population. It is followed by three provinces, the population of which exceeds 1.000.000 each, which are: Kenitra, Al Jadida and Marrakech. It is clear, from the division of the population according to prefectures and provinces, that the province of Aousserd is the least populated of all, with only 20.513 inhabitants.

Based on comparison with the 1994 Census, the total population of Morocco has increased with 3.817.984, corresponding to a 14.6% annual increase. According to these data, the population growth rate has dropped in ten years from 2.1% to 1.4% at the national level and from 3.6% to 2.1% in the city, while it has been stable at 0.6% in countryside.

At region level, population growth is widely diverse as it varies between 0.5% in Taza – Taounate - Al Hoceima and 10.5% in Oued-Eddahab – Lagouira. It is even more diverse at province and prefecture level as J’rada and Teznit suffer a decrease in the growth rate while a large number of provinces and prefectures are privileged with growth rates as high as 7.8% in Boujdour, 8.7% in Oued-Eddahab, 10.1% in Nouasser and 23.4% in Aousserd.

To achieve a precise diagnosis of the demographic situation and behaviours, the socioeconomic data and the living conditions, at all levels, by the end of 2005, 6.800.000 questionnaires of families and households are currently being made used of.