Morocco

For other uses, see Morocco (disambiguation).

The Kingdom of Morocco is a country in northwest Africa. It has a long coastline on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Algeria to the east, though the Algerian border is closed, Western Sahara to the south and Mauritania, and the Atlantic Ocean to its north and west.

Morocco claims ownership of Western Sahara and has administered most of the territory since 1975. The status of Western Sahara is disputed, pending a United Nations referendum.

المملكة المغربية
Al Mamlakah al-Maghribiyah
Missing image
Morocco_flag_large.png
Flag of Morocco

Coat of Arms of Morocco
(Flag) (Coat of Arms)
Motto: الله، الوطن، الملك
(God, Country, King)
Anthem: Hymne Cherifien
Missing image
LocationMorocco.png
Location of Morocco

Capital Rabat
Template:Coor dm
Largest city Casablanca
Official languages Arabic
Government Constitutional Monarchy
Mohammed VI
Driss Jettou
Independence
From France
March 2 1956
Area
 • Total
 • Water (%)
 
446,550 km² (56th)
-
Population
 • 2003 est.
 • census
 • Density
 
31,689,267 (36th)

481/km² (123)
GDP (PPP)
 • Total
 • Per capita
1999 estimate
$108 billion (54th)
$4,444 (110th)
Currency Dirham (MAD)
Time zone
 • Summer (DST)
UTC (UTC+0)
UTC (UTC+0)
Internet TLD ma
Calling code +212
Contents

Name

The full Arabic name of the country translates to The Western Kingdom. Al-Maghreb (meaning The West) is commonly used in Arabic. The name Morocco in most other languages originates from the name of the former capital, Marrakech (meaning "Country of God" in the Berber language).

History

Main article: History of Morocco

Morocco became a French protectorate by the signing of the Treaty of Fez on March 30, 1912. It remained a Kingdom until it achieved independence in 1956. It then recovered Tangier, formerly an international city. The northern area of Morocco was under a Spanish protectorate concurrently. Morocco annexed Western Sahara in the 1970s, which had been a colony under the Spaniards since the 19th century. Previous to that it had been an area of Moroccan influence, but this annexation has not been recognized by any nation.

Morocco was the first nation to recognize the fledging United States in 1777 and has the oldest non-broken friendship treaty with the country, the Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship, which has been in effect since 1783. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were the American signatories. The United States legation (consulate) in Tangier, is the first property the U.S. owned abroad. It now houses the Tangier American Legation Museum. Morocco was granted Major Non-Nato Ally status in June 2004 and signed with the United States and the European Union free trade agreements.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Morocco

The King of Morocco is an active leader, although decreasingly so. Political parties are legal and a plethora of them exist.

See also: List of political parties in Morocco

Provinces

Missing image
Mo-map.png
This map is from the United States' CIA, and reflects the U.S. State Deparment's neutral position concerning the status of Western Sahara. Maps published in Morocco include Western Sahara as part of the national territory.

Main article: Provinces of Morocco

Morocco is divided into 37 provinces and 2 wilayas:

Provinces
Wilayas

Three additional provinces, Ad Dakhla (Oued Eddahab), Boujdour, and Es Smara, as well as parts of Tan-Tan and Laayoune, primarily fall within Moroccan-claimed Western Sahara.

As part of a 1997 decentralization/regionalization law passed by the legislature, 16 new regions were created, although the full details and scope of the reorganization are limited. These 16 regions are:

Geography

Main article: Geography of Morocco

Algeria borders Morocco to the east and southeast. There are also four Spanish enclaves on the Mediterranean coast: Ceuta (or Sebta), Melilla Peñon Velez de la Gomera and Peñon de Alhucemas, as well as several islands including Perejil (status disputed) and Chafarinas. Off the Atlantic coast the Canary Islands belong to Spain, whereas Madeira to the north is Portuguese.To the north, Morocco is bordered by and controls part of the Straits of Gibraltar, giving it power over the waterways in and out of the Mediterranean sea. Most of the South East portion of the country is in the Sahara Desert and as such is generally sparsely populated and unproductive economically. The High Atlas Mountains run down the backbone of the country, from the south west to the north east. Most of the population lives to the north of these mountains, while to the south is the desert.

Morocco's capital city is Rabat, and its largest city is the modern port of Casablanca.

Other cities include Agadir, Essaouira, Fes, Marrakech, Meknes, Oujda, Ouarzazat, Safi, Tangier, Tiznit, Salè and Tan-Tan.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Morocco

Morocco has signed Free Trade Agreements with the European Union (to take effect 2010) and the United States of America. The United States Senate approved by a vote of 85 to 13 on July 22, 2004 the Free Trade Agreement with Morocco (http://www.moroccousafta.com/ftafulltext.htm), which, as soon as it goes into effect, will allow for 95% of the two-way trade of consumer and industrial products to be without tariffs.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Morocco

Culture

Main article: Culture of Morocco

Miscellaneous topics

See also

Much of the material in these articles comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2002 U.S. Department of State website.

External links

Template:Portal Template:Commonscat Template:Wiktionary

Government

News

Overviews

Directories

Tourism

Other

  • Map: [1] (http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/morocco.pdf) (pdf); links to more: [2] (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/map_sites/country_sites.html#morocco)


Countries in Africa

Algeria | Angola | Benin | Botswana | Burkina Faso | Burundi | Cameroon | Cape Verde | Central African Republic | Chad | Comoros | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Republic of the Congo | Côte d'Ivoire | Djibouti | Egypt | Equatorial Guinea | Eritrea | Ethiopia | Gabon | The Gambia | Ghana | Guinea | Guinea-Bissau | Kenya | Lesotho | Liberia | Libya | Madagascar | Malawi | Mali | Mauritania | Mauritius | Morocco | Mozambique | Namibia | Niger | Nigeria | Rwanda | São Tomé and Príncipe | Senegal | Seychelles | Sierra Leone | Somalia | Somaliland | South Africa | Sudan | Swaziland | Tanzania | Togo | Tunisia | Uganda | Zambia | Zimbabwe | Western Sahara

Dependencies: Canary Islands | Ceuta and Melilla | Madeira Islands | Mayotte | Réunion | Saint Helena and dependencies

Template:Mediterraneanaf:Marokko ar:المغرب ast:Marruecos bg:Мароко ca:Marroc cs:Maroko da:Marokko de:Marokko et:Maroko es:Marruecos eo:Maroko fr:Maroc gd:Maroc gl:Marrocos - مغرب ko:모로코 io:Maroko id:Maroko it:Marocco he:מרוקו ks:मोराको la:Marocum lt:Marokas li:Marokko ms:Maghribi nl:Marokko nds:Marokko ja:モロッコ no:Marokko pl:Maroko pt:Marrocos ru:Марокко sa:मोराको scn:Maroccu sk:Maroko sl:Maroko fi:Marokko sv:Marocko wa:Marok zh:摩洛哥

Navigation

  • Art and Cultures
    • Art (https://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Art)
    • Architecture (https://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Architecture)
    • Cultures (https://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Cultures)
    • Music (https://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Music)
    • Musical Instruments (http://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/List_of_musical_instruments)
  • Biographies (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Biographies)
  • Clipart (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Clipart)
  • Geography (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Geography)
    • Countries of the World (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Countries)
    • Maps (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Maps)
    • Flags (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Flags)
    • Continents (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Continents)
  • History (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/History)
    • Ancient Civilizations (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Ancient_Civilizations)
    • Industrial Revolution (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Industrial_Revolution)
    • Middle Ages (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Middle_Ages)
    • Prehistory (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Prehistory)
    • Renaissance (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Renaissance)
    • Timelines (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Timelines)
    • United States (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/United_States)
    • Wars (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Wars)
    • World History (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/History_of_the_world)
  • Human Body (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Human_Body)
  • Mathematics (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Mathematics)
  • Reference (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Reference)
  • Science (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Science)
    • Animals (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Animals)
    • Aviation (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Aviation)
    • Dinosaurs (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Dinosaurs)
    • Earth (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Earth)
    • Inventions (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Inventions)
    • Physical Science (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Physical_Science)
    • Plants (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Plants)
    • Scientists (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Scientists)
  • Social Studies (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Social_Studies)
    • Anthropology (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Anthropology)
    • Economics (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Economics)
    • Government (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Government)
    • Religion (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Religion)
    • Holidays (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Holidays)
  • Space and Astronomy
    • Solar System (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Solar_System)
    • Planets (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Planets)
  • Sports (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Sports)
  • Timelines (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Timelines)
  • Weather (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Weather)
  • US States (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/US_States)

Information

  • Home Page (http://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php)
  • Contact Us (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Contactus)

  • Clip Art (http://classroomclipart.com)
Toolbox
Personal tools