As is true in many former African colonies, the Moroccan economy remains heavily dependent on the export of raw materials.
The Kingdom of Morocco shipped US$47.5 billion worth of exported goods around the globe in 2024. That calculated dollar amount reflects a 71.4% increase compared to $27.7 billion five years earlier in 2020. Year over year, the total value of Moroccan exports gained 11.8% from $42.5 billion starting from 2023.
Also of growing importance to the economy are modern sectors, particularly tourism and telecommunications. Since the mid-1980s the Moroccan government has undertaken a vigorous program of privatization and economic reform, encouraged by major international lenders such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Measures have included selling state-owned enterprises, devaluing the currency, and changing pricing policies to encourage local production. In 1999 the Moroccan government set up a loan fund to stimulate growth and competition among small businesses.
Morocco is a fairly stable economy with continuous growth over the past half-century. Current GDP per capita grew 47% in the 1960s, reaching a peak growth of 274% in the 1970s.
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The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980-2022. Over the years, Morocco implemented a series of development plans, enacted economic reforms, and encountered various challenges that have influenced its economic trajectory.
| Year | GDP Growth Rate (%) | Inflation Rate (%) | Unemployment Rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 4.4 | 12.5 | N/A |
| 1990 | 5.2 | 3.0 | N/A |
| 2000 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 15.0 |
| 2010 | 3.7 | 1.0 | 9.1 |
| 2020 | -7.0 | 0.7 | 11.9 |
| 2022 | 1.3 | 6.6 | 11.8 |
Morocco instituted a series of development plans to modernize the economy and increase production during the 1960s. During the 1970s, investment included industry and tourism development.
Key Export Sectors
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Moroccan global shipments during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Morocco.
- Electrical machinery, equipment: US$9.3 billion (19.6% of total exports)
- Vehicles: $8.8 billion (18.6%)
- Fertilizers: $5.4 billion (11.3%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $4.5 billion (9.5%)
- Vegetables: $2.8 billion (5.8%)
- Fruits, nuts: $2.7 billion (5.7%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $1.7 billion (3.6%)
- Fish: $1.6 billion (3.3%)
- Inorganic chemicals: $1.5 billion (3.2%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $1.1 billion (2.4%)
Morocco’s top 10 export product categories generated over four-fifths (83.1%) of the overall value of its global shipments.
At the more detailed four-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level, in 2024 Morocco’s most valuable exported products were cars (14.5% of Morocco’s global total), insulated wire or cable (11.5%), fertilizer mixes (9.4%), unknitted and non-crocheted women’s clothing (4.4%), fresh or chilled tomatoes (3.5%), automobile parts or accessories (3.1%), natural calcium or aluminum phosphates (3%), phosphoric and polyphosphoric acids (also 3%), moluscs (2.3%) then phosphatic fertilizers (1.9%).
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Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing
Morocco is endowed with numerous exploitable resources. With approximately 85,000 square kilometres (33,000 sq mi) of arable land (one-seventh of which can be irrigated) and its generally temperate Mediterranean climate, Morocco's agricultural potential is matched by few other Arab or African countries. It is one of the few Arab countries that has the potential to achieve self-sufficiency in food production.
Morocco exports citrus fruits and early vegetables to the European market. Its wine industry is developed, and the production of commercial crops (cotton, sugarcane, sugar beets, and sunflowers) is expanding. Newer crops such as tea, tobacco, and soybeans have passed the experimental stage, the fertile Gharb plain being favourable for their cultivation.
Morocco's forestry policy seeks to restore over 600,000 hectares of forest ecosystems, battle soil erosion, control water flow, and boost forestry and tourist revenue.
The fishing grounds in the Canary Current off Morocco’s west coast are exceptionally rich in sardines, bonito, and tuna, but the country lacks the modern fleets and processing facilities to benefit fully from these marine resources. An important part of a major trade agreement Morocco concluded with the European Union (EU) in 1996 concerned fishing rights, by which the EU pays Morocco an annual fee to allow vessels (mainly Spanish) to fish Moroccan waters.
Resources and Power
With its acquisition of Western Sahara, Morocco came to possess some two-thirds of the world’s reserves of phosphates, used for the manufacture of fertilizers and other products. Low world prices for phosphates, however, have hindered production. Other minerals include iron ore and coal, mined for Morocco’s domestic use, and barite, manganese, lead, and zinc, which are exported in small quantities.
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A major weakness in Morocco’s resource inventory is its shortage of domestic energy sources. Oil exploration has been disappointing, although the country possesses some natural gas reserves that have been exploited. Its hydroelectric potential is considerable and now being tapped. Morocco must cover the bulk of its growing energy needs through imports, principally crude petroleum, which is refined domestically. Thermal power plants produce much of the country’s electricity.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing accounts for about one-sixth of GDP and is steadily growing in importance in the economy. Two particularly important components of the country’s industrial makeup are processing raw materials for export and manufacturing consumer goods for the domestic market. Many operations date to the colonial period.
Processing phosphate ore into fertilizers and phosphoric acid for export is a major economic activity. Food processing for export (canning fish, fresh vegetables, and fruit) as well as for domestic needs (flour milling and sugar refining) is also important, and the manufacture of textiles and clothes using domestically produced cotton and wool is a major source of foreign exchange.
Morocco’s iron and steel manufacturing industry is small but provides a significant share of the country’s domestic needs.
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Trade and International Relations
Government attempts to increase exports and control imports have had some success, and a chronic annual trade deficit has begun to narrow. By the 1990s Morocco had also significantly lowered its foreign debt. The three leading exports are agricultural produce (citrus fruits and market vegetables), semiprocessed goods and consumer goods (including textiles), and phosphates and phosphate products.
Major imports are semimanufactures and industrial equipment, crude oil, and food commodities. Morocco’s largest trading partner is the EU. Because Morocco’s trade with Europe has been so significant, an important development of the 1990s was negotiating a formal association with the EU, including an agreement to create, over time, a Euro-Mediterranean free trade zone.
Other trade accords have also been negotiated to mitigate the dependence on Europe, including an agreement with North American Free Trade Agreement countries and bilateral arrangements with other countries in the Middle East and North Africa. In 2004 a Free Trade Agreement was signed with the United States.
The latest available country-specific data from 2023 shows that 73.5% of products exported from Morocco was bought by importers in: Spain (22.5% of the Moroccan total), France (20.5%), Italy (5.2%), United Kingdom (4.5%), Germany (4.3%), United States of America (3%), India (2.87%), Brazil (2.84%), Türkiye (2.75%), Netherlands (2.2%), Portugal (1.6%) and Belgium (1.3%).
Services and Modern Sectors
Since the mid-1980s tourism and associated services have been an increasingly significant sector of the Moroccan economy and by the late 1990s had become the country’s largest source of foreign currency. During that time the Moroccan government committed significant resources-by way of loans and tax exemptions-to the development of the tourist industry and associated services.
The government also made direct capital investments in the development of the service sector, but since the early 1990s it has begun to divest itself of these properties. Several million visitors enter Morocco yearly, most of them from Europe. Tourists also arrive from Algeria, the United States, and East Asia, mainly Japan.
Challenges and Opportunities
Despite these advancements, Morocco faces challenges, including high unemployment and reliance on agriculture. High unemployment is a problem; the official figure is roughly one-fifth of the workforce, but unofficial estimates are much higher, and-in a pattern typical of most Middle Eastern and North African countries-unemployment among university graduates holding nontechnical degrees is especially high.
Unreliable rainfall is a chronic problem that produces drought or sudden floods. Reduced incomes due to drought caused GDP to fall by 7.6% in 1995, by 2.3% in 1997, and by 1.5% in 1999.
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