Morocco Education

Education
In 1963 schooling became compulsory in Morocco for children between the ages of 7 and 13, but significantly fewer girls than boys attend classes, and less than 40% of secondary-school-age Moroccans actually attend secondary school. Arabic is the main language of instruction, and French is also used in secondary schools. In the late 1980s it was estimated that only about 33% of the population was literate. In the late 1980s, about 2.2 million pupils attended primary schools each year, and some 1.4 million students were enrolled in secondary and vocational schools.
Higher education of the traditional type is centered in Fez at al-Qarawiyin University, which was founded in AD 859. Modern higher education is offered at Mohammed V University (1957), at Rabat; Mohammed Ben Abdellah University (1974), at Fez; Cadi Ayyad University (1978), at Marrakech; Hassan II University (1976), at Casablanca; and Mohammed I University (1978), at Oujda. Rabat also has colleges of fine arts, public administration, agriculture, and economics, and the School of Native Arts and Crafts (1921) is in Tétouan.

Morocco (Arabic al-Mamlakah al-Maghribiyah), hereditary monarchy, bounded on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the east and southeast by Algeria, on the south by Western Sahara, and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. The southeastern boundary, in the Sahara, is not precisely defined. Within Morocco are the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, on the Mediterranean coast. Several small islands off the northern coast of Morocco are also possessions of Spain. From 1912 to 1956 Morocco itself was divided into French and Spanish protectorates. The area of Morocco is 446,550 sq km (172,414 sq mi). In the early 1980s, Morocco also occupied the adjacent country known as Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara).

Land and Resources
Morocco has the broadest plains and the highest mountains in North Africa. The country has four main physiographic regions: an area of highlands, called Er Rif, paralleling the Mediterranean coast; the Atlas Mountains, extending across the country in a southwestern to northeastern direction between the Atlantic Ocean and Er Rif, from which the mountains are separated by the Taza Depression; a region of broad coastal plains along the Atlantic Ocean, framed in the arc formed by Er Rif and the Atlas Mts; and the plains and valleys south of the Atlas Mountains, which merge with the Sahara along the southeastern borders of the country. Most Moroccans inhabit the Atlantic coastal plain. The highest mountain is Jebel Toubkal (4165 m/13,665 ft), in the Grand Atlas range. Elevations in Er Rif attain heights of about 2440 m (about 8000 ft). Morocco has many rivers, which, although unimportant for navigation, are used for irrigation and for generating electric power. The chief rivers are the Moulouya, which drains into the Mediterranean Sea, and the Sebou, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

Climate
Along the Mediterranean, Morocco has a subtropical climate, tempered by oceanic influences that give the coastal cities moderate temperatures. At Essaouira (Mogador), for example, temperatures average 16.4° C (61.5° F) in January and 22.5° C (72.5° F) in August. Toward the interior, winters are colder and summers warmer. Thus, in Fez the mean temperature is 10° C (50° F) in January and 26.9° C (80.5° F) in August. At high altitudes temperatures of less than -17.8° C (0° F) are not uncommon, and mountain peaks are covered with snow during most of the year. Rain falls mainly during the winter months. Precipitation is heaviest in the northwest and lightest in the east and south. The average annual precipitation is about 955 mm (about 37.5 in) in Tangier, 430 mm (17 in) in Casablanca, 280 mm (11 in) in Essaouira, and less than 102 mm (4 in) in the Sahara.

Natural Resources
Morocco's resources are primarily agricultural, but mineral resources are also significant. Among the latter the most important is phosphate rock; other minerals include coal, cobalt, iron, lead, manganese, petroleum, silver, tin, and zinc.

Plants and Animals
The mountainous regions of Morocco contain extensive areas of forest, including large stands of cork oak, evergreen oak, juniper, cedar, fir, and pine. Except for areas under cultivation, the plains are usually covered with scrub brush and alfa grass. On the plain of Sous, near the southern border, is a large forest of argan, thorny trees found principally in Morocco.
Moroccan wildlife represents a mingling of European and African species. Of the animals characteristic of Europe, the fox, rabbit, otter, and squirrel abound; of predominantly African types, the gazelle, wild boar, panther, baboon, wild goat, and horned viper are common.

Soils
The soils along the coast of Morocco are halomorphic and humus-carbonate; inland areas have podzolic and steppe soils. The southern part of the country is mainly desert.

Population
The original population of Morocco was Berber, and about three-quarters of all present-day Moroccans are of Berber descent. Arabs, who constitute the bulk of the inhabitants of the larger cities, form the second largest ethnic group. Considerable intermarriage among Arabs, Berbers, and the country's small number of black Africans has broken down differences among ethnic groups. Morocco has about 100,000 Europeans, most of them French. The approximately 12,000 Jews stem mainly from families that have inhabited the area for centuries. The population is about 55% rural.

Population Characteristics
Preliminary results of the 1982 official census show a Moroccan population of 20,419,555. The estimate for 1989 was 24,530,000. The country's overall population density in 1989 was about 55 persons per sq km (about 142 per sq mi).

Political Divisions and Principal Cities
Morocco proper is divided into 35 provinces and 8 urban prefectures; another 4 provinces comprise the disputed territory of Western Sahara. The capital of Morocco is Rabat, with a population (1982 preliminary, greater city) of 893,042. Other major urban centers, with their 1982 preliminary (greater city) populations, are Casablanca (2,436,664), the country's largest city and main seaport; Fez (548,209) and Marrakech (482,605), both important trade centers; and Tangier (312,227), a seaport on a bay of the Strait of Gibraltar.

Religion
Islam is the established state religion of Morocco. Almost the entire population is Sunni Muslim. The monarch is the supreme Muslim authority in the country. About 1% of the population is Christian, and less than 0.1% is Jewish.

Language
The Berber languages, once dominant throughout Morocco, have declined in importance, and in the early 1980s about 40% of the people used Berber as their first language. Many of these people also spoke Arabic, the country's official language, which is the primary language of some 60% of the population. Numerous Moroccans also use French.


Culture
Morocco has felt the influences of several ancient cultures. Excavations have unearthed elements of the Phoenician, Hellenic, Carthaginian, and Roman civilizations. Christianity spread to this region in Roman times and survived the Arab invasion, but Arabic influences, which began in the 7th century, were to prove the strongest. The Arabs brought to Morocco a written language that is still the primary language of business and culture. The western African influence, seen in dances, spread northward with trade. Among more recent influences, the strongest is that of France.
The Moroccan national library, which was founded in 1920, is located at Rabat. Other libraries in the country include the Library of Casablanca and the University library at Fez. Morocco has a number of major museums, one of which, the Archaeological Museum in Tétouan, has collections of Carthaginian, Roman, and Islamic art and artifacts.

Economy
Morocco is primarily an agricultural country, although no more than about 20% of the land is cultivated. In the late 1980s the gross domestic product was estimated at $18 billion, or about $740 per person. The estimated budget during the same period included revenues of about $4 billion and expenditures of about $5 billion.

Agriculture
The principal crops of Morocco are cereals (especially barley, wheat, and corn), beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, linseed, citrus fruit, dates, grapes, olives, and almonds. In the late 1980s annual production included about 3.5 million metric tons of barley, 4 million metric tons of wheat, 355,000 metric tons of corn, 1.2 million metric tons of oranges and tangerines, and 46,000 metric tons of dates. Livestock included about 15.7 million sheep, 5.8 million goats, and 3.3 million head of cattle.

Forestry and Fishing
Cork is a major forest product of Morocco. Much timber is cut for use as fuel; the total timber harvest in the late 1980s was 2 million cu m (71 million cu ft) per year. The chief fishing centers are Agadir, Safi, Essaouira, and Casablanca. The annual catch in the late 1980s was some 491,000 metric tons, including pilchard, tuna, mackerel, anchovies, and shellfish.

Mining
Morocco is a leading producer of phosphate rock; annual output was about 21.3 million metric tons in the late 1980s. Other minerals produced were coal (760,000 metric tons), iron ore (210,200), manganese ore (42,500), lead (105,100), and zinc (19,600).

Manufacturing
Morocco's manufacturing sector is made up mostly of small-scale enterprises. Construction materials, chemicals, textiles, footwear, processed food, wine, refined petroleum, and many other kinds of goods are produced in Morocco. Artisans produce fabrics, leather goods, ceramics, carpets, and woodwork of high quality. Annual production in the late 1980s included about 4 million metric tons of cement and 4 million tons of petroleum products.

Energy
More than 90% of Morocco's annual production of electricity is generated in thermal plants, and the remainder is produced in hydroelectric facilities. Morocco has an installed electricity-generating capacity of about 2.2 million kw. Annual output of electricity in the late 1980s was about 7.1 billion kwh.

Currency and Banking
Morocco's unit of currency is the dirham, consisting of 100 francs (8 dirhams equal U.S.$1; 1990). It is issued by the Banque al-Maghrib (1959), the state bank. The country also has several large private banks.

Foreign Trade
Morocco's leading exports are phosphates and phosphoric acid. Other exports include citrus fruit, wheat, fish, and minerals. Annual exports in the late 1980s earned $3.6 billion. Imports, consisting mainly of industrial equipment, food products, manufactured goods, and fuels, were valued at $4.4 billion. The principal trade partners of Morocco are France, Germany, Spain, the United States, and the Arab countries. Morocco gains much foreign exchange from remittances by Moroccans working abroad and from the expenditures of the large number of tourists who visit the country each year.

Transportation
Morocco has extensive port facilities, concentrated principally at Casablanca. Other ports include Agadir, Kenitra, Mohammedia, Safi, and Tangier. In the late 1980s the country had some 1890 km (some 1170 mi) of railroad track and about 59,170 km (about 36,770 mi) of roads, some 47% of which were hard-surfaced. Morocco had about 554,100 passenger cars during the same period. Domestic and international air service is provided by Royal Air Maroc; several major foreign airlines also serve Morocco.

Communications
More than 342,000 telephones were in use in Morocco in the late 1980s. Radio and television programs were broadcast in several languages, and about 4.4 million radios and 1.2 million television receivers were in use. The country has 11 daily newspapers and numerous periodicals.

Labor
Morocco's work force in the mid-1980s included some 7.4 million persons. Approximately 50% of the labor force was engaged in agriculture, about 26% worked in services, and some 24% was employed in manufacturing and other sectors. Only a small percentage of the total work force is organized; the leading trade unions are the Union Marocaine du Travail and the Union Générale des Travailleurs du Maroc.

Government
Morocco is a hereditary monarchy, governed under a constitution of 1972, as amended.

Executive
The monarch, who, according to the constitution, must be male, is the head of state of Morocco. He appoints the prime minister and cabinet. He also has the power to call for a reconsideration of legislative measures and to dissolve the legislature. The monarch is commander in chief of the country's armed forces.

Legislature
Under the constitution of 1972, Morocco has a unicameral legislature called the Chamber of Representatives. Its 306 members serve 6-year terms. Deputies for 206 seats are chosen by direct universal suffrage; deputies for the remaining 100 seats are named by local political and economic groups.

Political Parties
Morocco has a multiparty political system. The major organizations are the Istiqlal, a moderate grouping founded in 1944; the Popular Movement, a conservative organization established in 1959; the promonarchy National Rally of Independents, founded in 1978; and the Constitutional Union, organized in 1983 and the leading vote-getter in the 1984 parliamentary elections.

Local Government
Morocco's provinces are administered by governors who are appointed by the king and serve at the pleasure of the central government. Each province is divided into cercles, which are subdivided into circonscriptions (constituencies).

Judiciary
The highest tribunal in Morocco is the supreme court, which sits in Rabat. The country also has 15 courts of appeal. Cases involving small sums of money are heard by local tribunals, and more important cases are initiated in regional tribunals. In addition, the country has 14 labor tribunals.

Health and Welfare
Health services are fairly well developed in Morocco's cities, but health conditions in rural areas remain poor. The government provides for social security benefits. The country had some 4900 physicians in the late 1980s.

Defense
Military service of 18 months is compulsory for males in Morocco. The army numbers about 170,000 men, the air force about 16,000, and the navy about 6500.

History
The history of the region comprising present-day Morocco has been shaped by the interaction of the original Berber population and the various foreign peoples who successively invaded the country.
The first of the foreign invaders well known to history were the Phoenicians, who in the 12th century BC established trading posts on the Mediterranean coast of the region. These colonies were later taken over and extended by the Carthaginians. The conquest of Carthage by Rome, in the 2nd century BC, led to Roman dominance of the Mediterranean coast of Africa. About AD 42 the northern portion of what is now Morocco was incorporated into the Roman Empire as the province of Mauretania Tingitana. In the Germanic invasions that attended the decline of the Roman Empire, the Vandals in 429 occupied Mauretania Tingitana. The Byzantine general Belisarius defeated the Vandals in 533 and established Byzantine rule in parts of the country.

Muslim Conquest
Byzantine rule was ended by the Arabs, who invaded Morocco in 682 in the course of their drive to expand the power of Islam. Except for the Jews, the inhabitants of Morocco, both Christian and pagan, soon accepted the religion of their conquerors. Berber troops were used extensively by the Arabs in their subsequent subjugation of Spain.
The first Arab rulers of the whole of Morocco, the Idrisid dynasty, held power from 789 to 926. The Idrisid was succeeded by other dynasties, both Arab and Berber. Among the most notable were the dynasties of the Almoravids, from 1062 to 1147, and the Almohads, from 1147 to 1258. Under the latter, Morocco became the center of an empire that embraced modern-day Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and large areas of Spain and Portugal.
The Almohad Empire began to disintegrate after the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, in which the Spanish defeated the Moroccans. By midcentury its power was gone. A period of disorder and almost incessant civil war between Berbers and Arabs followed. Rulers of various dynasties reigned briefly and ineffectually over parts of the country.
Morocco experienced a revival under the Saadians, known as the first Sharifian dynasty (1554-1660). The reign (1579-1603) of Ahmed I al-Man-sur is regarded as the golden age of Morocco. The country benefited enormously from the influx of nearly a million Moors and Jews who were expelled from Spain after 1492. It was unified and relatively prosperous; its native arts and architecture flourished.
The Saadians were succeeded by the second Sharifian dynasty, who have ruled since 1660. This dynasty reached its peak in the reign of Ismail al-Hasani (reigned 1672-1727). Al-Hasani's reign was followed by a long period of disorder, which was punctuated with brief interludes of relative peace and prosperity.

European Intrusion
In 1415 Portugal had captured the port of Ceuta. This intrusion initiated a period of gradual extension of Portuguese and Spanish power over the Moroccan coastal region. The Moroccans inflicted a severe defeat on the Portuguese in 1578, and by the end of the 17th century they had regained control of most of their coastal cities. In the 18th and early 19th centuries pirates from Morocco and other so-called Barbary states of North Africa preyed on the shipping that plied the Mediterranean Sea (see BARBARY COAST). Because of the depredations of the Barbary pirates and because Morocco shared control of the Strait of Gibraltar with Spain, the country figured with increasing weight in the diplomacy of the European maritime powers, particularly Spain, Great Britain, and France. Spain invaded Morocco in 1859-60 and acquired Tétouan.
In April 1904, in return for receiving a free hand in Egypt from France, Great Britain recognized Morocco as a French sphere of interest. Later that year France and Spain divided Morocco into zones of influence, with Spain receiving the much smaller part of a sublessee of France. Imperial Germany soon disputed these arrangements, and a conference of major powers, including the United States, met in Algeciras, Spain, in January 1906, to conclude an agreement. The resultant Act of Algeciras guaranteed equality of economic rights for every nation in Morocco.
In July 1911, the Germans sent a gunboat to the Moroccan port city of Agadir, in a move designed to encourage native resistance to French dominance. This incident provoked French mobilization and brought Europe to the brink of war, but in later negotiations Germany agreed to a French protectorate over Morocco in return for French territorial concessions elsewhere in Africa.
In March 1912 the sultan recognized the protectorate. Later that year the French, under a revision of the 1904 convention with Spain, obtained a larger share of Moroccan territory.

Fight for Independence
The Spanish experienced even greater difficulties in Spanish Morocco. Abd-el-Krim, a leader of Rif tribes, organized a revolt against Spanish rule in 1920. By 1924 he had driven the Spanish forces from most of their Moroccan territory. He then turned upon the French. France and Spain agreed in 1925 to cooperate against Abd-el-Krim. More than 200,000 troops under the French marshal Henri Philippe Pétain were used in the campaign, which ended victoriously in 1926. The country was not fully pacified, however, until the end of 1934.
Following Germany's defeat of France in 1940, France's collaborationist Vichy government allowed Morocco to support the German war effort. In November 1942, American troops landed and occupied Morocco. During the rest of World War II, the country was a major Allied supply base. Casablanca was the site of a meeting of the heads of government of the Allies in 1943.
In 1944, Moroccan nationalists formed the Istiqlal party, which soon won the support of Sultan Muhammed V and the majority of Arabs. It was opposed by most of the Berber tribes, however. The French rejected the plea by the sultan in 1950 for self-government. The sultan was deposed in August 1953, but in October 1955 the French permitted him to return to his throne.

Unification
The French recognized Moroccan independence in March 1956. In April the Spanish government recognized in principle the independence of Spanish Morocco and the unity of the sultanate, although it retained certain cities and territories. Tangier was incorporated into Morocco in October 1956. Ifni was returned to Morocco in January 1969.
Sultan Mohammed V assumed the title of king in August 1957. At his death in 1961, the throne passed to his son Hassan II. A royal charter was implemented by Hassan, whereby a constitutional monarchy was established on the approval by referendum of a constitution in December 1962. The nation's first general elections were held in 1963. In June 1965, however, the king temporarily suspended parliament and assumed full executive and legislative power, serving as his own prime minister for two years. Hassan gave strong support to the Arab cause in the 1967 war with Israel and made subsequent attempts to secure Arab unity. Nevertheless, he was deemed too moderate by extremist elements, and attempts were made on his life in 1971 and 1972.

Saharan War
During 1974-75 Morocco exerted much pressure on Spain to relinquish Spanish Sahara. When the Spanish left, in 1976, they ceded the northern two-thirds of the colony to Morocco, while Mauritania received the southern third. This disposal of the phosphate-rich territory was disputed by the Polisario Front, a Saharan nationalist movement, which sought to bring about the establishment of the independent nation of Western Sahara. Although burdened by the ensuing guerrilla warfare, Morocco resolved to continue the fight alone after Mauritania decided to withdraw from the conflict in 1979. Faced with mounting international opposition, King Hassan nevertheless committed additional troops and resources to the effort to protect the phosphate mines and major towns from Polisario harassment. In 1984 Morocco quit the Organization of African Unity to protest its seating of a Polisario delegation. Efforts by the United Nations to mediate the dispute continued throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. Morocco sent troops in 1990 to protect Saudi Arabia against Iraq's troop buildup in Kuwait, but Moroccan forces had no direct role in the Persian Gulf War.