Morocco (mərŏk'ō) , officially Kingdom of Morocco, kingdom (2005 est. pop. 32,726,000), 171,834 sq mi (445,050 sq km), NW Africa. Morocco is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea (N), the Atlantic Ocean (W), Western Sahara (S), and Algeria (S and E). Ifni, formerly a Spanish-held enclave on the Atlantic coast, was ceded to Morocco in 1969. Two cities, Ceuta and Melilla, and several small islands off the Mediterranean coast remain part of metropolitan Spain; at various times in history Moroccans have sought, through force or diplomacy, to gain control of these enclaves. Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara although sovereignty remains unresolved. Rabat is the capital and Casablanca the most populous city.

Land and People

Central Marocco consists largely of the Atlas Mts., which rise to 13,671 ft (4,167 m) in Jebel Toubkal in the southwest and which dominate most of the country. In the south lie the sandy wastes of the Sahara desert. In the north is a fertile coastal plain. The population of Morocco is concentrated in the coastal region and the mountains, where rainfall is most plentiful. In parts of the Rif Mts. in the northeast some 40 in. (102 cm) of rain fall each year. There are no important rivers in the country, but dams on several coastal streams are used for irrigation and hydroelectric power. The vast majority of Moroccans are Muslims of Arab-Berber ancestry. There are also small Christian and Jewish minorities. Arabic is the official language, but French (often used in business and government), several Berber dialects, and Spanish are also spoken. More than half of all Moroccans live in urban areas. There are universities at Rabat, Fès, Marrakech, Casablanca, and elsewhere.

Economy

Agriculture employs about half of Morocco's workforce, which suffers from a high (more than 20%) unemployment rate. In the rainy sections of the northeast wheat and other cereals can be raised without irrigation. On the Atlantic coast, where there are extensive plains, olives, citrus fruits, and wine grapes are grown, largely with water supplied by artesian wells. Morocco also produces a significant amount of illicit hashish, much of which is shipped to Western Europe. Forests yield cork, cabinet wood, and building materials. Part of the maritime population fishes for its livelihood. Agadir, Essaouira, El Jadida, and Larache are among the important fishing harbors.
Casablanca is by far the largest port and an important industrial center. Significant industries include textile and leather goods manufacturing, food processing, and oil refining. In the northern foothills of the Atlas Mts. there are large mineral deposits; phosphates are the most important, but iron ore, silver, zinc, copper, lead, manganese, barytine, gold, and coal (the only sizable coal deposits in North Africa) are also found. Marrakech, Meknès, and Fès are the most important centers in the mineral trade. A few oases in southern Morocco, notably Tafilalt, are all that relieve the desert wastes.
Morocco's coastal areas and the mineral-producing interior are linked by an expanding road and rail network, and port facilities are being further developed. Tourism is important economically, as are cash remittances from Moroccans working in France. The main exports are phosphates, clothing, shellfish, citrus fruits, and vegetables. The chief imports are petroleum, chemicals, machinery, and plastics. France and Spain are the leading trade partners.

Government

Morocco is a constitutional monarchy and is governed under a 1972 constitution as revised in 1992. The king holds effective power and appoints the prime minister. The bicameral parliament consists of a 270-seat chamber of counselors and 325-seat chamber of representatives. The legal system is based on Islamic law as well as French and Spanish civil law. Administratively, the country is divided into 37 provinces and two municipalities. Morocco is a member of the United Nations and the Arab League.

History

Early History to the Nineteenth Century
Berbers inhabited Morocco at the end of the 2d millennium B.C. In Roman times Morocco was roughly coextensive with the province of Mauretania Tingitania. In the 3d cent. A.D. four bishoprics were created in the province. Jewish colonies were also established during Roman rule. The Vandals were the earliest (5th cent.) of barbarian peoples to take the area as the Roman Empire declined.
The Arabs first swept into Morocco c.685, bringing with them Islam. Christianity was all but extirpated, but the Jewish colonies by and large retained their religion. Many Moroccans served in the Arab forces that invaded Spain in the early 8th cent. Later, Berber-Arab conflict fragmented the region.
Morocco became an independent state in 788 under the royal line founded by Idris I. After 900 the country again broke into small tribal states. Warfare between the Fatimids of Tunisia and the Umayyads of Spain for control of the region intensified the already-existing political anarchy, which ended only when the Almoravids overran (c.1062) Morocco and established a kingdom stretching from Spain to Senegal. The Almohads, who succeeded (c.1174) the Almoravids, at first ruled both Morocco and Spain, but the Merinid dynasty (1259–1550), after some triumphs, was limited to Morocco. Rarely, however, was the country completely unified, and conflict between Arabs and Berbers was incessant.
Spain and Portugal, after expelling the Moors (i.e., persons from Morocco) from the Iberian Peninsula, attacked the Moroccan coast. Beginning with the capture of Ceuta in 1415, Portugal took all the chief ports except Melilla and Larache, both of which fell to Spain. The Christian threat stimulated the growth of resistance under religious leaders, one of whom established (1554) the Saadian, or first Sherifian, dynasty. At the battle of Ksar el Kebir (1578) the Saadian king decisively defeated Portugal. The present ruling dynasty, the Alawite, or second Sherifian, dynasty, came to power in 1660 and recaptured many European-held strongholds. Morocco, like the other Barbary States, was, from the 17th to the 19th cent., a base for pirates preying upon the Mediterranean trade.