Morocco
Morocco, a North African country on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, is distinguished by its Berber, Arab and European influences. The medina in Marrakech, a medieval maze-like district, is a lively place, with its Jemaa el-Fna square and souks (markets) selling ceramics, jewelry and metal lanterns. The Kasbah des Oudayas in Rabat, the capital, is a 12th-century royal fort overlooking the ocean.
General presentation
Official name: Kingdom of Morocco
Form of government: Constitutional Monarchy
Area: 446,500 km2
Capital: Rabat
Main cities: Casablanca, Fez, Tangier, Meknes, Marrakech, Salé,
Agadir
Official languages: Arabic, Tamazight
National holiday: July 30
Population: 36.3 million inhabitants
Density: 79 inhabitants/km2
Population growth: 1.3% Literacy rate: 73.8
Source: Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
Economic situation
Morocco has returned to economic growth since the early 2000s, but it remains correlated to the agricultural sector and global conditions. After a slowdown in growth since 2018 (3.1% and 2.5% in 2019 compared to 4.2% in 2017), Morocco entered its largest recession in 25 years in 2020, at -7.2% (source: IMF). Faced with the health and economic crisis of Covid-19, Morocco quickly implemented strong measures to support businesses and the population, financed by a special Pandemic Management Fund, the amount of which reached more than €3bn. On the occasion of the Throne Day on July 29, 2020, the King announced an ambitious recovery plan (11% GDP) and structural reforms in the economy, social protection and public services.
The country is working to make the Moroccan economy more resilient to agricultural fluctuations. In this sense, important reforms have been undertaken as part of a sectoral diversification strategy. The stakes are high, as the agricultural sector accounts for 14% of GDP and employs 39% of the working population. Cereal yields were severely affected by recurrent droughts in 2020 (agricultural GDP down 8.1%). The reform plan has been accompanied by efforts to redress the fiscal and external accounts. However, the emergency measures decided in response to the crisis and the decline in revenues will increase the imbalance in the public accounts in 2020 (doubling of the public deficit to -7.7 percent of GDP and an increase of 11.3 percentage points in public debt to 76.5 percent of GDP).
Source: Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
Bilateral Relations
Bilateral investment treaties
Work in process
Double taxation agreements
Work in process
Free trade agreements
Work in process
Leading sector for Swiss companies
Work in process
Indicators
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 E | 2019 E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (in billions of USD) | 103.35 e | 109.33 e | 118.18 | 122.46 |
| GDP per capita (USD) | 2.997 e | 3.137 e | 3.355 | 3.441 |
| Growth rate | 1.1% | 4.1% | 3.2% | 3.2% |
| Unemployment rate | 1.6% | 0.8% | 2.4% | 1.4% |
| Inflation rate | ||||
| Public debt (% of GDP) | 64.858 | 65.132 | 64.412 | 63.819 |
| Budget balance (% of GDP) | -4.36 | -3.92 | -5.05 | -5.48 |
| Current account balance (% of GDP) | -4.2 | -3.6 e | -4.3 | -4.5 |
(Sources FMI, Banque Mondiale)
Main customers
Spain (22%), France (13.3%), Brazil (4.6%)
Source: IMF
Main suppliers
Spain (13.5%), France (13.3%), China (7.6%)
Source: IMF
Swiss exports to
Work in process
Exports of …. to Switzerland
Work in process
Swiss direct investment in
Work in process
The business climate
Work in process