Context

Geographical

With its privileged geographic position, situated in the North West point of the African continent, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and by the Mediterranean on the north, Morocco extends its territory over a surface of 710.000 km². The country shares territorial borders with Algeria on the east and Mauritania on the south and it is separated from Spain by 14 km on the Strait of Gibraltar. Its administrative capital is Rabat.

The climate of Morocco varies in each region: Mediterranean in the north, Atlantic in the west and Saharan in the south. Only the regions in the littorals are more temperate.

Demographic

According to the most recent census in 2004, the population is estimated to be 29,9 millions. It is mainly composed by the Berbers (the most ancient inhabitants in the country) and the Arabs (who arrived in the VII century and mainly during the XIII and XV centuries).

The Moroccan population is characterized by its youth : two-thirds age less than 30 years-old. The most important indicator in the demographic evolution is without a doubt the consistent fall in the growth rate of the population, 2,1 % in 1982 and 1,3 % between 1994 and 2007.

Political

Morocco is «a Democratic and Social Monarchy» managed by a constitution which attributes the legislative power to parliament; which is composed by two chambers: the chamber of Representatives and the chamber of elected Counselors. The Government, which executes the constitutional functions, is responsible before the King and Parliament. Islam is the State religion, which guarantees to everyone freedom of faith.

Since the end of the 1990 Morocco has been engaged in a process of democratization. Several reforms aimed at asserting the primacy of law, the defense of human rights, in particularly the rights of women, of children and of the disadvantaged social groups, have been carried out or are in the process of being implemented. The reforms ratified by Morocco, concerning the Code of Public Liberties, the Code of Work, the Penal Code, the Family Code, the Nationality Code and the Electoral Code, and at the same time the launch of the harmonization of the national laws with the dispositions of the international instruments relative to the human rights.

Other major reforms have been carried out, with the intent of improving governance, by means of the reform of justice, the battle against corruption, the modernization of the public administration, the recasting of the regional organization and the deepening of the decentralization and the politics of proximity.

Economic

Since 1990, the Moroccan macro-economic policy has focused on the stabilization and on the necessary structural reforms to liberate the economy.

The Moroccan economy is strongly engaged in a process of transition in which the market and the private initiative constitute the central motors of the growing dynamic.

The data below illustrates the dynamics which lead the country, largely conditioning its development

ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Indicators	Values	Year of reference
GDP per citizen in $ US	1099 2497	1990 2007
Annual growth rate of the GDP per citizen (in volume)	1,1 3,5	1990-1999 2000-2007
Annual growth rate of the financial consumption (in volume)	2,4 4,1	1990-1999 2000-2007
Annual growth rate of the consumption per citizen (in volume)	0,7 2,9	1990-1999 2000-2007
Annual growth rate of the National Brute Revenue (on current price)	6,5 6,0	1990-1999 2000-2007
Annual variation of the index of the cost of life in %	4,5 1,8	1990-1999 2000-2007
Investment rate in % of GDP	22,1 28,1	1990-1999 2000-2007
Inputs in FDI in % of GDP	2,7 4,6	1990-1999 2000-2007
Public expenditure teaching in % of GDP	5,3 5,7	1990 2007
Public Expenditure on health in % of GDP	0,9 1,2	1990 2007
Process of the public foreign debt in % of GDP	79 20,3	1990 2007
Services of the public expenditure debt in % of GDP	14,8 8,9	1990 2007
Global balance of treasury in % of GDP	-3,5 0,3	1990 2007

Source: National Report on the Millennium Development Goals 2007

Social

Despite the current difficulties in the economic and financial contexts, Morocco manages a voluntary policy of social and human development, which has assumed, since the advent of the King Mohammed VI, a primary dimension.

In this sense, his Majesty the King has announced the 18th of May of 2005, The National Initiative for Human Development which is aimed towards battle against poverty and social exclusion. This initiative constitutes a global strategic setting for the rapid advancements concerning human development in harmony with the engagements made by Morocco in 2000 within the scenery of the Millennium Development Goals.

DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIAL-ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Indicators	Values	Year of reference
Population in millions	26,1 30,8	1994 2007
Part of the population aged less than 15 years-old in %	37,3 29,1	1994 2007
Annual growth rate of the population in %	2,1 1,3	1982-1994 1994-2007
Urbanization rate in %	51,5 56,4	1994 2007
Life expectancy at birth in %	67,9 72,5	1994 2007
Activity rate of 15 years-old and more in %	51,3 51,10	2001 2007
Unemployment rate in %	12,5 9,8	2001 2007
Rate of alphabetization of the population aged more than 10 years-old in %	45,6 58,8	1994 2007
Net rate of schooling of children between 6-11 years-old in %	60,2 93,5	1994 2007
% of households connected to the network of drinking water national urban rural	71,9 94,3 36,2	2006
Access to sewerage of urban liquid in %	85,6	2006
Access to electricity (in % of households) national urban rural	83,7 95,7 64,8	2006
Child mortality rate (for 1000 births)	57 40	1987-1991 1999-2003
Maternal mortality rate (for 10000 births) national urban rural	227 187 267	1995-2003