Key numbers:

• Surface area:   710 850 km2
• Population: 37 697 009 inhabitants (2021)
• GDP: 112.9 billion USD
• GDP per capita: 3009 USD
• Capital city: Rabat
• Currency: Moroccan Dirham MAD

Flag:

Coat of arms: 

National anthem:

History:

History of human habitation in the Moroccan area spans since the Lower Paleolithic, yet Morocco as a country entered History around 800-600 B.C. The region was conquered by the Muslims in the early 8th century, but broke away from the Umayyad Caliphate after the Berber Revolt of 740. 

Half a century later, the Moroccan state was established by the Idrisid Dynasty which came from the Middle-East. The Idrissid was the first Muslim dynasty that ruled over Morocco from 788. The Moroccan state was founded in 791 by Idriss I, descendant of Ali, the Prophet's son-in-law. Idriss I escaped the massacre of his family in Saudi Arabia and settled in Volubilis. He then founded the city of Fez which, after his death in 792, was chosen by his son as the Kingdom's first capital. 

Under the Almoravid and the Almohad dynasties, Morocco dominated the Maghreb and Muslim Spain. In 1269, the Merinid Sultan Abu Yussef Yacoub conquered the city of Marrakesh, thus definitively taking power from the Almohads. The Saadi Dynasty ruled the country from 1549 to 1659 and was followed by the Alaouite Dynasty which has been ruling from 1667 to this day.

GeographyMap

Morocco is located at the northwest of the African continent. The Kingdom is bordered by Algeria to the East, Mauritania to the South, the Atlantic Ocean to the West and the Strait of Gibraltar and Mediterranean Sea to the North.

Languages:

Morocco's official languages are Arabic and Amazigh. Many other languages are spoken by the Moroccan people. French is the dominant foreign language in the country, Spanish is often spoken in the northern and southern provinces and English is fairly widely spoken.

Religion:

Islam is the established state religion of Morocco as almost the entire population is Sunni Muslim. The Monarch is the supreme Muslim authority in the country and is also the Commander of Believers. Religions do coexist in Morocco, as some Moroccans adhere to Christianity and Judaism and the Moroccan constitution guarantees the freedom of worship.

Importantly, Morocco exemplifies its freedom of religion through its Jewish population. The Moroccan Jewish community has existed for two millenia. At its largest the population amounted to a quarter of a million, making it the largest Jewish community in the Arab world. Over the course of history, Jews were exiled and a large portion found safety in Morocco. In the fifteenth century especially the Jews of Andalusia migrated to Morocco, fleeing the Reconquista of the Catholic kings. 

The Jewish population in Morocco amounts to approximately 2,500 in 2022. Although the population has largely dwindled in number, the majority Muslim and minority Jewish communities are committed to preserving its Jewish heritage.