Morocco (2001) | Mexico (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 37 provinces and 2 wilayas*; Agadir, Al Hoceima, Azilal, Beni Mellal, Ben Slimane, Boulemane, Casablanca*, Chaouen, El Jadida, El Kelaa des Srarhna, Er Rachidia, Essaouira, Fes, Figuig, Guelmim, Ifrane, Kenitra, Khemisset, Khenifra, Khouribga, Laayoune, Larache, Marrakech, Meknes, Nador, Ouarzazate, Oujda, Rabat-Sale*, Safi, Settat, Sidi Kacem, Tanger, Tan-Tan, Taounate, Taroudannt, Tata, Taza, Tetouan, Tiznit
note: three additional provinces of Ad Dakhla (Oued Eddahab), Boujdour, and Es Smara as well as parts of Tan-Tan and Laayoune fall within Moroccan-claimed Western Sahara; decentralization/regionalization law passed by the legislature in March 1997 creating many new provinces/regions; specific details and scope of the reorganization not yet available |
31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
34.39% (male 5,368,784; female 5,170,891) 15-64 years: 60.93% (male 9,270,095; female 9,402,561) 65 years and over: 4.68% (male 646,567; female 786,407) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 32.3% (male 17,298,964; female 16,617,728)
15-64 years: 63.1% (male 32,217,513; female 33,932,603) 65 years and over: 4.6% (male 2,145,252; female 2,695,931) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | barley, wheat, citrus, wine, vegetables, olives; livestock | corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products |
Airports | 69 (2000 est.) | 1,823 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
26 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 231
over 3,047 m: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 83 914 to 1,523 m: 82 under 914 m: 27 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
43 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 11 (2000 est.) |
total: 1,592
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 69 914 to 1,523 m: 454 under 914 m: 1,067 (2002) |
Area | total:
446,550 sq km land: 446,300 sq km water: 250 sq km |
total: 1,972,550 sq km
land: 1,923,040 sq km water: 49,510 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | slightly less than three times the size of Texas |
Background | Morocco's long struggle for independence from France ended in 1956. The internationalized city of Tangier was turned over to the new country that same year. Morocco virtually annexed Western Sahara during the late 1970s, but final resolution on the status of the territory remains unresolved. Gradual political reforms in the 1990s resulted in the establishment of a bicameral legislature in 1997. | The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half a century. The nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that the opposition defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) was sworn in on 1 December 2000 as the first chief executive elected in free and fair elections. |
Birth rate | 24.16 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 21.92 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$9.6 billion expenditures: $8.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.1 billion (2001 est.) |
revenues: $136 billion
expenditures: $140 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Rabat | Mexico (Distrito Federal) |
Climate | Mediterranean, becoming more extreme in the interior | varies from tropical to desert |
Coastline | 1,835 km | 9,330 km |
Constitution | 10 March 1972, revised 4 September 1992, amended (to create bicameral legislature) September 1996 | 5 February 1917 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Morocco conventional short form: Morocco local long form: Al Mamlakah al Maghribiyah local short form: Al Maghrib |
conventional long form: United Mexican States
conventional short form: Mexico local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos local short form: Mexico |
Currency | Moroccan dirham (MAD) | Mexican peso (MXN) |
Death rate | 5.94 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.97 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $18.4 billion (2000 est.) | $150 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Edward M. GABRIEL embassy: 2 Avenue de Mohamed El Fassi, Rabat mailing address: PSC 74, Box 3, APO AE 90718 telephone: [212] (37) 76 22 65 FAX: [212] (37) 76 56 61 consulate(s) general: Casablanca |
chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio O. GARZA
embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal mailing address: P. O. Box 9000, Brownsville, TX 78520-0900 telephone: [52] (55) 5080-2000 FAX: [52] (55) 5080-2005, 5080-2834 consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo, Nogales |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Abdullah MAAROUFI chancery: 1601 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 462-7979 through 7982 FAX: [1] (202) 265-0161 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Juan Jose BREMER Martino
chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600 FAX: [1] (202) 728-1698 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Laredo (Texas), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Indianapolis (Indiana), Las Vegas, McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Omaha, Orlando, Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh, Saint Louis, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson, Yuma (Arizona) |
Disputes - international | claims and administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty is unresolved and the UN is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue; the UN-administered cease-fire has been in effect since September 1991; Spain controls five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco - the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla which Morocco contests, as well as the islands of Penon de Alhucemas, Penon de Velez de la Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas | prolonged regional drought in the border region with the US has strained water-sharing arrangements |
Economic aid - recipient | $565.6 million (1995) | $1.166 billion (1995) |
Economy - overview | Morocco faces the problems typical of developing countries - restraining government spending, reducing constraints on private activity and foreign trade, and achieving sustainable economic growth. Following structural adjustment programs supported by the IMF, World Bank, and the Paris Club, the dirham is now fully convertible for current account transactions, and reforms of the financial sector have been implemented. Drought conditions depressed activity in the key agricultural sector and contributed to a stagnant economy in 1999 and 2000. During that time, however, Morocco reported large foreign exchange inflows from the sale of a mobile telephone license and partial privatization of the state-owned telecommunications company. Favorable rainfalls have led Morocco to predict a growth of 1% for 2001. Formidable long-term challenges include: servicing the external debt; preparing the economy for freer trade with the EU; and improving education and attracting foreign investment to boost living standards and job prospects for Morocco's youthful population. | Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity, natural gas distribution, and airports. Income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Following 6.9% growth in 2000, real GDP fell 0.3% in 2001, recovering to only a plus 1% in 2002, with the US slowdown the principal cause. Mexico implemented free trade agreements with Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and the European Free Trade Area in 2001, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. Foreign direct investment reached $25 billion in 2001, of which $12.5 billion came from the purchase of Mexico's second-largest bank, Banamex, by Citigroup. |
Electricity - consumption | 13.441 billion kWh (1999) | 186.7 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 77 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 705 million kWh (1999) | 2.068 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 13.695 billion kWh (1999) | 198.6 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
89.19% hydro: 10.81% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 78.7%
hydro: 14.2% nuclear: 4.2% other: 2.9% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Sebkha Tah -55 m highest point: Jbel Toubkal 4,165 m |
lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m |
Environment - current issues | land degradation/desertification (soil erosion resulting from farming of marginal areas, overgrazing, destruction of vegetation); water supplies contaminated by raw sewage; siltation of reservoirs; oil pollution of coastal waters | scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion
note: the government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation national security issues |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Arab-Berber 99.1%, other 0.7%, Jewish 0.2% | mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% |
Exchange rates | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 10.590 (January 2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999), 9.604 (1998), 9.527 (1997), 8.716 (1996) | Mexican pesos per US dollar - 9.66 (2002), 9.34 (2001), 9.46 (2000), 9.56 (1999), 9.14 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
King MOHAMED VI (since 23 July 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Abderrahmane YOUSSOUFI (since 14 March 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch following legislative elections |
chief of state: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2006) election results: Vicente FOX Quesada elected president; percent of vote - Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%, Francisco LABASTIDA Ochoa (PRI) 36.1%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 16.64%, other 4.74% |
Exports | $7.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 1.881 million bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates and fertilizers, food and beverages, minerals | manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton |
Exports - partners | France 35%, Spain 9%, UK 8%, Germany 7%, US 5% (1999) | US 82.7%, Canada 5.4%, Japan 1.1% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a green pentacle (five-pointed, linear star) known as Solomon's seal in the center of the flag; green is the traditional color of Islam | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) is centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $105 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $924.4 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
15% industry: 33% services: 52% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 26% services: 69% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,900 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.8% (2000 est.) | 0.7% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 5 00 W | 23 00 N, 102 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location along Strait of Gibraltar | strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize), one of the world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated in Mexico |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | 2 (2002) |
Highways | total:
57,847 km paved: 30,254 km (including 327 km of expressways) unpaved: 27,593 km (1998) |
total: 329,532 km
paved: 108,087 km (including 6,429 km of expressways) unpaved: 221,445 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.6% highest 10%: 30.9% (1998-99) |
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 41.1% (2001) |
Illicit drugs | illicit producer of hashish; trafficking on the increase for both domestic and international drug markets; shipments of hashish mostly directed to Western Europe; transit point for cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe | illicit cultivation of opium poppy (cultivation in 2001 - 4,400 hectares; potential heroin production - 7 metric tons) and of cannabis (in 2001 - 4,100 hectares); government eradication efforts have been key in keeping illicit crop levels low; major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America; major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; growing producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center |
Imports | $12.2 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.) | 374,700 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | semiprocessed goods, machinery and equipment, food and beverages, consumer goods, fuel | metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts |
Imports - partners | France 32%, Spain 12%, Italy 7%, Germany 6%, UK 6% (1999) | US 70.6%, Germany 3.5%, Japan 2.7% (2002) |
Independence | 2 March 1956 (from France) | 16 September 1810 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.5% (1999 est.) | 4.9% (2002 est.) |
Industries | phosphate rock mining and processing, food processing, leather goods, textiles, construction, tourism | food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 48.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 23.68 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.78 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2000 est.) | 6.4% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACCT (associate), AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CCC, EBRD, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | APEC, BCIE, BIS, Caricom (observer), CDB, CE (observer), EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 8 (2000) | 51 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 12,580 sq km (1993 est.) | 65,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed on the recommendation of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, presided over by the monarch) | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate) |
Labor force | 11 million (1997 est.) | 39.8 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 50%, services 35%, industry 15% (1999 est.) | agriculture 20%, industry 24%, services 56% (1998) |
Land boundaries | total:
2,017.9 km border countries: Algeria 1,559 km, Western Sahara 443 km, Spain (Ceuta) 6.3 km, Spain (Melilla) 9.6 km |
total: 4,353 km
border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km |
Land use | arable land:
21% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 47% forests and woodland: 20% other: 11% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 1.1% other: 85.7% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often the language of business, government, and diplomacy | Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages |
Legal system | based on Islamic law and French and Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of Supreme Court | mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or Chamber of Counselors (270 seats; members elected indirectly by local councils, professional organizations, and labor syndicates for nine-year terms; one-third of the members are renewed every three years) and a lower house or Chamber of Representatives (325 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Counselors - last held 15 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2002); Chamber of Representatives - last held 14 November 1997 (next to be held NA November 2002) election results: Chamber of Counselors - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Chamber of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - USFP 57, UC 50, RNI 46, MP 40, MDS 32, IP 32, MNP 19, PND 10, MPCD 9, PPS 9, FFD 9, PSD 5, OADP 4, PA 2, PDI 1 note: CDT, UTM, UGTM, UNMT are all labor unions listed under Political pressure groups and leaders; see explanation in the description of Parliament |
bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote, also for three-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2000 for all of the seats (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 6 July 2003 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 60, PAN 46, PRD 15, PVEM 5, PT 1, CD 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 224, PAN 153, PRD 95, other 28 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
69.43 years male: 67.2 years female: 71.76 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 72.3 years
male: 69.26 years female: 75.49 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 43.7% male: 56.6% female: 31% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.2% male: 94% female: 90.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Western Sahara | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US |
Map references | Africa | North America |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
41 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 223,052 GRT/272,786 DWT ships by type: cargo 9, chemical tanker 6, container 5, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea passenger 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 636,271 GRT/933,686 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 26, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea passenger 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Canada 2, Denmark 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie, Auxiliary Forces | National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA) (including Army and Air Force), Navy Secretariat (including Naval Air and Marines) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.4 billion (FY99/00) | $4 billion (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4% (FY99/00) | 1% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
8,182,073 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 27,751,539 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
5,160,374 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 20,123,970 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 18 years of age
note: starting in 2000, females were allowed to volunteer for military service (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
348,380 (2001 est.) |
males: 1,093,752 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Throne Day (accession of King MOHAMED VI to the throne), 30 July (1999) | Independence Day, 16 September (1810) |
Nationality | noun:
Moroccan(s) adjective: Moroccan |
noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican |
Natural hazards | northern mountains geologically unstable and subject to earthquakes; periodic droughts | tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coasts |
Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead, zinc, fish, salt | petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber |
Net migration rate | -1.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 362 km; petroleum products 491 km (abandoned); natural gas 241 km | crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 km |
Political parties and leaders | Action Party or PA [Muhammad IDRISS]; Constitutional Union or UC [leader NA]; Democratic Forces Front or FFD [Thami KHIARI]; Democratic Socialist Party or PSD [Issa OUARDIGHI]; Democratic Party for Independence or PDI [Thami EL-OUAZZANI, Said BOUACHRINE]; Istiqlal Party or IP [Abbas El-FASSI]; Labor Party or UT [leader NA]; National Democratic Party or PND [Mohamed Arsalane EL-JADIDI]; National Popular Movement or MNP [Mahjoubi AHERDANE]; National Rally of Independents or RNI [Ahmed OSMAN]; Organization of Democratic and Popular Action or OADP [Mohamed BEN SAID ait Idder]; Party of Progress and Socialism or PPS [Moulay Ismail ALAOUI]; Popular Constitutional and Democratic Movement or MPCD (has become Party of Justice and Development or PJD) [Dr. Abdelkarim KHATIB]; Popular Movement or MP [Mohamed LAENSER]; Social Democratic Movement or MDS [Mahmoud ARCHANE]; Socialist Union of Popular Forces or USFP [Abd ar-Rahman EL-YOUSSOUFI] | Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Dulce Maria SAURI Riancho]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ Martinez]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO Mena]; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Amalia GARCIA Medina]; Party of the Nationalist Society or PSN [Gustavo RIOJAS Santana]; Social Alliance Party or PAS [Guillermo CALDERON Dominguez]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Association of Popular Trade Unions or ADP [leader NA]; Democratic Confederation of Labor or CDT [Noubir AMAOUI]; Democratic National Trade Union or USND [leader NA]; Democratic Trade Union or SD [leader NA]; General Union of Moroccan Workers or UGTM [Abderrazzak AFILAL]; Labor Union Commissions or CS [leader NA]; Moroccan National Workers Union or UNMT [leader NA]; Moroccan Union of Workers or UTM [Mahjoub BENSEDIQ]; Party of Shura and Istiqla [Abdelwaheb MAASH] | Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation Industries or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Union of Workers or UNT; Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers or CROM; Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants or CROC; Roman Catholic Church |
Population | 30,645,305 (July 2001 est.) | 104,907,991 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 19% (1999 est.) | 40% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.71% (2001 est.) | 1.43% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Agadir, El Jadida, Casablanca, El Jorf Lasfar, Kenitra, Mohammedia, Nador, Rabat, Safi, Tangier; also Spanish-controlled Ceuta and Melilla | Acapulco, Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, La Paz, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Tuxpan, Veracruz |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 27, FM 25, shortwave 6 (1998) | AM 851, FM 598, shortwave 16 (2000) |
Radios | 6.64 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
1,907 km standard gauge: 1,907 km 1.435-m gauge (1,003 km electrified; 540 km double track) |
total: 19,510 km
standard gauge: 19,510 km 1.435-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Muslim 98.7%, Christian 1.1%, Jewish 0.2% | nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) |
Telephone system | general assessment:
modern system with all important capabilities; however density is low with only 4.6 main lines available for each 100 persons domestic: good system composed of open-wire lines, cables, and microwave radio relay links; Internet available but expensive; principal switching centers are Casablanca and Rabat; national network nearly 100% digital using fiber-optic links; improved rural service employs microwave radio relay international: 7 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Gibraltar, Spain, and Western Sahara; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Algeria; participant in Medarabtel; fiber-optic cable link from Agadir to Algeria and Tunisia (1998) |
general assessment: low telephone density with about 12 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 improved prospects for development
domestic: adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, and mobile cellular service international: satellite earth stations - 32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections; high capacity Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spain, and Italy (1997) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.391 million (1998) | 12.332 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 116,645 (1998) | 2.02 million (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 35 (plus 66 repeaters) (1995) | 236 (plus repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | northern coast and interior are mountainous with large areas of bordering plateaus, intermontane valleys, and rich coastal plains | high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert |
Total fertility rate | 3.05 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 23% (1999 est.) | urban - 3% plus considerable underemployment (2002) |
Waterways | none | 2,900 km
note: navigable rivers and coastal canals |