77 Facts About Morocco

The Marinid and Saadi dynasties otherwise resisted foreign domination, and Morocco was the only North African nation to escape Ottoman dominion.

Morocco is a unitary semi-constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament.

Today, Morocco occupies two-thirds of the territory, and efforts to resolve the dispute have thus far failed to break the political deadlock.

In Turkish, Morocco is known as, a name derived from its ancient capital of Fes.

The English name Morocco is an anglicisation of the Spanish name for the country,.

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Morocco later became a realm of the Northwest African civilisation of ancient Carthage, and part of the Carthaginian empire.

The first independent Muslim state in the area of modern Morocco was the Kingdom of Nekor, an emirate in the Rif Mountains.

Morocco convinced the Awraba Berber tribes to break their allegiance to the distant Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad and he founded the Idrisid dynasty in 788.

The Idrisids established Fes as their capital and Morocco became a centre of Muslim learning and a major regional power.

Under the Sanhaja Almoravid dynasty and the Masmuda Almohad dynasty, Morocco dominated the Maghreb, al-Andalus in Iberia, and the western Mediterranean region.

Morocco was faced aggression from Spain and the Ottoman Empire allies pressing westward.

Morocco was the first nation to recognise the fledgling United States as an independent nation in 1777.

In March 1956 the French protectorate was ended and Morocco regained its independence from France as the "Kingdom of Morocco".

In 1984, Morocco left the Organisation of African Unity in protest at the SADR's admission to the body.

Morocco is a cautious moderniser who has introduced some economic and social liberalisation.

Morocco unveiled an autonomy blueprint for Western Sahara to the United Nations in 2007.

Morocco was the first Spanish leader in 25 years to make an official visit to the territories.

Morocco has a coast by the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea.

Morocco is a Northern African country, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and the annexed Western Sahara.

In terms of area, Morocco is comprised predominantly of "hot summer Mediterranean climate" and "hot desert climate" (BWh) zones.

The southeasternmost portions of Morocco are very hot, and include portions of the Sahara Desert, where vast swathes of sand dunes and rocky plains are dotted with lush oases.

Countries or regions that share the same climatic characteristics with Morocco are Portugal, Spain and Algeria and the U S state of California.

The avifauna of Morocco includes a total of 454 species, five of which have been introduced by humans, and 156 are rarely or accidentally seen.

Barbary lion, hunted to extinction in the wild, was a subspecies native to Morocco and is a national emblem.

Morocco is home to six terrestrial ecoregions: Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests, Mediterranean High Atlas juniper steppe, Mediterranean acacia-argania dry woodlands and succulent thickets, Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe, Mediterranean woodlands and forests, and North Saharan steppe and woodlands.

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Morocco was an authoritarian regime according to the Democracy Index of 2014.

Constitution of Morocco provides for a monarchy with a Parliament and an independent judiciary.

Morocco presides over the Council of Ministers; appoints the Prime Minister from the political party that has won the most seats in the parliamentary elections, and on recommendations from the latter, appoints the members of the government.

The Assembly of Representatives of Morocco has 325 members elected for a five-year term, 295 elected in multi-seat constituencies and 30 in national lists consisting only of women.

Morocco is a member of the United Nations and belongs to the African Union, Arab League, Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Non-Aligned Movement and the Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN_SAD).

Morocco's relationships vary greatly between African, Arab, and Western states.

Morocco has had strong ties to the West in order to gain economic and political benefits.

Morocco was the only African state not to be a member of the African Union due to its unilateral withdrawal on 12 November 1984 over the admission of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in 1982 by the African Union as a full member without the organisation of a referendum of self-determination in the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

Morocco was given the status of major non-NATO ally by the George W Bush administration in 2004.

Morocco was the first country in the world to recognise US sovereignty.

Morocco is included in the European Union's European Neighbourhood Policy which aims at bringing the EU and its neighbours closer.

In 2020, the United States under the Trump administration became the first Western country to back Morocco's contested sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, on the agreement that Morocco would simultaneously normalize relations with Israel.

In 2006, the government of Morocco suggested autonomous status for the region, through the Moroccan Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs.

Morocco is officially divided into 12 regions, which, in turn, are subdivided into 62 provinces and 13 prefectures.

Morocco has been accused of detaining Sahrawi pro-independence activists as prisoners of conscience.

Morocco's economy is considered a relatively liberal economy governed by the law of supply and demand.

Morocco has become a major player in African economic affairs, and is the fifth largest economy in Africa by GDP.

Morocco was ranked as the first African country by the Economist Intelligence Unit's quality-of-life index, ahead of South Africa.

Morocco is relatively inexpensive because of the devaluation of the dirham and the increase of hotel prices in Spain.

Morocco has an excellent road and rail infrastructure that links the major cities and tourist destinations with ports and cities with international airports.

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Morocco produces enough food for domestic consumption except for grains, sugar, coffee and tea.

In 2014, Morocco began the construction of the first high-speed railway system in Africa linking the cities of Tangiers and Casablanca.

Morocco has the largest port in Africa and the Mediterranean called Tanger-Med, which is ranked the 18th in the world with a handling capacity of over 9 million containers.

Morocco has embarked upon the construction of large solar energy farms to lessen dependence on fossil fuels, and to eventually export electricity to Europe.

Morocco announced that investment in science and technology would rise from US$620, 000 in 2008 to US$8.

Morocco was ranked 77th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, down from 74th in 2019.

In 2012, the Hassan II Academy of Science and Technology identified a number of sectors where Morocco has a comparative advantage and skilled human capital, including mining, fisheries, food chemistry and new technologies.

Morocco has a large diaspora, most of which is located in France, which has reportedly over one million Moroccans of up to the third generation.

Morocco has more than four dozen universities, institutes of higher learning, and polytechnics dispersed at urban centres throughout the country.

Morocco has some of prestigious postgraduate schools, including: Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, l'Institut National des Postes et Telecommunication, Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Electricite et de Mecanique (ENSEM), EMI, ISCAE, INSEA, National School of Mineral Industry, Ecole Hassania des Travaux Publics, Les Ecoles nationales de commerce et de gestion, Ecole superieure de technologie de Casablanca.

Morocco is a developing country that has made many strides to improve these categories.

In 2005, The government of Morocco approved two reforms to expand health insurance coverage.

In 2014, Morocco adopted a national plan to increase progress on maternal and child health.

Morocco has made significant progress in reducing deaths among both children and mothers.

In 2017, Morocco ranked 16th out of 29 countries on the Global Youth Wellbeing Index.

Morocco is a country with a rich culture and civilisation.

Morocco has set among its top priorities the protection of its diverse legacy and the preservation of its cultural heritage.

Culturally speaking, Morocco has always been successful in combining its Berber, Jewish and Arabic cultural heritage with external influences such as the French and the Spanish and, during the last decades, the Anglo-American lifestyles.

Under the Almohad dynasty Morocco experienced a period of prosperity and brilliance of learning.

Morocco founded a great library, which was eventually carried to the Casbah and turned into a public library.

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Morocco is home to Andalusian classical music that is found throughout Northwest Africa.

Morocco participated in the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest, where it finished in the penultimate position.

Cinema in Morocco has a long history, stretching back over a century to the filming of Le chevrier Marocain by Louis Lumiere in 1897.

The cuisine of Morocco is mainly a fusion of Moorish, European and Mediterranean cuisines.

The most commonly eaten red meat in Morocco is beef; lamb is preferred but is relatively expensive.

Bread in Morocco is principally from durum wheat semolina known as khobz.

Bakeries are very common throughout Morocco and fresh bread is a staple in every city, town and village.

In 1986, Morocco became the first Arab and African country to qualify for the second round of the FIFA World Cup.

Morocco was scheduled to host the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, but refused to host the tournament on the scheduled dates because of fears over the ebola outbreak on the continent.

Morocco made five attempts to host the FIFA World Cup but lost five times to the United States, France, Germany, South Africa and a Canada–Mexico–United States joint bid.

Spectator sports in Morocco traditionally centered on the art of horsemanship until European sports—football, polo, swimming, and tennis—were introduced at the end of the 19th century.

Morocco was one of the continent's pioneers in basketball as it established one of Africa's first competitive leagues.