Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east, and the disputed territory of Western Sahara to the south. Morocco also claims the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, and several small Spanish-controlled islands off its coast. It spans an area of 446,300 km2 (172,300 sq mi) or 710,850 km2 (274,460 sq mi), with a population of roughly 37 million. Its official and predominant religion is Islam, and the official languages are Arabic and Berber; the Moroccan dialect of Arabic and French are also widely spoken. Moroccan identity and culture is a vibrant mix of Berber, Arab, and European cultures. Its capital is Rabat, while its largest city is Casablanca.
Morocco is the northwesternmost country which spans from the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean on the north and the west respectively, into large mountainous areas in the interior, to the Sahara desert in the far south. Morocco is a Northern African country, located in the extreme northwest of Africa on the edge of continental Europe. The Strait of Gibraltar separates Spain from Morocco with a 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) span of water. Morocco borders the North Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the western Mediterranean Sea to the north, and has borders with Algeria and disputed Western Sahara.
The economy of Morocco is considered a relatively liberal economy, governed by the law of supply and demand. Since 1993, Morocco has followed a policy of privatization of certain economic sectors which used to be in the hands of the government. Morocco has become a major player in African economic affairs, and is the 5th largest African economy by GDP (PPP). The World Economic Forum placed Morocco as the 1st most competitive economy in North Africa, in its African Competitiveness Report 2014–2015.
There are around 56,986 km (35,409 mi) of roads in Morocco. In addition to 1,808 km (1,123 mi) of highways.
Tangier is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Ṭanja-Aẓila Prefecture of Morocco.
Emaar Properties or Emaar Developments is an Emirati multinational real estate development company located in the United Arab Emirates. It is a public joint-stock company, listed on the Dubai Financial Market, and has a valuation of US$15.5 billion as of June 2021. The company operates internationally providing property development and management services. With six business segments and 60 active companies, Emaar has collective presence in 36 markets across the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.
King Abdullah Economic City is a megaproject announced in 2005 by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the former king of Saudi Arabia.
ONCF is Morocco's national railway operator. ONCF is a state-owned company that is under the control of the Ministry of Equipment, Transport and Logistics and is responsible for all passenger and freight traffic on the national railway network. The company is also responsible for building and maintaining the rail infrastructure.
Sama Dubai was an Emirati real estate company noted for its legal troubles, including arrests of senior management, during its brief existence.
Rail transport in Morocco is operated by the national railway operator ONCF. It was initially developed during the protectorate.
Tanger Med is a Moroccan industrial port complex, located 45 km northeast of Tanger and opposite of Tarifa, Spain on the Strait of Gibraltar, with handling capacities of 9 million containers, 7 million passengers, 700,000 trucks and the export of 1 million vehicles.
Tourism in Morocco is well developed, maintaining a strong tourist industry focused on the country's coast, culture, and history. The Moroccan government created a Ministry of Tourism in 1985. Tourism is considered one of the main foreign exchange sources in Morocco and since 2013 it had the highest number of arrivals out of the countries in Africa. In 2018, 12.3 million tourists were reported to have visited Morocco.
Foreign direct investments in Morocco grew to $2.57 billion in 2007 from $2.4 billion a year earlier to position the country in the fourth rank in Africa among FDI recipients. Although other studies have shown much higher figures.
Moroccan trade is still dominated by its main import and export partner France, although France's share in Moroccan trade is declining, in favour of the US, the Persian Gulf region and China. If seen as a single entity, the EU is by far Morocco's largest trading partner.
The economic history of Morocco has largely been charted by the national government through a series of five-year plans. Centralized planning has gradually given way to moderate privatization and neoliberal economic reforms.
Sughd free economic zone is an industrial-innovative type, which was established in 2009 according to the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan dated May 2, 2008.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Tangier, Morocco.
Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima is the northernmost of the twelve regions of Morocco. It covers an area of 15,090 km² and recorded a population of 3,556,729 in the 2014 Moroccan census. The capital of the region is Tangier.
The Moroccan automotive industry is led by investment by French Renault-Nissan Alliance and PSA Group car companies. BYD leads the Chinese investment in Morocco. Investment is encouraged by the Moroccan government by removing certain taxes in the first five years in order to encourage the companies to come. Fiat ended its production role in Morocco in 2003 by selling its stake in Somaca to Renault. There is a small local manufacturing industry including Laraki.
