Morocco, about one-tenth larger than California, lies across the Strait of Gibraltar on the Mediterranean and looks out on the Atlantic from the northwest shoulder of Africa. Algeria is to the east and Mauritania to the south. On the Atlantic coast there is a fertile plain. The Mediterranean coast is mountainous. The Atlas Mountains, running northeastward from the south to the Algerian frontier, average 11,000 ft (3,353 m) in elevation.
Country lead by Ruler: King Muhammed VI (1999)
Prime Minister: Driss Jettou (2002)
Population
33,241,259 (growth rate: 1.6%); birth rate: 22.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 40.2/1000; life expectancy: 70.9; density per sq mi: 193
Land Area
172,317 sq mi (446,301 sq km); total area: 172,414 sq mi (446,550 sq km)
Monetary unit
Dirham Language
Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often used for business, government, and diplomacy
Ethnicity Arab-Berber 99.1%, Jewish 0.2%, other 0.7%
Religion Islam 99%, Christian 1%
Transportation Railways: total: 1,907 km (2002). Highways: total: 57,707 km; paved: 32,547 km (including 481 km of expressways); unpaved: 25,160 km (2000). Ports and harbors: Agadir, El Jadida, Casablanca, El Jorf Lasfar, Kenitra, Mohammedia, Nador, Rabat, Safi, Tangier; also Spanish-controlled Ceuta and Melilla. Airports: 63 (2002).
