Economy of Morocco

Gross domestic product (GDP): $ 50,030,751,740 (2004); Government budget balance as share of GDP: -2.6814 % (1999); Inflation, GDP, avg. annual: 0.80581 % (2000); Inflation, consumer prices, avg. annual: 1.506 % (2000); GDP per capita: $ 1,505 (2004); Trade balance: -39.1517 % of imports (2002); Labor force, unemployment rate: 11.6 % (2002); GDP, industry share: 30.3821 % (2004); GDP, manufacturing share: 16.5047 % (2004); GDP, services share: 53.7507 % (2004); Currency: Dirham.

Morocco is primarily an agricultural country, and its dependence on agriculture has hampered economic growth. While Morocco was a French colony, the economy was shaped by French interests. Fruits and vegetables, and phosphate rocks for fertilizer, became its chief exports. Morocco’s economic ties to Europe remain strong, and the country hopes to strengthen these ties by joining the European Union (EU). Manufacturing and agribusiness have grown along the coast, which is far more developed than the interior of the country, where traditional farming continues.

Tourism has become increasingly important to Morocco’s economy, with more than 2 million tourists visiting the country each year. Tourist complexes have been built along the coast, and large new hotels have sprung up in Fès, Marrakech, and other popular tourist destinations. Agadir is the chief coastal resort.

In 2007 gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $75.1 billion, or $2,434.10 per person. (GDP is a measure of the value of all goods and service a country produces.) The government’s budget in 2007 included revenues of $26.1 billion and expenditures of $21.9 billion.