Rabat – Previously heeded as a traditional pole of emigration towards Europe and a country of transit, Morocco moved beyond being a temporary host to becoming a home for thousands of migrants.
Over a ten years span, from 2004-2014, the foreign population in Moroccan exponentially grew by a 63 percent rate.
Out of a population of 33.8 million registered in 2014, the number of foreigners residing in Morocco has reached 84,001 inhabitants. They represent 0.25 percent of the total Moroccan population and an increase of 32,566 foreigners compared to 2004, said the High Commission for Planning in a recent report.
The overwhelming majority, or 95.2 percent of foreigners settle in urban areas, against a minority of 4.8 percent living in rural areas.
They are concentrated in six major cities, mainly Casablanca at 28.6 percent, followed by Rabat at 14.8 percent, Marrakech at 8 percent, Tangier-Assilah at 6.1 percent, Agadir-Ida-Ou-Tanane at 4.4 percent and Fez at 4.2 percent.
“Rabat seems a bit too populated for me. I miss having a big house, a garden and dog, like I did back in Germany. But I need to work and I can’t find a job outside of the city,” Kristin, 34, told Morocco World News.
More than half of these migrants are married at 57.5 percent, with a slight domination of male presence at 56.5 percent against 43.5 percent for women.
The foreign population is relatively older than the Moroccan population. 17.8 percent are under 15 years of age compared to 28.2 percent of the Moroccan population.
66.5 percent of foreigners are between 15 and 59 against 62.4 percent of the Moroccans, and 15.7 percent of expatriates are over 60 against 9.4 of the Moroccan population.
In terms of racial distribution, 40 percent of foreigners are Europeans, 41,6 percent are African, out of whom, 64,5 percent are from sub-Saharan countries and 31,9 percent are from the Maghreb.
15.2 percent come from Asian countries, with a majority of 82.8 percent from the Middle East. 3.2 percent come from the rest of the world, 76.9 of whom are from the United States.
The expatriate scene in Morocco is dominated by the French community at 25.4 percent, followed by that of Senegal at 7.2 percent, Algeria at 6.8 percent and 6.2 percent coming from Syria.
At 95.1 percent, HCP found that foreigners living in Morocco are highly literate. 84 percent of foreigners aged 15 and over have at least secondary education and 51 percent of them have university degrees.
67 percent of foreigners living in Morocco are active, 41.3 percent of whom are employed and 70 percent of whom are men.
More than half are employed in the private sector, with just over 20 percent self-employed, and 11.6 percent are employers. In the public sector, they represent 6.8 percent.
.Almost 38 percent of foreign households own their homes. 47.8 percent of them live in apartments, 25.1 percent in modern Moroccan houses and 20.3 percent in villas.
