Four out of ten Moroccans would emigrate if they could, according to a survey by Moroccan marketing agency Sunergia and news outlet L’economiste.
Rabat- Of the 1,000 people the study interviewed, women were more inclined toward emigration than men. Only 31 percent of those who said they would emigrate if they could were men.
Unsurprisingly, youth aged 15-24 are the most willing to emigrate. Some 59 percent of the age group said they would not hesitate to migrate irregularly.
There are several reasons that prompt Moroccans to ponder emigrating. According to the survey, the most prominent reasons are lack of trust in the Moroccan government, the high unemployment rate or difficulty finding jobs, and difficult social and economic situations.
Older Moroccans are less likely to want to emigrate. Of those aged 25-34, 40 percent want to emigrate, while 42 percent of 35-44-year-olds want to emigrate.
Brain drain in Morocco
According to an April study by ReKrute, 91 percent of Moroccan professionals aged 35 and below are tempted to move abroad in search of better work conditions and quality of life, which includes health care and comfort.
Young, well-trained Moroccans set their sights on Western countries. Canada, which attracts 37 percent of Moroccan professionals, is the hottest destination, not only for Moroccans but for many people in the world.
Moroccan physicians and doctors, in particular, experience tough working conditions domestically–underpaid and under-equipped–which prompts them to emigrate.
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As the Moroccan government continues to fight irregular migration by land and sea to Europe, many Moroccan migrants are persistent in trying to leave the country, mostly by risking the western Mediterranean route by boat.
Moroccans account for 13 percent of the undocumented migrants who attempted to reach Europe in the first nine months of 2018 (7,100 Moroccans).
The Spanish Ministry of Interior indicated that more than 250,000 undocumented Moroccans are currently living in Spain, with close to 5,000 identified as “unaccompanied minors.”
EU officials announced in October they would seek to extend economic and logistic support to help Morocco curb irregular immigration.
Moroccan authorities said in the same month that irregular migration attempts had surged 150 percent along the western Mediterranean route from the levels recorded between 2003 and 2015.
