Rabat – In 2018, Morocco witnessed a considerable rise in the number of books published at 6,000 titles.
Minister of Culture and Communication Mohamed Laaraj said in a statement during a meeting on Tuesday, April 30, that the number of published books in 2018 was twice the number books published in 2014.
The minister noted that the growth in publications reflects the “positive dynamic of the sector of books, publications and reading in Morocco.”
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Laaraj said his ministry is striving, through its book publishing program, to put in place a “veritable industry of culture.”
The minister especially insisted on the need to examine “eligible projects” in keeping with good quality and boosting areas of lower production.
There are 782 eligible projects in 2019, and 379 are devoted to books and publication.
The projects include 149 related to participation in international book fairs, 79 for awareness-raising campaigns on reading, 45 for the creation and modernization of libraries, 125 for cultural reviews, and 5 for the participation in writers’ residencies.
A literacy report from Morocco’s National Observatory for Human Development (ONDH) on December 27, 2018, showed that the rate of literacy of young people in Morocco aged 15-24 rose from 88.2% in 2012 to 93.5% in 2017.
The same report found that literacy among men was 4.3 percentage points higher than among women in 2017. Men had a literacy rate of 95.6%, whereas women had a literacy rate of 91.3%. In rural areas, the rate is lower than in urban areas.
