Rabat – The 2019 Social Progress Index has ranked Morocco 82 in a list of 149 countries with a score of 66.04.
The index shows Morocco slipping seven spots from 76 to 82nd, a notable change within a year mainly due to low scores in “access to advanced education” and “inclusiveness.”
Morocco’s scorecard in the index 11 red dots, which represents the country’s performances in some measurement.
The index listed Morocco in a low position in “the adult literacy rate” indicator with a 69.43 score.
Morocco also scored low in access to quality education with a score of only 1.47.
Other indicators in which Morocco scored low include freedom of religion with a score of 1.44, and political rights with a score of 14.
Indicators such as “environmental quality” and “inclusiveness” also show low scores for Morocco.
With regards to Morocco’s approach with sexual orientation, the index shows Morocco getting a score of 7.21 in the “acceptance of gays and lesbians.”
Morocco also received a score of 1.47 in terms of “equality of political power by socioeconomic position.”
In terms of quality of education, the report shows that Morocco has a low score of 4.50 in the “women’s average years in school.”
Yellow dots, which represents average performance in the examined indicators, are dominant in Morocco’s scorecard.
Morocco has an average performance in undernourishment. It scored 3.90 in that category and 133.52 in maternal mortality. The country’s scores are average in almost all indicators, except for personal safety, homicide rate, corruption, and quality of electricity, as well as for access to electricity, in which it either performs comparatively well or slightly over-performs.
Recent efforts and prospects
Morocco ranked 76 in the 2018 Social Progress Index. The relatively bleak assessment suggests that, while political reforms efforts have been made, there is still a long way to go for Morocco to come to terms with its persisting social crisis.
Recently, the government has vowed to end social disparities. In most of his latest speeches, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI consistently identified social disparities as the country’s number one priority. The King has called for the implementation of a new development model.
The King acknowledged that the country has made significant progress in several areas, including rights and freedom, infrastructure, and other sectors.”
“We have taken a qualitative leap in terms of infrastructure: highways, high-speed train, big ports, renewable energy, and urban rehabilitation. We have also made significant progress in reinforcing and consolidating rights and freedoms, in giving a healthy and solid footing to our practice of democracy,” he said in his Throne Day speech in July.
The King, however, has equally acknowledged that this progress is not enough.
“We know that developing infrastructure is not enough, no matter how important that may be,” he said.
In recent weeks, the monarch has followed up on his promise to inject new blood into the government. The monarch has insisted that this would entail inclusive decision-making, as well as trust-building with citizens.
On September 21, King Mohammed VI received Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani to discuss a prospective government reshuffle. During the meeting, the monarch assessed the progress in the “implementation of the royal guidelines set out in the last state of the nation address.”
