Morocco Sets Up Budget of Nearly $11 Billion for Defense in 2023

Morocco is allocating MAD119.76 billion, nearly $11 billion for its defense budget, according to the adopted 2023 Finance Bill.

The Moroccan government adopted on Wednesday the 2023 Finance Bill, pledging reforms to improve several sectors, including health, education, and defense.

Morocco is adding nearly MAD 4 billion to the defense budget compared to last year, when the fund for the sector was estimated at MAD 116 billion.

The budget takes into account Morocco’s approach to tackling modernization and upgrades of its military equipment and infrastructure.

In recent years, the North African country has signed a series of deals to upgrade its military equipment. Morocco’s largest arms supplier is the US, providing it with 91% of its arms supply.

With 325,000 soldiers, Morocco’s military was ranked 55th out of 140 countries in terms of military power. About 200,000 of the total number of soldiers are in active military service, while 100,000 are reserve soldiers, and 25,000 soldiers serve in the paramilitary forces.

Despite the slight increase in the budget bill, Morocco’s defense fund remains way behind that of Algeria.

Despite the global context marked by an economic crisis, Algeria is planning to adopt a budget of $23 billion for its defense sector, a number that represents an increase of over 120% compared to amounts allocated to its military in the past 10 years.

A recent report from the Economic Freedom Index ranked Algeria among the 10 least economically free countries.

A report from the Arab Barometer in 2021 showed mounting concerns about the economic crisis, with 40% of Algerians citing the economic crisis as the most important challenge facing the country, while only 2% cited security.

Despite the crisis, Algeria continues to fund arms deals with its proxy Russia, a situation that has triggered concerns in the international community.

Last month, 27 members of the US Congress signed a bipartisan letter, calling for sanctions against Algeria for the extravagant purchases of arms from Russia.

Last year alone, Algeria bought Russian weapons totaling $7 billion, making it the third largest recipient of Russian arms in the world.