Agadir – Morocco has launched the third National Survey on Disability, marking a significant step toward renewing and strengthening the country’s statistical knowledge on the living conditions of people with disabilities.
The launch took place in Sale on Wednesday, aiming to modernize national data to better reflect current social and demographic realities.
This nationwide research is being conducted through a multi-institutional partnership involving the State Secretariat for Social Inclusion, the High Commission for Planning (HCP), the National Observatory for Human Development (ONDH), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), seeking to produce reliable, up-to-date evidence to inform public decision-making.
The significance of the new survey
The new survey comes 12 years after the previous national study completed in 2014, which estimated that more than two million people with disabilities were living in Morocco at the time.
Morocco has since undergone major demographic shifts, social changes, and policy reforms, making it necessary to reassess both the scale and characteristics of disability nationwide.
According to Naima Ben Yahia, Minister of Solidarity, Social Integration and Family, the survey plays a central role in shaping future public policies. In her address, she emphasized that effective disability-related programs depend on accurate, credible, and updated data, particularly in areas such as social inclusion, accessibility, and support services.
The minister also recalled that this initiative builds on a long-term national process, which began with the first survey in 2004, followed by a second in 2014. The results of these earlier studies, she noted, helped improve conditions for people with disabilities and guided the creation of targeted social programs.
She announced the activation of the formal agreement governing the third survey, covering preparation, fieldwork, analysis, and dissemination of results. Ben Yahia further underlined the importance of territorial equity and the active participation of institutional bodies and civil society in ensuring that the research captures diverse realities across regions and social groups.
For his part, Chakib Benmoussa, High Commissioner for Planning, described the survey as a key contribution to strengthening Morocco’s national statistical system. He stressed that it aligns with Morocco’s commitments to both the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Benmoussa referred to preliminary findings from the 2024 General Population and Housing Census, which indicate that disability remains a structural issue in Morocco. According to census data, disability affects approximately 4.8% of the population, compared to 5.1% in 2014, with significant regional disparities. More detailed demographic, economic, and social data, including disability-related indicators, are expected to be published in April, he added.
Othman Kair, President of the National Observatory for Human Development, highlighted that the third survey represents an opportunity not only to update figures, but also to evaluate the effectiveness of existing public policies in this field.
He explained that the research goes beyond counting cases, focusing instead on data analysis and evidence-based policy design, with the goal of improving coherence and impact.
