Marrakech – A new survey released this month by Germany’s Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) places Morocco at the positive end of Arab public opinion, with 81% of Moroccans reporting that conditions in their country are better today than before the 2011 Arab Spring.
That figure is the highest recorded across the seven societies polled, making the North African kingdom “the most positive case on this measure.”
The survey was carried out for KAS by Arab Research and Analytics Associates and authored by Michael Robbins.
Fieldwork ran by phone from May 8 to July 3, reaching 8,475 respondents across Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian territories, Syria, and Tunisia, with roughly 1,200 in each country. It followed an earlier round conducted in 2020 and was fielded amid the joint US and Israeli war on Iran that began on February 28.
Trust in the national government reached 81% in Morocco, up from 76% in 2020. Confidence ran higher still in security and religious institutions: 95% for the police, 95% for local religious institutions, 89% for the army, and 84% for the judicial system. Political parties trailed far behind at 56%, though that remained the second-highest party figure in the survey after Egypt.
Views on how the country should be governed were mixed. A parliamentary system with competing parties was rated suitable by 54%, a strong authority system by 39%, and a religious law system without elections or parties by 56%.
Economic assessments told two stories. At the national level, 60% of Moroccans rated conditions positively, up from 39% in 2020, and 66% rated job opportunities well. Yet the share saying household income covered expenses fell from 65% in 2020 to 44%.
Robbins reads the national gains partly as economic improvement, including “recent foreign investment from China in factories producing cars and batteries,” and partly as a “rally-around-the-flag effect” during the regional crisis.
Optimism about the future was strong, with 83% expecting the economy to improve in coming years and 76% supporting more foreign investment. On investment priorities, 29% named education and skills, and another 29% named healthcare.
On foreign powers, Morocco stood out as “the most pro-US country in the survey,” with 64% holding a favorable view, up from 49% in 2020. Among youth, that figure reached 74%. Robbins ties the result partly to Washington’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
China drew 72% favorability, France 63%, Germany 68%, and the European Union 68%. Among regional powers, Saudi Arabia reached 81%, the UAE 79%, Qatar 76%, and Turkey 73%, while Iran drew 34%.
Morocco diverged from the region on security. Israel was the most-named threat in every country surveyed, but only 24% of Moroccans named it, while 53% identified no specific threat. The report singles Morocco out for “special consideration,” citing geographic distance, official relations with Israel, and possible reluctance to answer a sensitive question.
Other measures showed clearer skepticism toward Israel. Just 18% agreed the US and Israel were justified in attacking Iran, and only 31% found Iranian attacks on Israel justified, the lowest such figure in the survey. Support for the Abraham Accords stood at 22%, and 42% expressed concern about Iran’s nuclear program.
Support for a two-state solution reached 47%, with younger Moroccans 16 points less supportive than those 30 and older.
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