Rabat — Moroccans having fewer babies, and it’s starting to show in statistics as women in Morocco are now having just 1.97 children on average, well below the 2.1 needed to maintain the population.
A decade ago the rate was much higher, standing at 2.5.
The share of children under 15 has dropped from 31 percent of the population in 2004 to just 26.5 percent today.
Meanwhile, those over 60 make up 13.8 percent of the population — almost double the eight percent recorded in 2004. That’s about 5 million older people today compared to 3.2 million just ten years ago.
One grandmother in Rabat said, “When I was young, everyone had big families. Now, my daughter says two children are plenty. Life is harder now, she says. I understand.”
The drop in fertility can be witnessed everywhere but it is more glaring in cities. Urban women now have just 1.77 children each, compared to 2.1 a decade ago. Even in rural areas, where families traditionally had more kids, the rate has fallen from 3.1 in 2004 to 2.37 today.
Many parents say the rise in living expenses is a big factor. A father in Casablanca said, “It’s not just about feeding them. Schools, clothes, healthcare. We stopped at two kids because we want to give them the best chance in life.”
This shift comes with challenges. Fewer young people mean there will be less support for the growing number of older citizens since the population is ageing faster than the overall growth rate.
In 2024, the population grew by just 0.85 percent but the number of people over 60 grew by 4.6%, which is five times faster.
Policymakers now face tough decisions to support families and encourage more births.
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