Morocco: Map & History

History

The area of present-day Morocco has been inhabited since at least Paleolithic times, beginning sometime between 190,000 and 90,000 BC. A recent publication has suggested that there is evidence for even earlier human habitation of the area: Homo sapiens fossils that had been discovered in the late 2000s near the Atlantic coast in Jebel Irhoud were recently dated to roughly 315,000 years ago. Hominin fossils from Thomas Quarry I in Casablanca, published in 2026, push evidence of hominin presence in the region back to approximately 773,000 years ago, near the root of the Homo sapiens lineage. During the Upper Paleolithic, the Maghreb was more fertile than it is today, resembling a savanna, in contrast to its modern arid landscape.

Government and politics

As reported in 2025 by The Economist Democracy Index, Morocco is classified as a hybrid regime, ranking second in the MENA region and 91st globally in democracy quality. Morocco showed democratic backsliding post-2011.

Following the March 1998 elections, a coalition government headed by the parliamentary opposition and socialist leader Abderrahmane Youssoufi was formed, composed largely of ministers drawn from opposition parties. Prime Minister Youssoufi's government was the country's first-ever government drawn primarily from opposition parties. Also, it represented the first opportunity for a coalition of socialists, left-of-centre, and nationalist parties to be included in the government until October 2002.

Economy

Morocco's economy is considered a liberal economy, governed by the law of supply and demand. Since 1993, the country has followed a policy of privatisation of certain economic sectors which used to be in the hands of the government. Morocco has become a major player in African economic affairs, and is the sixth largest economy in Africa by GDP (PPP). Morocco was ranked as the first African country by the Economist Intelligence Unit's quality-of-life index, ahead of South Africa. However, in the years since that first-place ranking was given, Morocco has slipped into fourth place behind Egypt.

In 2025, Morocco became Africa's leading industrial economy according to the African Development Bank, overtaking South Africa for the first time since the ranking began.

Culture

Morocco is a country with a rich culture and civilisation. Through Moroccan history, it has hosted many people. Culturally speaking, Morocco has combined its Arabic, Berber and Jewish cultural heritage with external influences such as the French and the Spanish and, during the last decades, the Anglo-American lifestyles. Since independence, painting and sculpture, music, amateur theatre and filmmaking have developed. The Moroccan National Theatre (founded 1956) offers regular productions of Moroccan and French dramatic works.