A study was presented in Rabat on the socio-economic development of the Moroccan population, carried out by the Haut-Commissariat au Plan (HCP), in collaboration with the World Bank. This report highlights the improvement of living conditions in Morocco, especially for the poorest, as witnessed by the continuous reduction of poverty and economic vulnerability. A positive situation benefiting both the urban and rural population. Nevertheless, the disparities between the city and the countryside remain considerable: in the first, the incidence of poverty in the period 2001-2014 has dropped from 7.6% to 1.6%. In the same period of time, from 25.1% to 9.5% in the countryside.

Despite the positive trend in income data, the perceived poverty index should be emphasized: between 2007 and 2014 the subjective poverty rate found among Moroccan citizens increased by 3.4%, reaching 45.1% and it is conditioned by the feeling of the most disadvantaged social classes, particularly widespread among young people and women. The study defines Morocco as a medium-low income country; in 2014, the wealthy class accounted for 10.1% of the population, the average class for 58.7%, the categories at risk for poverty 26.4% and the poor for only 4.8%. It should also be noted that the structure of the labor market is dominated by low-level jobs, the result of the lack of high-tech economic activities. Finally, the labor market in Morocco does not appear to be sufficiently inclusive and able to create a number of appropriate opportunities with respect to population pressure.

Source: medNews