Morocco Environment - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

in the north, land degradation/desertification (soil erosion resulting from farming of marginal areas, overgrazing, destruction of vegetation); water and soil pollution due to dumping of industrial wastes into the ocean and inland water sources, and onto the land; in the south, desertification; overgrazing; sparse water and lack of arable land

note:  data does not include former Western Sahara

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 30.99 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 61.28 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 17.16 megatons (2020 est.)

note:  data does not include former Western Sahara

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 1.063 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial: 212 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural: 9.156 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

note:  data does not include former Western Sahara

Total renewable water resources

29 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

note:  data does not include former Western Sahara

Climate

Mediterranean in the north, becoming more extreme in the interior; in the south, hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew

note:  data does not include former Western Sahara

Land use

agricultural land: 67.5% (2018 est.)

arable land: 17.5% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 2.9% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 47.1% (2018 est.)

forest: 11.5% (2018 est.)

other: 21% (2018 est.)

note: does not include the area of the former Western Sahara, which is almost exclusively desert

Revenue from forest resources

forest revenues: 0.13% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

coal revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 64.1% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 1.88% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

note:  data does not include former Western Sahara

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Major infectious diseases

note: clusters of cases of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) are occurring in Morocco; as of 24 January 2021, Morocco has reported a total of 465,769 cases of COVID-19 or 1,261.9 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 22.0 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 6.852 million tons (2014 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 548,160 tons (2014 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 8% (2014 est.)

note:  data does not include former Western Sahara

Food insecurity

note:  data does not include former Western Sahara

NOTE: The information regarding Morocco on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Morocco 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Morocco 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.