Morocco Geography - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Location

Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Mauritania

Geographic coordinates

28 30 N, 10 00 W

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 716,550 sq km

land: 716,300 sq km

water: 250 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly larger than twice the size of California

Land boundaries

total: 3,523.5 km

border countries (3): Algeria 1,941 km; Mauritania 1,564 km; Spain (Ceuta) 8 km and Spain (Melilla) 10.5 km

note: an additional 75-meter border segment exists between Morocco and the Spanish exclave of Penon de Velez de la Gomera

Coastline

2,945 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

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

Terrain

mountainous northern coast (Rif Mountains) and interior (Atlas Mountains) bordered by large plateaus with intermontane valleys, and fertile coastal plains; the south is mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces 

Elevation

highest point: Jebel Toubkal 4,165 m

lowest point: Sebkha Tah -59 m

mean elevation: 909 m

Natural resources

phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead, zinc, fish, salt

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

Irrigated land

17,645 sq km (2019)

Major rivers (by length in km)

Draa - 1,100 km

Population distribution

the highest population density is found along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts; a number of densely populated agglomerations are found scattered through the Atlas Mountains as shown in this population distribution map

Natural hazards

in the north, the mountains are geologically unstable and subject to earthquakes; periodic droughts; windstorms; flash floods; landslides; in the south, a hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility

Geography - note

strategic location along Strait of Gibraltar; the only African nation to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines; the waters off the Atlantic coast are particularly rich fishing areas

NOTE: The information regarding Morocco on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Morocco 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Morocco 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.