Article Outline
Some 94 percent of Morocco’s electricity production in 2003 was generated in thermal plants, and the remainder was produced in hydroelectric facilities. Morocco’s output of electricity in 2003 was 17.3 billion kilowatt-hours.
Morocco’s unit of currency is the dirham, consisting of 100 centimes. Currency is issued by the Banque al-Maghrib (1959), the state bank. The country also has a number of large private banks.
Morocco’s leading exports are phosphates and phosphoric acid. Other exports include citrus fruit, wheat, fish, and minerals. Exports in 2003 earned $8.8 billion. Imports were valued at $14.2 billion. Imports typically consist of industrial equipment, food products, manufactured goods, and fuels. The principal purchasers of Morocco’s exports are France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, and the United States; chief sources of imports are France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. Morocco gains much foreign exchange from remittances by Moroccans working abroad and from the expenditures of the large number of tourists who visit the country each year.
Nearly all goods move in and out of Morocco by ship, and the country has extensive port facilities. Casablanca remains the most important port. Other ports include Agadir, Kenitra, Mohammedia, Safi, and Tangier. The country has a limited but efficient rail network, with 1,907 km (1,185 mi) of railroad track. The main lines connect Tangier to Fès, Casablanca, and Marrakech; from Fès tracks run east to Oujda and on to Algeria. Morocco 57,694 km (36,786 mi) of roads, 56 percent of which are hard-surfaced. Domestic and international air service is provided by Royal Air Maroc; several major foreign airlines also serve Morocco.
Until the 1980s virtually every aspect of the press—radio, television, newspapers, and magazines—was tightly controlled by the Ministry of the Interior and Information. Radio and television were exclusively in the hands of the government, while the press practiced self-censorship. The situation has since become more open, and the press is freer to investigate social issues than it had been. However, attacks on Islam, the monarchy, or Moroccan territorial integrity—namely, Western Sahara—are offenses punishable by prison sentences.
Radio and television programs are broadcast in several languages in Morocco. The government-run Radio-Television Marocaine (RTM) broadcasts radio programs mainly in Arabic, although the major cities have programming in French. Berber shows also are produced. A commercial radio station, Médi-1, began operation in Tangier in the mid-1980s, and a private cable channel, 2M, began operation in 1989. Television broadcasts are in French and Arabic. The country has 23 daily newspapers and numerous periodicals.
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