A UN survey in 2003 estimated cannabis cultivation at about 1,340km2 (520sqmi) in Morocco's five northern provinces. The industry sector consisting of mining, construction and manufacturing is an additional quarter.
Of its E.U. The construction and real estate sectors are also a part of the investment boom in the country. Morocco is expected to close the year 2008 with a budgetary surplus ranging between MAD 3 billion and MAD3.5 billion ($348 million to $407 million),[35] despite a difficult international context marked by a severe economic crisis. Economic growth is far more diversified, with new service and industrial poles, like Casablanca and Tangier, developing. The government in 2003 was using revenue from privatizations to finance increased spending.
Morocco instituted a series of development plans to modernize the economy and increase production during the 1960s. Morocco's economy is expected to achieve a 6.6% growth in the first quarter of 2009 up from 4.8% in the past quarter thanks to prospects for an agricultural campaign above the average of the past five years.
In the short term these subsidies are helping to ease the burden but they cannot keep rising indefinitely, and sooner or later the load will have to be shared out. Tourism is thus a major contributor to both the economic output and the current account balance, as well as a main job provider. There is a microwave radio relay to Gibraltar, Spain and the Western Sahara. [90] Germany will also take part in the development of a water-desalination plant. In 1998, the government launched a program to develop the northern region, largely with international help. The Moroccan Ministry of Equipment, Transport, Logistics, and Water aims to build an additional 3380 kilometers of expressway and 2100 kilometers of highway by 2030, at an expected cost of $9.6 billion. Growth will be well below the 810% levels that are widely regarded as necessary to have a major impact on poverty and unemployment. Historically, the Casablanca-Rabat axis has been more prosperous and has received more government attention than the predominantly mountainous northern provinces and the Western Sahara region. The rise in construction activities and efforts to improve infrastructure are creating many opportunities for public-private partnerships. Morocco has developed an ambitious strategy, dubbed "Vision 2010", aimed at attracting 10 million tourists by 2010.
The government owns the phosphate-chemical fertilizer industry and much of the sugar-milling capacity, through either partnership or joint financing. This rises to around one third in urban areasrural communities often employ the young in agriculture, including on the family farm, as soon as they leave school, contributing to relatively high youth employment rates (lower levels of official unemployment registration are also a factor).[86].
Urban areas saw particularly strong job growth, and the services and construction sectors were the two leading drivers of job creation. The cannabis is typically processed into hashish. The global financial crisis affected the Moroccan economy in only a limited way. With 30.5% of Morocco's population of 34.3m aged 14 or younger, according to the CIA, job creation for the young is one of the government's major priorities. In 2005, the government-in-exile of the Western Sahara invited foreign companies to bid on 12 contracts for offshore exploration, with hopes of awarding production sharing contracts by the end of 2005. Morocco's low social indicators and large infrastructure needs could justify an increase in social spending and public investment. [citation needed], The mining sector is one of the pillars of Morocco's economy. Reduced incomes due to drought caused GDP to fall by 7.6% in 1995, by 2.3% in 1997, and by 1.5% in 1999. Improved transport has brought the city into more direct contact with potential visitors. Tourists also arrive from Algeria, the United States, and East Asia, mainly Japan. It also employs about 39,000 people with an estimated MAD 571 million in salaries (2005). The call centre industry partially as a result of offshore initiatives, such as Casanearshore and Rabat Technoplis will continue to expand. The development of the tourist industry also figured prominently in the plan.
As of January 2008, hotels with good environmental practices will receive a Green Key label as part of a programme by the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment. Although the latter region has received government attention since the 1990s because of its phosphate deposits, the northern provinces, which include the Rif Mountains, home to 6 million Moroccans, had been largely neglected. In November 2009 Morocco announced a solar energy project worth $9 billion which officials said will account for 38 percent of the North African country's installed power generation by 2020. Agriculture production is extremely susceptible to rainfall levels and ranges from 13% to 20% of GDP. Manufacturing accounts for about one-sixth of GDP and is steadily growing in importance in the economy.
Mean wages were $2.88 per man-hour in 2009. Looking forward, the question of a possible anchor for medium-term fiscal policy is worth exploring.
The plan provides for creating six coastal resorts for holiday-home owners and tourists: five on the Atlantic coast and one on the Mediterranean. Advertising expenditure represented just over 0.6% of GDP in 2007, compared with 1% in Egypt and 1.5% to 2% in EU countries. On the whole, the growth rate of the economy will not reduce the unemployment rate Morocco sends a significant amount of its exports to the European Union. [82], Modern infrastructure development, such as ports, airports, and rail links, is a top government priority. Many of the processed agricultural products and consumer goods are primarily for local consumption, but Morocco exports canned fish and fruit, wine, leather goods, and textiles, as well as such traditional Moroccan handicrafts as carpets and brass, copper, silver, and wood implements. The economy has remained insulated from the worst effects of the world crisis. Noting however that human resources remain the major concern for companies seeking to gain a foothold in Morocco. Morocco's economy is the 61st largest in the world, according to the IMF, though its per-capita GDP is low compared to similarly ranked nations.
The service started as a test in November 2002 before it was launched in October 2003. Yet over 90% of subscribers have a broadband ADSL connection, which is one of the highest ratios in the world.
Government spending accounts for fully half of the service economy, despite an ongoing effort on the part of the government to sell much of its assets to private concerns. The share of Morocco fell to 3%. [44], In addition to smaller yields of other agricultural products.[45].
The automotive sector is already Morocco's leading export sector and has made the Kingdom the leading car manufacturer in Africa. Livestock are raised and forests yield cork, cabinet wood, and building materials. Unreliable rainfall is a chronic problem that produces drought or sudden floods. The future of Morocco's industrial segment looks bright, particularly as new initiatives make it more globally competitive in a variety of sectors.[54]. [70] That is an increase of 74% compared with the year 2005. However, there are still numerous missing elements: sunroofs, leather seats, instrument panels, foundry, screws, tires, radios and screens. The tender process in Morocco is becoming increasingly transparent. [21] Morocco has become a major player in African economic affairs,[22] and is the 5th largest African economy by GDP (PPP). (See section below). [56] Recalling that Morocco's textile and clothing exports totaled some $3.7 billion in 2007, Saad Benabdallah ascribed this performance to the many assets that Morocco enjoys, namely, geographical proximity, flexibility, sourcing skills and the multiple opportunities offered by Free Trade Agreements with the European Union, United States and Turkey. However, the overall deficit is projected to widen to 3.5 percent of GDP in 2008, driven by the upward surge in the fiscal cost of Morocco's universal subsidy scheme following the sharp increase in world commodity and oil prices. In these conditions and taking into consideration a cereal campaign nearing 70 million quintals, the agricultural value added could increase by 22.2% in the first quarter of 2009, thus contributing 2.9% to the national economic growth.[37][38]. The influx of European countries in Morocco's FDI represents 73.5% of the global amount received in 2007. Overall the contribution of industrial activity to GDP fluctuates between about 25% and 35% every year, depending on the performance of the agriculture sector.