FAX: (37) 76 56 61

FAX: (202) 265-0161

consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Edward M. GABRIEL

embassy: 2 Avenue de Mohamed El Fassi, Rabat

mailing address: PSC 74, Box 3, APO AE 90718

telephone: (37) 76 22 65

consulate(s) general: Casablanca

Flag description: red with a green pentacle (five-pointed, linear star) known as Solomon's seal in the center of the flag; green is the traditional color of Islam

Morocco Economy

Economy - overview: Morocco faces the problems typical of developing countries - restraining government spending, reducing constraints on private activity and foreign trade, and achieving sustainable economic growth. Following structural adjustment programs supported by the IMF, World Bank, and the Paris Club, the dirham is now fully convertible for current account transactions, and reforms of the financial sector have been implemented. Drought conditions depressed activity in the key agricultural sector and contributed to a stagnant economy in 1999 and 2000. During that time, however, Morocco reported large foreign exchange inflows from the sale of a mobile telephone license and partial privatization of the state-owned telecommunications company. Favorable rainfalls have led Morocco to predict a growth of 1% for 2001. Formidable long-term challenges include: servicing the external debt; preparing the economy for freer trade with the EU; and improving education and attracting foreign investment to boost living standards and job prospects for Morocco's youthful population.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $105 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 0.8% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,500 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 15%

industry: 33%

services: 52% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line: 19% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.6%

highest 10%: 30.9% (1998-99)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 11 million (1997 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 50%, services 35%, industry 15% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate: 23% (1999 est.)

Budget: revenues: $9.6 billion

expenditures: $8.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.1 billion (2001 est.)

Industries: phosphate rock mining and processing, food processing, leather goods, textiles, construction, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 0.5% (1999 est.)

Electricity - production: 13.695 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 89.19%

hydro: 10.81%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 13.441 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 705 million kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: barley, wheat, citrus, wine, vegetables, olives; livestock

Exports: $7.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: phosphates and fertilizers, food and beverages, minerals

Exports - partners: France 35%, Spain 9%, UK 8%, Germany 7%, US 5% (1999)

Imports: $12.2 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Imports - commodities: semiprocessed goods, machinery and equipment, food and beverages, consumer goods, fuel

Imports - partners: France 32%, Spain 12%, Italy 7%, Germany 6%, UK 6% (1999)

Debt - external: $18.4 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $565.6 million (1995)

Currency: Moroccan dirham (MAD)

Currency code: MAD

Exchange rates: Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 10.590 (January 2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999), 9.604 (1998), 9.527 (1997), 8.716 (1996)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Morocco Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 1.391 million (1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 116,645 (1998)

Telephone system: general assessment: modern system with all important capabilities; however density is low with only 4.6 main lines available for each 100 persons

domestic: good system composed of open-wire lines, cables, and microwave radio relay links; Internet available but expensive; principal switching centers are Casablanca and Rabat; national network nearly 100% digital using fiber-optic links; improved rural service employs microwave radio relay

international: 7 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Gibraltar, Spain, and Western Sahara; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Algeria; participant in Medarabtel; fiber-optic cable link from Agadir to Algeria and Tunisia (1998)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 27, FM 25, shortwave 6 (1998)

Radios: 6.64 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 35 (plus 66 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions: 3.1 million (1997)

Internet country code: .ma

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 8 (2000)

Internet users: 120,000 (1999)

Morocco Transportation

Railways: total: 1,907 km

standard gauge: 1,907 km 1.435-m gauge (1,003 km electrified; 540 km double track)

Highways: total: 57,847 km

paved: 30,254 km (including 327 km of expressways)

unpaved: 27,593 km (1998)

Waterways: none

Pipelines: crude oil 362 km; petroleum products 491 km (abandoned); natural gas 241 km

Ports and harbors: Agadir, El Jadida, Casablanca, El Jorf Lasfar,
Kenitra, Mohammedia, Nador, Rabat, Safi, Tangier; also
Spanish-controlled Ceuta and Melilla

Merchant marine: total: 41 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 223,052 GRT/272,786 DWT

ships by type: cargo 9, chemical tanker 6, container 5, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea passenger 1 (2000 est.)

Airports: 69 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 26

over 3,047 m: 10

2,438 to 3,047 m: 5

1,524 to 2,437 m: 9

914 to 1,523 m: 1

under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 43

2,438 to 3,047 m: 1

1,524 to 2,437 m: 11

914 to 1,523 m: 20

under 914 m: 11 (2000 est.)

Heliports: 1 (2000 est.)

Morocco Military

Military branches: Royal Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air
Force), Gendarmerie, Auxiliary Forces

Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 8,182,073 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 5,160,374 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 348,380 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $1.4 billion (FY99/00)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 4% (FY99/00)

Morocco Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: claims and administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty is unresolved and the UN is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue; the UN-administered cease-fire has been in effect since September 1991; Spain controls five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco - the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla which Morocco contests, as well as the islands of Penon de Alhucemas, Penon de Velez de la Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of hashish; trafficking on the increase for both domestic and international drug markets; shipments of hashish mostly directed to Western Europe; transit point for cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe

@Mozambique

Mozambique Introduction

Background: Almost five centuries as a Portuguese colony came to a close with independence in 1975. Large-scale emigration by whites, economic dependence on South Africa, a severe drought, and a prolonged civil war hindered the country's development. The ruling party formally abandoned Marxism in 1989, and a new constitution the following year provided for multiparty elections and a free market economy. A UN-negotiated peace agreement with rebel forces ended the fighting in 1992.

Mozambique Geography

Location: Southern Africa, bordering the Mozambique Channel, between
South Africa and Tanzania

Geographic coordinates: 18 15 S, 35 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 801,590 sq km

land: 784,090 sq km

water: 17,500 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly less than twice the size of California

Land boundaries: total: 4,571 km

border countries: Malawi 1,569 km, South Africa 491 km, Swaziland 105 km, Tanzania 756 km, Zambia 419 km, Zimbabwe 1,231 km

Coastline: 2,470 km

Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: tropical to subtropical

Terrain: mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in northwest, mountains in west

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m

highest point: Monte Binga 2,436 m

Natural resources: coal, titanium, natural gas, hydropower, tantalum, graphite

Land use: arable land: 4%

permanent crops: 0%

permanent pastures: 56%

forests and woodland: 18%

other: 22% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 1,200 sq km (2000 est.)

Natural hazards: severe droughts and floods occur in central and southern provinces; devastating cyclones

Environment - current issues: a long civil war and recurrent drought in the hinterlands have resulted in increased migration of the population to urban and coastal areas with adverse environmental consequences; desertification; pollution of surface and coastal waters

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Mozambique People

Population: 19,371,057

note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected; the 1997 Mozambican census reported a population of 16,099,246 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 42.72% (male 4,124,093; female 4,152,135)

15-64 years: 54.53% (male 5,222,477; female 5,339,615)

65 years and over: 2.75% (male 221,678; female 311,059) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.3% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 37.2 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 24.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female

total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 139.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 36.45 years

male: 37.25 years

female: 35.62 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.82 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 13.22% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 1.2 million (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 98,000 (1999 est.)

Nationality: noun: Mozambican(s)

adjective: Mozambican

Ethnic groups: indigenous tribal groups 99.66% (Shangaan, Chokwe, Manyika, Sena, Makua, and others), Europeans 0.06%, Euro-Africans 0.2%, Indians 0.08%

Religions: indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%

Languages: Portuguese (official), indigenous dialects

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 42.3%

male: 58.4%

female: 27% (1998 est.)

Mozambique Government

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Mozambique

conventional short form: Mozambique

local long form: Republica de Mocambique

local short form: Mocambique

former: Portuguese East Africa

Government type: republic

Capital: Maputo

Administrative divisions: 10 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Nampula, Niassa, Sofala, Tete, Zambezia

Independence: 25 June 1975 (from Portugal)

National holiday: Independence Day, 25 June (1975)

Constitution: 30 November 1990

Legal system: based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Joaquim Alberto
CHISSANO (since 6 November 1986); note - before being popularly
elected, CHISSANO was elected president by Frelimo's Central
Committee 4 November 1986 (reelected by the Committee 30 July 1989)

head of government: Prime Minister Pascoal MOCUMBI (since NA December 1994)

cabinet: Cabinet

elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 3-5 December 1999 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president

election results: Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO reelected president; percent of vote - Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO 52.29%, Afonso DHLAKAMA 47.71%

Legislative branch: unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (250 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote on a secret ballot to serve five-year terms)

elections: last held 3-5 December 1999 (next to be held NA 2004)

election results: percent of vote by party - Frelimo 48.54%, Renamo-UE 38.81%; seats by party - Frelimo 133, Renamo-UE 117

note: Renamo-UE ran as a multiparty coalition; none of the other opposition parties received the 5% required to win parliamentary seats

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (the court of final appeal; some of its professional judges are appointed by the president and some are elected by the Assembly); other courts include an Administrative Court, customs courts, maritime courts, courts marshal, labor courts

note: although the constitution provides for the creation of a separate Constitutional Court, one has never been established; in its absence the Supreme Court reviews constitutional cases

Political parties and leaders: Front for the Liberation of
Mozambique (Frente de Liberatacao de Mocambique) or Frelimo [Joaquim
Alberto CHISSANO, chairman]; Mozambique National Resistance -
Electoral Union (Resistencia Nacional Mocambicana - Uniao Eleitoral)
or Renamo-UE [Afonso DHLAKAMA, president]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA,
FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer),
ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Marcos Geraldo NAMASHULUA

chancery: Suite 570, 1990 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20036

telephone: (202) 293-7146