northern coast and interior are mountainous with large areas
of bordering plateaus, intermontane valleys, and rich coastal plains

Elevation extremes:
lowest point : Sebkha Tah -55 m
highest point: Jebel Toubkal 4,165 m

Natural resources: phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead, zinc, fish,
salt

Land use:
arable land: 21%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 47%
forests and woodland: 20%
other : 11% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 12,580 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: northern mountains geologically unstable and subject
to earthquakes; periodic droughts

Environment - current issues: land degradation/desertification (soil
erosion resulting from farming of marginal areas, overgrazing,
destruction of vegetation); water supplies contaminated by raw sewage;
siltation of reservoirs; oil pollution of coastal waters

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea

Geography - note: strategic location along Strait of Gibraltar

@Morocco:People

Population: 30,391,423 (July 1997 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years : 37% (male 5,730,322; female 5,552,490)
15-64 years: 59% (male 8,832,635; female 8,949,126)
65 years and over: 4% (male 629,816; female 697,034) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.02% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 26.83 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 5.58 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 40.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.08 years
male : 68.04 years
female: 72.21 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.47 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Nationality:
noun : Moroccan(s)
adjective: Moroccan

Ethnic groups: Arab-Berber 99.1%, other 0.7%, Jewish 0.2%

Religions: Muslim 98.7%, Christian 1.1%, Jewish 0.2%

Languages: Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often the
language of business, government, and diplomacy

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