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European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Rabat – Morocco’s economy has demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of adversity, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) projecting an annual growth rate of 3% in 2024.
The optimistic outlook comes despite the severe impact of a 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the central regions near Marrakech in September 2023.
In a report published on Wednesday, EBRD maintains that the positive growth prospects are mainly supported by the recovery in external demand, which translates into higher exports, and government investment.
Under EBRD’s current projections, Morocco’s economic growth should average 3.6% in 2025.
The report argues that despite the increasing expenditures related to post-earthquake relief and reconstruction efforts, the government is continuing to advance fiscal consolidation policies aimed at reducing government debt.
While inflation eased to 3% by February 2024, unemployment is a persisting challenge for the North African country. At the end of 2023, unemployment reached a historical 13% exacerbated by the colossal job loss due to the lingering drought.
Morocco’s economy, however, remains highly exposed to the country’s dependence on energy imports and climate risks caused by its rain-dependent agriculture.
Over the past years, Morocco has been actively attempting to diversify its economy away from agriculture.
In 2021, the country issued a state plan for socio-economic development dubbed the New Development Model, which stressed the need for a diversified economy to offset the risks associated with rain-fall agriculture.
Agriculture’s share of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been steadily decreasing over the past decade. However, as of 2023, it still only accounts for over 10% of the GDP.
Beyond over-reliance on agriculture, unemployment in Morocco is still driven by a host of other culturally-motivated factors, including gender, as joblessness among women remains higher than average at 18%.