The Moroccan Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on Tuesday that the budget deficit reached 3.9% of gross domestic product in 2024, down from 4.4% in the previous year, and attributed this to an increase in tax revenues.
The ministry said, in a statement, that the deficit shrank to 64.4 billion dirhams ($6.46 billion) in 2024, down from 75 billion dirhams in the previous year, with government revenues growing by 15.2%.
The ministry added that the state treasury received more than 6 billion dirhams through the tax amnesty program in December, with 125 billion dirhams pumped into the Moroccan banking system.
She said the rise in revenues helped offset a 5.7% rise in public spending on salary increases, public investments, support for the National Electricity Company, and measures to reduce inflation and address drought.
Yesterday, the High Commission for Planning in Morocco expected the country’s gross domestic product to grow by 3.8% during the current year 2025.
The Delegation (the official body in charge of statistics) said in a report that the local economy’s growth expectations are due to agricultural growth of 4.1%, and non-agricultural sectors of 3.6%.
She pointed out that this expectation comes due to the current agricultural season, which is characterized by more favorable climatic conditions than those experienced last season, during which a large deficit in rainfall was recorded.
The authority expected domestic demand to rise by 4.2%, as household consumption will rise by 3% during the current year.
The report pointed out that the country’s exports of automobile and aircraft industries will witness an increase during the current year.
The delegation’s figures come at a time when the draft general budget in Morocco for the year 2025 expected the country’s economy to grow by 4.6%, with inflation at about 2%, while the Moroccan Central Bank, last December, expected growth of 3.9%.
The Moroccan Ministry of Tourism announced a few days ago that Morocco received a record number of tourists in 2024, amounting to 17.4 million people, an increase of 20% over the previous year. Tourism represents about 7% of Morocco’s gross domestic product and is a major source of employment and foreign currency.
