Unemployment in Morocco reaches 21.3%, and the population pyramid is aging economy

The Moroccan authorities announced today, Tuesday, that the unemployment rate in the country has risen to 21.3% over the past ten years, based on the results of the 2024 census.

“During the period between 2014 and 2024, the unemployment rate moved from 16.2% to 21.3%,” said Chakib Benmoussa, head of the High Commission for Planning (government), in a press conference devoted to presenting the detailed results of the 2024 General Population Census.

He added, “The rate moved from 19.3% to 21.2% in urban areas, and from 10.5 to 21.4% in rural areas.”

Benmoussa confirmed that “the unemployment rate in 2024 will reach 25.9%, compared to 29.6% in 2014, while for men it will reach 20.1% in 2024, compared to 12.4% in 2014.”

The estimates contained in the census exceed the figures previously announced by the delegation, stating that the unemployment rate in the Kingdom rose by 13.6% during the third quarter of this year.

The government official attributed the differences in unemployment numbers to the fact that the census results are reached through the statements of citizens participating in this census, while periodic numbers depend on multiple sources and are subject to scrutiny and data review.

The draft general budget in Morocco expected the country’s economy to grow by 4.6% with inflation of about 2% in 2025.

Slowing population growth

Chakib Benmoussa revealed today that Morocco’s population growth slowed by 0.85%, the fertility rate also decreased, and the population pyramid began to trend toward aging.

The High Commissioner for Planning said, “The fertility index in Morocco has decreased, as the results showed that every Moroccan woman has fewer than two children, which falls below the threshold for generational compensation.”

Also, “the population pyramid has inverted, as the proportion of children under 15 years of age and the active population has begun to decline, compared to the increase in the population over 60 years of age.”

In relation to demographic development, Benmoussa considered that the population would not decrease “because there is continuous dynamism,” but he said that “Moroccans will not reach 40 million people before 2048 or 2050, when the demographic peak will be reached.”

The results of the 2024 census recorded that the population of Morocco reached 36.8 million people, an increase of 2.98 million people, or 8.8%, compared to the last census in 2014.

future constraints

Benmoussa said, “There will be studies in the coming months on demographic projections for the future that will give accurate numbers, but this gives us an idea of ​​the constraints that we will face in the future as a result of the decline in fertility.”

Benmoussa also revealed in the press conference that the percentage of families headed by women has risen to 19% as a national average and 22% in urban areas.

The urbanization rate rose from 51.4% in the 1990s to 62.8% in 2024.

Over the course of last September, the Kingdom organized the census for the seventh time in its history and conducts it every 10 years, and published its preliminary results last November.