|RNational holiday:|N Independence Day, November 18.
|RNature and climate:|N Mountainous country on the northwest coast of Africa. Four different ranges of the Atlas Mountains dominate; Riff-Atlas, Middle Atlas, Upper Atlas and Anti-Atlas. The highest peak, Toubkal, reaches 4165 m.a.s.l. There are fertile plains by the coast in the west and between the mountains. South and east of the mountains deserts and half-deserts.
Grass-steppe is the dominating vegetation.
Average temperature in January between 10 and 15°C and in July between 22 and 28°C.
Percipitation between 400 and 800 mm in the north and less than 200 mm south of the mountains.
|RPeople:|N Arab-Berbs 99%. Some Europeans and a small black minority in the south.
|REconomy:|N 50% of the labour force is occupied in agriculture, 26% in different services and 15% in industry.
Traditionally fishing is of great importance but Moroccan fishingboats only take small parts of the resources.
Stockraizing is also traditional and give hides for handicrafts and wool for an extensive textile industry, but milk and diaries must be imported.
Most agriculture is traditional with very small farms. Most important crops are grain, fruits, sugar, dates, grapes and cotton.
Morocco have great mineral resources. It has more than 60% of the world resources of phosphate and is the world's biggest exporter.
Other important minerals are iron, copper, lead, zinc, manganese, cobalt, coal, oil and natural gas.
The chemical industry is important and aimed at processing the raw phosphate. There are also oilrefineries.
Foodprocessing, sugarrefineries and canningfactories, are most important for employment.
The textile industry is extensive and so is tourism.
|RHistory:|N The southern part of Morocco was in ancient times called Mauritania and inhabited by Berber tribes.
Phoenicians and Carthagians established a number of settlements along the Mediterranean coast and 42 AD the realm was organized as two Roman provinces. The Romans actually only controlled the coastal areas and the inland- and mountain-tribes lived their traditional free lives.
In the middle of the 7th century Islamic Arabs invaded and by the end of the century most of the native Berber-tribes had converted to Islam and the area became a part of the islamic empire.
In the late 8th century Berbs and Arabs were united in an independent kingdom and the capital Fez became a major religious and cultural centre.
The Almoravid dynasty from Mauritania conquered Morocco in the early 11th century and after that ruled a vast Islamic empire comprising Mauritania, Morocco, western Algeria and Spain. The Almoravids were ousted by another Islamic sect, the Almohads.
From the 13th century and on Portuguese, Spanish and British established trade centers on the Moroccan coast and in 1492 the last Moroccans were thrown out from the Iberian Peninsula.
After centuries of decline Morocco was reunited under the present Alawid dynasty and most of the foreign settlements were conquered. Piracy became an important source of income for Morocco.
During the 19th century Spain established new colonies in the Moroccan coast and in the early 20th century increased their control over Morocco and in 1912 a small area came under Spanish sovereignty, while the greatest part of Morocco became a French colony.
During World War II Morocco became a battleground and after the war, in 1947, the Moroccan liberation forces began open warfare against the French.
Morocco became an independent country in 1956 and the same year the former Spanish settlement Tangier was incorporated. In 1969 Spain ceded the enclave Infi to Morocco.
Since independence the king has ruled the country in a state of emergency.
In 1976 Spain withdrew from their colony Spanish Sahara, now known as Western Sahara, on the Moroccan southern border. Morocco immediately annexed two-thirds of the territory, while Mauritania claimed the rest.
In 1979 Mauritania gave up it's claims.
Since 1976 Morocco has fought an expensive war against the Polisario Spanish Sahara liberation movement, but in 1991 Morocco allowed the UN to make preparations for a referendum on self-determination in Western Sahara.
