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Economic disparities persist in Morocco despite moderate growth in 2022-2023

Monday 17 February 2025 - 14:30

By: Dakir Madiha

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The High Commission for Planning (HCP) has unveiled the findings of its National Household Living Standards Survey, conducted between March 2022 and March 2023. Based on data from 18,000 representative households across Morocco's regions and socioeconomic groups, the study highlights a structural improvement in living standards, tempered by widening inequalities and increased vulnerability among certain population segments.

Between 2014 and 2022, the average annual household expenditure rose from 76,317 dirhams to 83,713 dirhams. While the period from 2014 to 2019 saw annual growth of 3.1%, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a contraction of -3.1% annually between 2019 and 2022. This stagnation exacerbated precariousness, particularly among the middle class.

The study reveals disparities in living standard trends. The poorest 20% of the population experienced an average annual improvement of 1.1% between 2014 and 2022. However, this group saw a sharp decline of -4.6% between 2019 and 2022. Similarly, the middle class, which grew by 3.3% annually from 2014 to 2019, faced a steep drop of -4.3% after 2019.

Conversely, the wealthiest 20% registered a modest increase of 1.4% in their living standards over the entire period, with a less severe decline of -1.7% during the pandemic years. These dynamics have contributed to a rise in inequality, as reflected in Morocco's Gini index, which increased from 39.5% in 2014 to 40.5% in 2022.

Household consumption patterns have also shifted. The share of spending on food rose from 37% in 2014 to 38.2% in 2022, while expenditures on housing and energy climbed from 23% to 25.4%. In contrast, spending on leisure and culture plummeted from 1.9% to 0.5%.

Absolute poverty rates present a mixed picture. While poverty decreased nationally from 4.8% in 2014 to 3.9% in 2022, rural areas experienced a significant reduction (from 9.5% to 6.9%), whereas urban poverty slightly increased (from 1.6% to 2.2%).

In 2022, approximately 1.42 million Moroccans were living below the poverty line, including 906,000 in rural areas and 512,000 in urban areas. Certain regions reported poverty rates well above the national average, such as Fès-Meknès (9%), Guelmim-Oued Noun (7.6%), and Béni Mellal-Khénifra (6.6%).

Beyond the statistics, the HCP survey underscores an alarming trend: vulnerability now affects both rural and urban populations, placing a growing segment of Moroccan society at risk. These findings raise pressing questions about the effectiveness of social and redistributive policies in addressing these challenges.