Aging in Morocco: The Shocking Numbers Where 3 Out of 10 Seniors Have No Income

In Morocco, the family remains the primary refuge for elderly people, but it also compensates for significant economic fragility. According to the first results of the HCP’s 2025 National Survey on the Family, nearly three out of ten seniors, or 31%, have no source of income. They have neither pensions, nor employment, nor regular transfers.

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The report emphasizes that only 9% of seniors say their income covers all their needs. The majority must therefore make do with partial resources: 19.1% say they cover a good portion of their needs, while 40.8% can only cover a minimal portion.

This precariousness affects rural areas more severely. The complete absence of income concerns 37.7% of elderly people living in the countryside, compared to 27.4% in urban areas. Urban seniors are also more likely to be able to fully or largely cover their needs through their income.

The gap is even more pronounced between men and women. The HCP indicates that 51.6% of elderly women have no source of income, compared to only 9.8% of men. This difference is explained notably by more discontinuous career paths, lower access to pensions, and stronger dependence on family.

In this context, children and relatives play an essential role. Nearly 59.3% of seniors live with at least one child, while the share of elderly people living alone remains limited to 5.9%. The household continues to function as a protective framework, even though transformations in the Moroccan family are making this solidarity more fragile.

Population aging intensifies this challenge. The share of people aged 60 and older increased from 9.4% in 2014 to 13.8% in 2024, and could reach nearly 10 million people by 2050, according to HCP projections.

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Behind these numbers, the report reveals a harsh reality: many elderly people continue to depend on their children, spouses, or relatives to meet daily expenses. In Morocco, growing old therefore remains largely a family affair, especially when income is lacking.