Moroccan Self-Perception of Poverty Soars Despite Official Low Rates, Study Finds

45% of Moroccans consider themselves poor. This is the result of a survey conducted during 2012-2019, by the National Observatory of Human Development (ONDH) which published this figure in its latest report on the "dynamics of poverty" in Morocco. This index does not take into account the Covid-19 epidemic that hit the country, and may well emphasize emotions.

It is a "subjective poverty" reassures the observatory which specifies in the daily that it is a percentage of household heads who consider themselves in a situation of poverty and which varies greatly between the rural and urban environment.

Indeed, when asked "in which social level do you classify your household in comparison with what prevails in your social environment: is it among the very rich, the relatively rich, the middle class, the relatively poor or the very poor?" "Only" 38.6% of Moroccans in urban areas consider themselves poor, compared to 58.4% in rural areas.

Curiously, when the real poverty curve goes down (in terms of income), the subjective poverty curve goes up. Statistics show that Morocco is controlling absolute poverty. But instability, fear of the future and inequalities are still very present. The kingdom is the most unequal country in North Africa.

From there, Morocco is called upon to adopt individual targeting strategies within the framework of poverty reduction programs to better understand it in order to effectively combat it. In reality, the fight against poverty in Morocco involves measuring it and analyzing its causes in order to propose adequate and targeted policies. Indeed, poverty remains a very complex phenomenon, making it necessary to use so-called "longitudinal" approaches. Thus, it is necessary, for example, to analyze individual trajectories, in particular the entry and exit from poverty.

The downgrading is already geographical, because the Morocco of the "city" and the Morocco of the "countryside" continues to widen. Poverty affects most people in rural areas where nearly 60% of the population considers itself poor. In the city, the rate drops to 40%. This feeling continues to grow in rural areas, but stagnates in urban areas.

Thus, living in an abandoned neighborhood accentuates the feeling of poverty. Consequently, the lack of infrastructure such as access to drinking water, sanitation and communication routes strongly points to certain areas, particularly in the eastern or southern part of the country. In Zagora in 2017 "Signs of Thirst", the inhabitants were demanding better service for access to drinking water, the document indicates.

The tax system also imposes most taxes on the middle class. Half of the population does not pay income tax because their incomes are too low or due to the informal economy. Businesses rarely participate in national efforts. 82% of corporate tax revenues come from only 2% of businesses. There is also a property tax that is almost non-existent, the same source specifies.

But all is not lost. Relying on the results of the study carried out by the ONDH, the conclusions of which were presented on June 8 as part of a webinar, it appears that a poor individual has a better chance of getting out of poverty than of staying in it (55.7% against 43.3%) and that a non-poor individual has a better chance of remaining non-poor (86.3%) than of falling into poverty (13.7%). Furthermore, the risks of entering poverty are particularly linked to situations of non-employment, low educational level or demographic composition of the household, the report concludes.