Morocco’s Poverty Rate Falls, Urban Areas See Biggest Improvement

This study, the results of which were presented during a webinar on Tuesday, June 8, shows that the relative poverty rate has declined between 2001 and 2019, from 20.4% to 17.7%. The data vary from one environment to another. The relative poverty rate is still at a high level in rural areas, reaching 36.8% in 2019, while the incidence of relative poverty has declined in urban areas from 9% to 6.4% over the same period.

In 2019, nearly 45% of Moroccans consider themselves subjectively poor (38.6% in urban areas and 58.4% in rural areas), the study also reveals. Subjective poverty (percentage of household heads who consider themselves in a state of poverty) affects all social classes but at different levels, notes the ONDH, stating that the subjective poverty rate, which stood at 55.7%, is among the 20% poorest and 26.7% among the 20% wealthiest.

At the national level, 48.5% of the population has experienced poverty at least once between 2012 and 2019. Also, 18.2% of individuals were in a situation of chronic poverty between 2012 and 2019, 34.4% in rural areas compared to 5.5% in urban areas. As for transient poverty, the individuals concerned at the national level represent 30.3% (21.9% urban dwellers against 41.3% rural).

An individual living in a poor household has a 56% chance of escaping this situation, while the risk of entering poverty for an individual from a non-poor household is 13.7%, the study on movements across the relative poverty threshold between 2012 and 2019 also indicates.