Morocco’s Regional Economies Show Uneven Recovery Post-Pandemic

Hailed by all international financial institutions, the resilience of the Moroccan economy has had positive effects on all regions, says Aujourd’hui Le Maroc, which nevertheless notes regional disparities in terms of socio-economic development.

Referring to the economic and financial report accompanying the 2022 Finance Bill, the newspaper indicates that "the growth prospects of the regions remain dependent on the degree of diversification of the local productive fabric, its integration into global value chains or the level of dependence of each region on sectors that are slow to recover from the effects of the crisis, particularly tourism and transport".

In this regard, the report notes in the ranking of the regions that have fared better after the crisis in 2021, that the Drâa-Tafilalet region is at the top of the territories, driven mainly by the real estate sector, rental and services rendered to companies to the tune of 2.7%, or 742 million dirhams out of a total of 1.74 billion dirhams.

Next, the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region is positioned, driven by 1.9% by the real estate, rental and business services sectors as well as 1.7% by public administration and social security.

The rest of the ranking is respectively occupied by the Guelmim-Oued Noun regions driven mainly by the public administration and social security sectors (3.5%) and education, health and social action (1.4%), Casablanca-Settat, driven by the food and tobacco industries sectors to the tune of 2.4%, the public administration and social security sector (1%) and real estate, rental and business services (0.08%), and finally the Oriental which hopes for a recovery that would exceed the value added observed in 2019 (2.1%). Public administration and social security stands out among the main contributing sectors to this dynamic (1.3%), followed by education, health and social action (1.1%)", continues the DEPF.

Furthermore, the report specifies that the Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceima region would continue to suffer the negative effects of the health crisis, and would thus show a partial recovery of the post-crisis level. Note that the region would record a 2.3% loss in its value added compared to 2019, a decline driven by the mechanical, metallurgical and electrical industries sector (-2%), hotels and restaurants (-1.8%), trade (-1.1%) and transport (-0.8%).