Morocco Sees 10% Surge in Self-Employed Workers, Trade and Services Lead Growth

More specifically, the number of self-entrepreneurs increased from 272,263 in 2020 to 300,457 in 2021, the observatory said in its 2021 activity report, noting that it had counted 180,273 in 2019.

The increase in the number of self-entrepreneurs has taken place in many sectors of activity, but the report nevertheless notes particularly dynamic registrations in the "Services" (48.2%) and "Trade" (37%) sectors. Furthermore, 99.2% of self-entrepreneurs generated a turnover not exceeding 100,000 dirhams individually in 2021.

This increase in the number of self-entrepreneurs is taking place across the territory in a generally homogeneous way, with increases in the vast majority of regions. The Casablanca-Settat region stands out, accounting for 31.8% of the total, an increase of 1.9 points compared to 2019. It is followed by the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region with a share of 16%, marking a decrease of 0.9 points compared to 2019. As for the Marrakech-Safi region, this proportion is 11.6%. It is followed by Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceima with 9.8%.

According to the age groups, the observatory pointed out that the self-entrepreneur status has captured more new registrations among the 35-44 and 45-54 age groups, whose shares in the total population studied have increased by 2.2 points and 3.4 points respectively in 2020.