Morocco’s Urban-Rural Income Gap: City Households Earn Nearly 3 Times More

The HCP states in its note that "the total income of Moroccan households is estimated annually at more than 767 billion dirhams", specifying after analysis, that the income of urban households, estimated at more than 564 billion dirhams, exceeds 2.8 times that of rural households, estimated at more than 203 billion dirhams.

In detail, the HCP explains that "50% of households nationwide have an average monthly income of more than 5,133 DH, half of which are urban households with 5,609 DH and the other half are rural households with 4,237 DH". The note adds that the average annual income per person nationwide is 21,515 DH, or 1,793 DH per month. In urban and rural areas, it is respectively 24,992 DH, or 2,083 DH per month and 15,560 DH, or 1,297 DH per month.

"With an average annual income per capita of 57,400 DH, the 20% of the population with the highest incomes have an income about 10 times (9.6) that of the 20% of the population with the lowest incomes (6,000 DH)," the note states, specifying that "in urban areas, the average annual income per capita is 65,070 DH for the top 20% compared to 7,286 DH for the bottom 20%, while in rural areas it is 40,700 DH for the first category compared to 4,900 DH for the second".

The HCP also reveals that in 2019, the share of people with low incomes stood at 12.7% nationwide, 6.8% in urban areas and 22.9% in rural areas. And to add that the level of income varies according to socio-demographic factors, including in particular the age, sex, level of education and socio-professional category of the head of household.

These data are from the survey conducted between December 2019 and the end of March 2020 on a sample of 3,290 households across the national territory, concludes the HCP.