Oxfam Report: Morocco Faces Highest Inequality in North Africa Despite Economic Growth

Morocco is ranked 143rd out of 153 countries in terms of the global gender gap index, according to the World Economic Forum 2020 report. It is also the most unequal country in North Africa and in the more unequal half of the countries on the planet, according to the Oxfam report.

Growth has been dynamic over the past 20 years, and the country has had considerable success in reducing poverty, which is now below 5%, the international organization says. However, the reduction of inequalities is struggling to become a reality.

"It is impossible to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor without adopting policies specifically aimed at fighting inequalities. Very few governments are implementing such policies," said Abdeljalil Laroussi, advocacy and campaign manager at Oxfam in Morocco, quoted in the report. Especially since "these inequalities are not natural, but are the result of political choices and an unfair development model".

He recalls that this model was moreover challenged by the king after his speech to Parliament in October 2018, which allowed the debate and reflection on the development model of Morocco to be launched, attesting to its limits, marked by the predominance of the rentier economy and the use of exclusive and non-transparent practices.

Globally, "the 22 richest men in the world own more than the entire female population of Africa," the Oxfam report also states.