Study: Most Moroccans Prioritize National Identity Over Ethnic Affiliation

58% of Moroccans surveyed in this study carried out in 33 African countries admit to giving priority to national identity over ethnic identity. 36% consider them as equivalent. Only 6% of Moroccan respondents believe that their ethnic affiliation is more important. The African average stabilizes around 41%. In total, 14% of Africans surveyed attach more importance to their ethnic identity than to their national identity.

In Morocco, only 5% of respondents expressed having "a great deal of trust in members of other ethnic groups", the study reveals. 33% said they have "moderate trust", but the majority, or 49%, indicated they have "little trust in people of different ethnic origins", it is specified. Out of the total respondents, 13% of Moroccan citizens said they have no trust at all in them.

Regarding interethnic marriage, 19% have welcomed positively or quite positively the marriage of a family member with a person of a different ethnicity and 68% do not oppose it. Conversely, 11% said they are strongly or moderately opposed to interethnic marriages. On the African scale, 51% of respondents "welcome favorably the idea of a family member marrying a person of another ethnicity", while 38% do not oppose it.

Up to 61% of the Moroccans surveyed stated that their "ethnic group" has never been the victim of racial discrimination or unfair treatment based on ethnicity by the government, the study also reveals. Conversely, 25% of respondents indicated that they have sometimes faced this. 13% of respondents claim to have "often or always" been victims of racial discrimination or unfair treatment based on ethnicity by the government.

At the African level, 56% of respondents said their ethnic group never suffers discriminatory treatment from the government of their country. Madagascar tops the ranking with 92% of respondents saying they do not feel discriminatory treatment from their government. It is followed by Mozambique (26%) and Ethiopia (31%).