Survey: One in Three Moroccans Desire to Emigrate, Mainly to North America and Europe

About 35% of Moroccans (one Moroccan out of three) wish to emigrate, reveals a new opinion poll conducted by the Arab Barometer on migration. 26% of Moroccans said they want to migrate to the United States, 23% want to settle in Canada and France, 19% have opted for Germany and only 2% and 5% wish to leave Morocco to go respectively to Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

In Tunisia, the percentage is high. 46% of the Tunisian population want to emigrate. Next come Jordan with 42%, then Lebanon with 38%. The percentage of people wishing to emigrate from Morocco (35%) and Lebanon (38%) is similar to that of 2012. The percentages remain unchanged in Kuwait (16%) and Palestine (25%) over the past 12 years.

The survey also reveals that nationals of these countries wish to emigrate for economic reasons: 90% in Jordan and 89% in Tunisia, 72% in Lebanon and 69% in Mauritania, 57% in Palestine, 45% in Morocco and 29% in Kuwait. In Mauritania and Lebanon, 21% of people say they want to leave their country in search of education. They represent 18% in Morocco and 17% in Palestine. Less than 1 person out of 10 in Jordan (8%) and Tunisia (6%) choose immigration for educational reasons.