The Kingdom of Morocco and King Mohamed VI

The Kingdom of Morocco is a sovereign nation located in the northwest corner of the African continent with a population of approximately 31,224,000 people it is the 37^th most populous country in the world, after Canada, which is 36^th. Morocco, as it's more commonly referred to as, is the 57^th biggest country in terms of geographic area, with approximately 446,550 square kilometers of territory within the nation. As a result of this vast amount of territory, despite having a sizeable population, Morocco isn't densely populated, and is only the 122^nd most densely populated country in the world. Morocco is geographically situated near the Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Western Sahara, and Algeria. Morocco is also very closely situated to Spain and is only separated by the Strait of Gibraltar. Both countries offer regular ferry rides from port to port, and it only takes approximately one hour to get to each coast by ferry boat. Much like the country in its entirety, Rabat, the capital of Morocco and Casablanca, the largest city, are also heavily populated. Rabat has a population in excess of 1.6 million, while Casablanca has close to 3 million inhabitants. Both, needless to say, are chief economic centers and contribute a lot toward the Moroccan economy.

Morocco has a diverse geographic terrain that includes the Atlas Mountain range, the Sahara Desert, fertile plains, and a coastal region. Though Morocco is full of small rural villages where the agricultural industry flourishes, more than half of the country's population resides in the urban areas. Despite this statistic, the agricultural sector employs approximately 40 percent of the Moroccan labor force and contributes immensely to the national economy. Unfortunately, of the remaining 60 percent of the national labor force, approximately 20 percent of those workers are currently unemployed. The chief agricultural products that are produced are barley, wheat, cereals, olives, tropical fruits, wine grapes, illegal hashish, and livestock are also raised. The primary crops are dependent on the geographical region of the country, as some regions are unable to farm certain products due to lack of irrigation. The fishing and shipping industry along the coastline is also important to the country and Morocco has several important fishing harbors, including: Agadir, Essaouira, El Jadida, and Larache. Casablanca is the country's largest port by far, and much of Morocco's industry is centered there. Some of the industries most prevalent in Casablanca include textiles, food processing, oil refining, mineral deposits, and leather goods manufacturing. The tourism industry is also experiencing rapid growth as Morocco is increasingly becoming a tourist destination among the global community.

The Moroccan people aren't as diverse as many of their African neighbors, and a majority of the country's inhabitants are ethnic Moroccan's who have lineage ties to Muslim Arab-Berbers. Thus, Islam is the most predominant religion in the country, though there are small Christian and Jewish communities that are surprisingly treated with tolerance despite being overwhelmingly the minorities. The official and most widely-spoken language in Morocco is Arabic, much like most of northern Africa, though the French language is also widely spoken due to their colonial ties to the French Empire. Many aspects of French and Spanish culture are still evident in Morocco today, as Spain is so close to Morocco and thus able to spread its influence, and Morocco is a former French colony. From 1912 until 1956, Morocco was a French protectorate, and Moroccans were able to successfully declare their independence from France on March 2, 1956.

The Moroccan government is a constitutional monarchy and has been governed as such since the inception of the 1972 national constitution. Unlike most other monarchies, the king is not merely a figure head and does have political control over the country. The king, however, elects to appoint a prime minister to perform the daily operations of the country. To assist in the country's operations, there are also two national assemblies, the Chamber of Counselors has 270 members that are elected for nine-year terms, and the Chamber of Representatives that consists of 325 members who are elected to serve five-year terms. The current king, since 1999, is King Mohamed VI, who succeeded his father King Hassan II. The Prime Minister of Morocco is Driss Jettou, who was appointed in October 2002.