The rural migratory flows in Morocco are becoming more feminized, says the latest publication by Morocco’s Forecasts and Statistics Office (HCP).
According to the study, this population movement can be understood through the 2014 General Population and Housing Census (RGPH), especially by comparing the current area of residence with the previous one.
It also focuses on the rural population that relocated to urban areas between 2009 and 2014. The total of this social segment is 760,000, that is an average flow of 152,000 migrants per year.
The number of rural households that migrate annually to the city is 37,100. These households are smaller than those in rural areas, with an average of 3.8 persons per household.
Women in rural areas are involved in migration on several levels: on their own initiative in pursuit of better living conditions or as spouses or family members accompanying men.
Most rural-to-urban migrants are young: slightly less than half (41.3%) are aged between 15 and 29, and constitute 26.8% of the rural population. The Marital status of migrants is predominantly married (67%).
The migrant population is also significantly better educated than the rural population. About 5.8% of migrants have higher education level (compared to 1.5% of rural people), a quarter (25.1%) have a middle school education level (compared to 13.7% in rural areas), and 31.4% have elementary school education level (compared to 30.1% in rural areas).
The study suggests that schooling is a driving factor for rural-urban migration, since rural people who are educated are more willing to leave the countryside to pursue education or to look for work, and it is easier to get children into school in urban areas than in rural areas.
The most attractive regions are Casablanca-Settat, Fez-Meknes, Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, and Souss-Massa regions, which draw almost 6 out of 10 rural migrants.