Those aged 60 and above represent 12.2% of the population in 2022, while life expectancy at birth is estimated at 76.8 years, according to Statistics and Forecasts Office (HCP).
In the 2023 edition of Morocco’s Social Indicators, life expectancy is greater among women, especially in urban areas. Life expectancy at birth was estimated at 76.8 years in 2022 (78.6 years for women versus 75.2 years for men, a gap of 3.4 years).
The age pyramid in 2022 shows a decrease in the number of children living in the country due to a decline in fertility over the past three decades. The age structure of the population in 2022 shows that youth demographic represents just over 25% of the population. The dependency and aging ratios are slightly higher, especially among rural women.
The HCP reported that the demographic dependency ratio rose to 60% by 2022. Also, senior citizen dependency is more marked among women and in rural areas.
The overall and natural growth rates of the population continue to decline with respective rates of 9.6% and 10.8%. The crude birth rate was 16.2%, while the crude death rate was recorded at 5.1%.
On July 1, 2022, the Kingdom’s population stood at 36.67 million, with women comprising 50.2% of the total population. The female demographic is slightly more prominent in urban areas, while the reverse holds true in rural sections.
The HCP figures showed 97 men for every 100 women in the cities, and 103 men for every 100 women in the countryside in 2022.
Concerning the marriage rate, the proportion of single people has fallen over the course of the last two censuses.
HCP pointed out that the age of first marriage is 25.5 years for women and 31.9 years for men. As for celibacy at age 50, the rate stands at 8% for women, versus 5.9% for men.
Regarding matrimony, the data recorded 270,000 marriages in 2021 against 194,000 in 2020. Divorces totaled 26,900 in 2021 against 20,000 the previous year.