The poverty rate in Morocco fell from 40% in 2001 to 5.7% in 2022, driven by a sharp drop in poverty in rural areas over the last two decades, according to Morocco’s Statistics and Forecasts Office (HCP).
The poverty rate in rural areas dropped from 73.4% in 2001 to 11.2% in 2022, HCP pointed out in its latest report themed “The evolution of population’s living standards in light of the results of the 2022 National Household Living Standard Survey”.
In urban areas, the poverty rate sharply decreased from 13.8% in 2001 to 2.2% in 2014, then slightly increased to 2.6% in 2022, the Rabat-based Office noted.
At the regional level, the poverty rate considerably fell in all regions over the last two decades, particularly in Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, the Eastern, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, Souss-Massa, Casablanca-Settat, Marrakech-Safi and Darâa-Tafilalet, where the average annual decrease exceeded 10%.
However, two regions remained poorer in 2022, with double-digit poverty rates, namely Béni Mellal-Khénifra (11.6%) and Fez-Meknes (10.4%).