Poll: Only 5% of Moroccans trust other ethnic groups, far below African average

Only 5% of Moroccans surveyed expressed a high level of trust in individuals from other ethnic groups, revealed a recent poll conducted by the pan-African network Afrobarometer poll, while 49% reported having little trust.

Unlike in Guinea, Mali, and Gambia, where around half of citizens expressed high trust in individuals from other ethnic groups—51%, 50%, and 48%, respectively—only 9%, 11%, and 7% said they did not trust them at all.

Titled “Africans Struggle with Interethnic Trust but Embrace Coexistence,” the survey also found that 19% of Moroccans would not welcome individuals from other ethnic groups as neighbors, while 23% would strongly welcome them—placing Morocco below the African average of 58% for openness to neighbors from other ethnic groups.

Over half of the citizens in Gabon (57%) and Senegal (72%) in contrast expressed a strong willingness to welcome individuals from other ethnic groups, while only 3% and 4%, respectively, said they strongly disliked the idea.

Only 19% of Moroccans are comfortable with interethnic marriages within their own family, while 68% are indifferent, placing Morocco below the African average, where 51% would welcome a family member marrying someone from a different ethnic group.

In Gabon and Togo, the majority of citizens expressed positive attitudes toward interethnic marriage, with 53% and 72%, respectively, comfortable with the idea, and only 2% and 4%, respectively, strongly disapproving of a family member marrying someone from a different ethnic group.

61% of Moroccans said they have never experienced unfair treatment based on their ethnic group by the government, while only 13% said they always have, placing Morocco slightly above the continental average of 56% across 33 countries who reported never being treated unfairly by the government.