Moroccans express concern over corruption and growing interest in emigration, survey shows

Nearly half of Moroccans believe corruption is deeply rooted in the government and public institutions, according to Afrobarometer’s latest opinion poll.

When asked about politicians, 44% said some government members are corrupt, while 20% believe most are involved. 8% of those surveyed think all of them are part of the problem.

Parliament doesn’t get better marks either. About 45% think some MPs are corrupt, and nearly 23% say the majority are. 

Public employees don’t escape this image with almost half of those surveyed believing some civil servants are involved in corruption, while nearly 20% think it’s widespread among them.

According to the survey, around 45% of Moroccans say some local council members are corrupt, and over 22% believe most of them are. 

Businesses and civil society groups didn’t come out clean either with 34% of Moroccana saying some business owners are corrupt, and 47.8% pointing fingers at associations and civil organizations.

Still, not everyone sees the situation getting worse. While 16% said corruption got much worse over the past year, around 10% felt it had improved. Many (34%) saw no change.

Despite the bleak outlook, a good number of Moroccans, 62%, believe they can report corruption without fear. But nearly a third still worry about the consequences. 

As for the role of journalists, most citizens (63.6%) say the press should keep digging and exposing the truth, even if it sometimes paints a dark picture of Morocco.

But it’s not just corruption that’s worrying Moroccans, many are thinking of emigrating. The same survey found that more than one in four people (26.8%) have thought about emigrating. Of these, 15.9% said they think about it “a lot.”

Men are more likely to consider leaving than women. Over 21% of men said they think seriously about leaving Morocco, compared to only 10.7% of women. 

In contrast, 62.5% of women said they’ve never thought about leaving, compared to 48.4% of men.

City dwellers were also more likely to want out than those in the countryside. And Europe was the top dream destination, especially for men.

While Moroccans are worried about their own situation, they still have hope for the region. 

Over 63% supported the idea of open borders and free trade between North African countries, believing it could boost the economy and create new opportunities.