Millions move from rural Morocco to cities as development gaps widen, HCP says

About four million Moroccans have moved from rural areas to cities as development imbalances widen across the country, according to a new report from the High Commission for Planning (HCP).

The report finds that while internal migration helps redistribute Morocco’s population, it also highlights growing inequalities, with most jobs and economic growth concentrated along the Atlantic axis, particularly in the regions of Casablanca-Settat, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, and Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceima.

These urban centers continue to draw hundreds of thousands of people each year thanks to better infrastructure, public services, and economic opportunities. Casablanca-Settat alone gained more than 800,000 residents through migration, while Rabat-Salé-Kénitra added nearly 480,000.

By contrast, regions such as Marrakech-Safi, Drâa-Tafilalet, Fès-Meknès, and Béni Mellal-Khénifra are losing residents due to limited job prospects and slower development, creating growing demographic deficits.

Rural-to-urban migration still accounts for about one-third of internal movements, largely driven by the search for education, healthcare, and improved living standards. Reverse migration to villages remains rare and is mostly tied to retirement or family reasons.

Women now make up 43.7% of internal migrants, compared with 35.5% for men, a sign that more women are moving for education, work, and family-related opportunities, the report said.

The southern regions of Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra and Dakhla-Oued Eddahab have emerged as new migration hubs, boosted by major infrastructure and development projects that have expanded local populations by more than 60% in some areas.

The HCP said Morocco’s current development model remains uneven and called for fairer territorial policies to bridge regional gaps. Encouraging investment and job creation in underdeveloped areas, it said, could reduce social and spatial inequalities and ease pressure on overcrowded cities.