A recent study by the New South Policy Center revealed that the Moroccan middle class has not declined, either nationally or by region of residence, contrary to prevailing expectations that it has shrunk, both in rural and urban areas.
Titled, “The Middle Classes in Morocco: Beyond Assumptions, What Do the Numbers Tell?” the paper, which was based on an analysis of the National Observatory for Human Development data, mentioned that “the idea of the collapse of the Moroccan middle class is widespread, indicating a shift towards a wealthier upper class and poorer classes, whereas an analysis of the evolution of the middle class between 2012 and 2019 shows the opposite.”
The document noted that poverty decreased between 2012 and 2019, dropping from 14.24% in 2012 to 9.65% in 2019.
The Moroccan middle class represented 53.20% of the population in 2012 and increased to 61.90% in 2019, with an increase of 16.35%.
The same source suggested that the middle class grew significantly at the expense of the rich class.”
It added that the middle class is prevalent in rural areas, surpassing 70% in 2019, gaining more than 6 percentage points during this period.
The paper added that “the middle class also increased by about 14.85% in urban areas between 2012 and 2019, representing about two-thirds of the urban population 2019.”
The survey conducted by the National Observatory for Human Development was based on samples that in the 2012 survey consisted of about 8,000 households, of which 60.96% were Moroccans living in urban areas, compared to 39.04% in rural areas.
In 2019, 16,879 households were surveyed, added the same source, with 62.89% living in urban areas and 37.11% in rural areas.
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