HCP: Only 2.9% of Moroccan Migrants Invest in Morocco

Only 2.9% of Moroccan migrants have carried out investment projects in Morocco (3.4% are men and 1.8% are women), the High Commission for Planning (HCP) said on Friday.

This proportion increases with age, rising from 2.4% for migrants aged 30-39, to 6.7% for those aged 50-59 and 8.2% for those aged 60 and over, according to the results pf the  national survey on international migration carried out in 2018-2019 by the HCP.

2.3% of present-day migrants have invested abroad (2.8% among men and 1.3% among women), the HCP revealed, adding that the main sectors of investment in Morocco are real estate followed by agriculture, construction and trade and services, it said.

The overwhelming majority of migrants (97.1%) do not invest in Morocco, the survey showed, noting that this trend is mainly the result of insufficient capital, complicated administrative procedures, and weak financial support and tax incentives.

According to the HCP, more than four-fifths of Moroccan migrants have sent money to Morocco in the 12 months prior to the survey. This percentage varies little by gender and education level, but differs somewhat by age and host country.

The survey reveals that two-thirds of current migrants’ remittances are made through money transfer agencies, with Moroccan banks lagging far behind.

The beneficiaries of remittances are parents first, followed by spouses and children. Nearly nine-tenths of remittances received are used for the regular expenses of households in Morocco.

The survey targeting Moroccans Abroad and returning expatriates was conducted between August 2018 and January 2019 on a representative sample of 15,000 households, including 8,200 expatriates, 4,100 returning expatriates and 2,700 non-migrants.

The second phase of this survey will be conducted in 2021 among refugees and asylum seekers, irregular migrants and regularized immigrants.