Regions of Morocco

Regions are currently the highest administrative divisions in Morocco. Since 2015, Morocco officially administers 12 regions, including one (Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab) that lies completely within the disputed territory of Western Sahara and two (Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra and Guelmim-Oued Noun) that lie partially within it. The regions are subdivided into a total of 75 second-order administrative divisions, which are prefectures and provinces.[1]

Regions of Morocco
جهات المغرب (Arabic)
Timnaḍin n Murakuc (Berber)
Morocco provinces
CategoryUnitary state
LocationKingdom of Morocco
Number12 Regions
Populations142,955 (Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab) – 6,861,737 (Casablanca-Settat)
GovernmentRegional council
SubdivisionsProvinces and prefectures
The 12 administrative Regions of Morocco (in their native Berber names)

Moroccan administrative division

A region is governed by a directly elected regional council. The president of the council is responsible for carrying out the council's decisions. Prior to the 2011 constitutional reforms, this was the responsibility of the Wali, the representative of the central government appointed by the King, who now plays a supporting role in the administration of the region.[2]

Regions since 2015

On 3 January 2010, the Moroccan government established the Consultative Commission for the Regionalization (CCR), which aimed to decentralize power to the regions, and confer a greater autonomy to the regions coinciding with the Western Sahara. The commission published provisional names and numbers for the new regions,[3] and their names were officially fixed in the Bulletin Officiel dated 5 March 2015.[4] The new regional councils elected their presidents on 14 September 2015[5] and regional governors were appointed on 13 October 2015.[6]

Map
number		 Region Capital Population (2014)[7]
1Tanger-Tétouan-Al HoceïmaTangier3,556,729
2L'OrientalOujda2,314,346
3Fès-MeknèsFès4,236,892
4Rabat-Salé-KénitraRabat4,580,866
5Béni Mellal-KhénifraBéni Mellal2,520,776
6Casablanca-SettatCasablanca6,861,739
7Marrakech-SafiMarrakech4,520,569
8Drâa-TafilaletErrachidia1,635,008
9Souss-MassaAgadir2,676,847
10Guelmim-Oued Noun[A]Guelmim433,757
11Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra[A]El Aaiun367,758
12Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab[A]Dakhla142,955

A.^ Lies partially or completely within the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

Main proposal
Alternate proposal with
Midelt Province in Fès-Meknès (3) instead of Béni Mellal-Khénifra (5)
Alternate proposal with
Figuig Province in Oriental (2) instead of Drâa-Tafilalet (8)
The different regional configurations proposed in 2010

1997 to 2010: Full unitary system

Between 1997 and 2010, Morocco had 16 regions.[8]

The old regions of Morocco (1997–2015)
Map
number		 Region Capital
1Oued Ed-Dahab-LagouiraDakhla
2Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El HamraLaâyoune
3Guelmim-Es SemaraGuelmim
4Souss-Massa-DrâaAgadir
5Gharb-Chrarda-Béni HssenKénitra
6Chaouia-OuardighaSettat
7Marrakech-Tensift-El HaouzMarrakesh
8OrientalOujda
9Grand CasablancaCasablanca
10Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-ZaerRabat
11Doukkala-AbdaSafi
12Tadla-AzilalBéni Mellal
13Meknès-TafilaletMeknès
14Fès-BoulemaneFès
15Taza-Al Hoceima-TaounateAl Hoceima
16Tangier-TetouanTangier

The entirety of Oued Ed-Dahab-Lagouira (1), the vast majority of Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra (2), and part of Guelmim-Es Semara (3) were situated within the disputed territory of Western Sahara. The sovereignty of Western Sahara is disputed between Morocco and the Polisario Front which claims the territory as the independent Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Most of the region is administered by Morocco as its Southern Provinces. The Polisario Front, based in headquarters at Tindouf in south western Algeria, controls only those areas east of the Moroccan Wall.

Regions before 1997

Before 1997, Morocco was divided into 7 regions: Central, Eastern, North-Central, Northwestern, South-Central, Southern, Tansift.[9]

See also

References
  1. "Morocco in Figures 2003: A document by the Moroccan Embassy in the USA" (PDF). themoroccanembassy.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 April 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  2. "Maroc: Fiche technique" (PDF) (in French). ARLEM. 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  3. "Moroccan Government website concerning the regionalization". regionalisationavancee.ma. Archived from the original on 11 December 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  4. "Décret fixant le nom des régions" (PDF). Portail National des Collectivités Territoriales (in French). Archived from the original (pdf) on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  5. "Ministère de l'Intérieur : l'élection des présidents des Conseils des régions s'est déroulée dans de bonnes conditions et dans un climat de transparence" [Ministry of the Interior: the regional council presidential elections took place under good conditions and in an air of transparency] (Press release) (in French). Maghreb Arabe Press. 14 September 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  6. "SM le Roi a procédé à la nomination les Walis des régions" [HM the King appointed the Walis of the regions]. La Vie Éco (in French). 14 October 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  7. "POPULATION LÉGALE DES RÉGIONS, PROVINCES, PRÉFECTURES, MUNICIPALITÉS, ARRONDISSEMENTS ET COMMUNES DU ROYAUME D'APRÈS LES RÉSULTATS DU RGPH 2014" (in Arabic and French). High Commission for Planning. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  8. "Régions". Portail national du Maroc. Government of Morocco. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  9. "Morocco Regions". www.statoids.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
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