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Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country inNorth Africa with a population of 33,757,175. It has a coast on the AtlanticOcean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea.Morocco has international borders with Algeria to the east, Spain to the north(a water border through the Strait and land borders with two small Spanishautonomous cities, Ceuta and Melilla), and Mauritania to the south. Morocco'sofficial language is classical Arabic. The country's distinctive Arabic dialectis called Moroccan Arabic.

The climate is Mediterranean, which becomes more extremetowards the interior regions where it is mountainous. The terrain is such thatthe coastal plains are rich and accordingly, they comprise the backbone foragriculture. Forests cover about 12% of the land while arable land accounts for18%. 5% is irrigated. Morocco is the only African country that is not currentlya member of the African Union. However, it is currently a member of the ArabLeague, Arab Maghreb Union, the Francophonie, Organization of the IslamicConference, Mediterranean Dialogue group, and Group of 77, and is a majornon-NATO ally of the United States. According to the African Development Bank,the GDP of Morocco accounts for 7% of the African continent. Morocco is thefifth economic power of Africa with a 2006 GDP of $152.5 billion at PPP ($58.1billion at official exchange rates), after South Africa, Egypt, Algeria andNigeria (2001).

Morocco's largest industry is the mining of phosphates. Itssecond largest source of income is from nationals living abroad who transfermoney to relatives living in Morocco. The country's third largest source ofrevenue is tourism; 7.45 million tourists visited the country in 2007. In 2005,Morocco launched the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), a $2billion social development plan to address poverty and unemployment and toimprove the living conditions of the country's urban slums. Moroccanauthorities are implementing reform efforts to open the economy tointernational investors. Despite structural adjustment programs supported bythe IMF, the World Bank, and the Paris Club, the dirham is only fullyconvertible for current account transactions. In 2000, Morocco entered anAssociation Agreement with the EU and, in 2006, entered a Free Trade Agreement(FTA) with the US. Long-term challenges include improving education and jobprospects for Morocco's youth, and closing the income gap between the rich andthe poor, which the government hopes to achieve by increasing tourist arrivalsand boosting competitiveness in textiles.

Yet, Morocco preserves an exotic and historic charm lost inmany other Arab countries, plus a warm, dry, healthy climate, and a beautifullandscape, with its markets and traditional architecture, its car-free medinasand palaces hiding breathtaking gardens. Foreign real estate ownership isallowed in Morocco, though foreigners cannot buy agricultural land.