📜 A long story
Morocco, 1800 → today
Morocco grew from 2.5 million in 1800 to 37.7 million; a newborn can expect 36.5 more years of life than in 1950, and output per person is 12× its 1820 level, adjusted for inflation.
Told with long-run reconstructions, not the yearly series used elsewhere on the site: each chapter names its source. Scroll to move through the years.
☺ Chapter 1 · Population
How many people live there?
1800
In 1800, about 2.5 million people lived in Morocco.
1900
4.68 million people.
1.9× the 1800 level
1950
8.94 million people.
1.9× the 1900 level
Reached twice the 1800 level in 1905.
2023
37.7 million people, the latest year in this series.
4.2× the 1950 level
Reached 5 times the 1800 level in 1963.
Reached 10 times the 1800 level in 1992.
Long-run series: before 1950, reconstructions by HYDE and Gapminder, filled in between benchmark years by those sources. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
✚ Chapter 2 · Life expectancy
How long do people live?
1950
In 1950, a newborn in Morocco could expect to live 38.8 years, on average.
2023
75.3 years, the latest year in this series.
+37 years since 1950
Passed 40 years in 1953.
Passed 50 years in 1973.
Passed 60 years in 1986.
Passed 70 years in 2008.
Long-run series: before 1950, historical estimates (Riley, Clio Infra, Human Mortality Database), only for years they cover.
◎ Chapter 3 · GDP per person (PPP)
How much is produced per person?
1820
In 1820, Morocco produced about Int$685 per person, in 2011 prices.
1950
Int$2,320.
3.4× the 1820 level
Reached twice the 1820 level in 1950 (no data between 1913 and 1950, so it may have happened earlier).
2022
Int$8,400, the latest year in this series.
3.6× the 1950 level
Reached 5 times the 1820 level in 1980.
Reached 10 times the 1820 level in 2010.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 10% between 1955 and 1960 (Int$2,360 → Int$2,120).
Long-run series (Maddison Project) in 2011 international dollars: adjusted for inflation, so not the same unit as today’s PPP figure. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates. Dashed stretches are years without data.
❦ Chapter 4 · CO₂ per person
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
1928
In 1928, fossil fuels and industry in Morocco emitted about 0.0046 t of CO₂ per person.
1950
0.3 t.
62× the 1928 level
Reached twice the 1928 level in 1931.
Reached 5 times the 1928 level in 1933.
Reached 10 times the 1928 level in 1937.
Reached 20 times the 1928 level in 1947.
Reached 50 times the 1928 level in 1950.
2024
1.8 t, the latest year in this series.
6.3× the 1950 level
The sharpest fall in the data: down 34% between 1953 and 1957 (0.4 t → 0.3 t).
Long-run series: fossil CO₂ emitted within each country’s borders (Global Carbon Budget); early estimates are less certain. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
☕ Chapter 5 · Years of schooling
How long do people go to school?
1870
In 1870, people aged 15–64 in Morocco had spent 0.01 years in school, on average.
1900
0.01 years.
about the same as 1870
1950
0.3 years.
+0.29 years since 1900
2015
6.2 years, the latest year in this series.
+5.9 years since 1950
Passed 2 years in 1985.
Passed 4 years in 2000.
Passed 6 years in 2015.
Long-run series (Lee & Lee, Barro & Lee) for people aged 15–64, every 5 years until 2015: a different age group than today’s figure (25 and older).