Regionsare currently the highest administrative divisions inMorocco.Since 2015, Morocco officially administers 12 regions, including one (Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab) that lies completely within the disputed territory ofWestern Saharaand two (Laâyoune-Sakia El HamraandGuelmim-Oued Noun) that lie partially within it. The regions are subdivided into a total of 75 second-level administrative divisions, which areprefectures and provinces.[1]
| Regions of Morocco | |
|---|---|
| |
| Category | Unitary state |
| Location | Kingdom of Morocco |
| Number | 12 |
| Populations | 142,955 (Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab) – 6,861,737 (Casablanca-Settat) |
| Government |
|
| Subdivisions | |
A region is governed by a directlyelectedregional council. The president of the council is responsible for carrying out the council's decisions. Prior to the2011 constitutional reforms,this was the responsibility of theWali,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
editOn 3 January 2010, the Moroccan government established the Consultative Commission for the Regionalization (CCR), which aimed todecentralizepower to the regions, and confer 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] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma |  Tangier |
3,556,729 |
| 2 | L'Oriental |  Oujda |
2,314,346 |
| 3 | Fès-Meknès |  Fez |
4,236,892 |
| 4 |  Rabat-Salé-Kénitra |
Rabat | 4,580,866 |
| 5 |  Béni Mellal-Khénifra |
Beni Mellal | 2,520,776 |
| 6 | Casablanca-Settat |  Casablanca |
6,861,739 |
| 7 |  Marrakech-Safi |
 Marrakesh |
4,520,569 |
| 8 | Drâa-Tafilalet | Errachidia | 1,635,008 |
| 9 |  Souss-Massa |
 Agadir |
2,676,847 |
| 10 | Guelmim-Oued Noun[A] | Guelmim | 433,757 |
| 11 |  Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra[A] |
Laayoun | 367,758 |
| 12 | Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab[A] | Dakhla | 142,955 |
A.^Lies partially or completely within the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
1997 to 2010: Full unitary system
editBetween 1997 and 2010, Morocco had 16 regions.[8]
The entirety ofOued Ed-Dahab-Lagouira(1), the vast majority ofLaâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra(2), and part ofGuelmim-Es Semara(3) were situated within thedisputed territoryofWestern Sahara.The sovereignty of Western Sahara is disputed between Morocco and thePolisario Frontwhich claims the territory as the independentSahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.Most of the region is administered by Morocco as itsSouthern Provinces.The Polisario Front, based in headquarters atTindoufin south westernAlgeria,controls only those areas east of theMoroccan Wall.
Regions before 1997
editBefore 1997, Morocco was divided into seven regions: Central, Eastern, North-Central, Northwestern, South-Central, Southern, and Tansift.[9]
See also
edit- ISO 3166-2:EH
- ISO 3166-2:MA(2004)
References
edit- ^"Morocco in Figures 2003: A document by the Moroccan Embassy in the USA"(PDF).themoroccanembassy.com.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 22 April 2013.Retrieved7 May2018.
- ^"Maroc: Fiche technique"(PDF)(in French).ARLEM.2014.Archived(PDF)from the original on 24 October 2016.Retrieved23 October2016.
- ^"Moroccan Government website concerning the regionalization".regionalisationavancee.ma.Archivedfrom the original on 11 December 2017.Retrieved7 May2018.
- ^"Décret fixant le nom des régions"(PDF).Portail National des Collectivités Territoriales(in French). Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 18 May 2015.Retrieved11 July2015.
- ^"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.Archivedfrom the original on 22 December 2015.Retrieved11 December2015.
- ^"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.Archivedfrom the original on 22 December 2015.Retrieved13 December2015.
- ^"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.Retrieved29 September2017.
- ^"Régions".Portail national du Maroc.Government of Morocco. Archived fromthe originalon 3 October 2011.Retrieved22 April2013.
- ^"Morocco Regions".www.statoids.com.Archivedfrom the original on 10 October 2017.Retrieved7 May2018.