18 October 2026
The Haut-Commissariat au Plan, Morocco's official statistics body, published its note de conjoncture for the second quarter of 2026 on 14 October 2026. It records gross domestic product growth of 4% in the second quarter of 2026. It projects 4.1% in the third quarter and 4.7% in the fourth quarter of 2026. The commission says growth will continue in the second half of 2026 despite an energy shock linked to the outbreak of the war in Iran. Expansion in agriculture and services is expected to support activity and cushion the energy shock. Domestic demand remains the main driver, helped by favourable monetary conditions and inflation contained below 2%.
Second quarter 2026 growth:
4%
Third quarter 2026 forecast:
4.1%
Fourth quarter 2026 forecast:
4.7%
Inflation:
Contained below 2%
Why it matters for exams: Quarterly growth numbers from a national statistics office are the kind of figure asked in economy and international sections.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
HCP Haut-Commissariat au Plan — Morocco's official statistics and planning institution, which produces national accounts and the labour force survey.
18 October 2026
The World Bank's Morocco country overview, last updated on 12 October 2026, records real gross domestic product growth of 4.7% in 2025, up from 3.8% in 2024. It puts Morocco's population at about 37.8 million. The poverty rate was 3.9% in 2022, and the Bank says poverty has declined while inequality and urban-rural gaps remain high. Female labour force participation stands at 19%. The Bank says near-term growth is moderated by agricultural contractions and that prolonged drought has exposed climate vulnerabilities and water scarcity. The most recent country report it links is the Summer 2026 Morocco Economic Update, published on 23 July 2026.
Real GDP growth, 2025:
4.7%
Real GDP growth, 2024:
3.8%
Population:
About 37.8 million
Poverty rate, 2022:
3.9%
Female labour force participation:
19%
Why it matters for exams: World Bank country figures on growth, poverty and female participation are frequently quoted in exam data questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
18 October 2026
Morocco voted for its House of Representatives on 23 September 2026. The Authenticity and Modernity Party took 97 of the 395 seats in parliament. The National Rally of Independents secured 66 seats and the Istiqlal Party took 65. The Justice and Development Party surged to 54 seats, up from just 13 in 2021. Turnout fell to 38.02 per cent. Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit announced the results. An outright majority needs 198 seats, so coalition talks followed.
Polling day:
23 September 2026
Seats in the House of Representatives:
395
PAM:
97 seats
RNI:
66 seats
Istiqlal Party:
65 seats
PJD:
54 seats, up from 13 in 2021
Turnout:
38.02 per cent
Why it matters for exams: Seat totals, the size of the chamber and the turnout of a 2026 national election are directly askable facts.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
PAM Authenticity and Modernity Party — The Moroccan party that won the most seats in the 2026 election.
18 October 2026
The royal palace announced on 29 September 2026 that Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri had been appointed prime minister of Morocco. She is the leader of the Authenticity and Modernity Party, which won 97 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives. She is 50 years old, was mayor of Marrakesh, and was appointed in October 2021 as Minister of National Spatial Planning, Urban Development, Housing and Urban Policy. She is the first woman to hold the role in Morocco and the third woman to serve as prime minister in the Arab world. She called the appointment truly historic and said that for the first time in the country's history a woman is taking on the responsibility of leading the government. An outright majority in the chamber requires 198 seats.
Announced:
29 September 2026
Party:
Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM)
Previous office:
Mayor of Marrakesh; minister for urban development from October 2021
Age:
50
Standing:
First woman prime minister of Morocco; third in the Arab world
Why it matters for exams: A country's first woman head of government, with her party and the seat arithmetic behind it, is a standard current affairs fact.
Kerala PSCUPSC
18 October 2026
The World Bank published a feature on Morocco's InnovInvest programme on 12 October 2026. USD 50 million in World Bank financing helped mobilise over USD 70 million in private capital. The programme built four professional Venture Capital funds. Close to 1,000 entrepreneurs were supported. The Moroccan Ministry of Finance is the implementing agency named in the feature. The programme is presented as a way of crowding private money into early-stage enterprise rather than lending directly to firms.
Programme:
InnovInvest
World Bank financing:
USD 50 million
Private capital mobilised:
Over USD 70 million
Venture capital funds:
Four
Entrepreneurs supported:
Close to 1,000
Why it matters for exams: Blended finance that leverages private capital is a recurring development economics theme, and the figures here are exact.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Venture capital Venture capital — Equity finance put into young companies that are too risky for ordinary bank lending.
18 October 2026
The World Bank released the Morocco Economic Update summer 2026 edition, subtitled Cementing Growth, Digital Transformation as a Productivity Impulse, from Rabat on 23 July 2026. Real GDP growth reached an estimated 4.9 per cent in 2025. Growth is projected to remain solid at 4.2 per cent in 2026. The budget deficit narrowed to 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product. Broader measures of labour underutilisation reached 22.5 per cent. The update links the expansion to a surge in public investment tied to preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Report:
Morocco Economic Update summer 2026 edition
Real GDP growth, 2025:
An estimated 4.9 per cent
Growth projection, 2026:
4.2 per cent
Budget deficit:
3.5 per cent of GDP
Labour underutilisation:
22.5 per cent
Why it matters for exams: A named World Bank country report with its growth, deficit and labour figures is exactly the kind of source an economy question is built on.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Labour underutilisation Labour underutilisation — A broader measure than unemployment, counting the underemployed and people available for work but not actively searching.
Background
Tata Advanced Systems' plant at Berrechid near Casablanca in Morocco is described as the first Indian defence manufacturing plant in Africa. It builds the Wheeled Armoured Platform 8x8, a wheeled armoured personnel carrier, under a contract with the Moroccan government. The facility covers 20,000 square metres. It was inaugurated on 23 September 2025 by India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Moroccan counterpart Abdelatif Loudyi. The plant became operational three months ahead of schedule. Abdeltif Loudyi continues as Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of the National Defence Administration in the Moroccan government appointed on 16 October 2026.
Location:
Berrechid, near Casablanca
Product:
Wheeled Armoured Platform 8x8 (WhAP 8x8)
Area:
20,000 sq m
Inaugurated:
23 September 2025
Why it matters for exams: India's first overseas defence plant in Africa is a named fact in India's defence-export and Africa-outreach questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
WhAP Wheeled Armoured Platform — An eight-wheeled armoured personnel carrier developed in India.
Background
FIFA announced that Morocco, Portugal and Spain will host the FIFA World Cup 2030. Three centenary celebration matches will take place in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay in 2030, one in each country. The decision was taken at an Extraordinary FIFA Congress convened virtually, and the media release is dated 11 December 2024. At the same Congress, Saudi Arabia was appointed to stage the FIFA World Cup 2034. FIFA President Gianni Infantino and FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom are named in the release. Morocco will therefore be the second African nation to stage matches of a World Cup finals.
2030 hosts:
Morocco, Portugal and Spain
Centenary matches:
Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, one each
2034 host:
Saudi Arabia
Decision:
Extraordinary FIFA Congress, media release dated 11 December 2024
Why it matters for exams: Hosts of the 2030 and 2034 World Cups are among the most predictable sports questions, and Morocco's public investment is tied to them.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Extraordinary Congress Extraordinary FIFA Congress — A special meeting of all FIFA member associations called outside the ordinary annual schedule.
Background
The African Union's own member state profiles list the Kingdom of Morocco, abbreviated as Morocco, in the Northern Africa group. The column for the date of joining the OAU or AU shows 1963 and 31 January 2017. The first date is its membership of the Organisation of African Unity, the Union's predecessor. The second is the date it rejoined the continental body after an absence of more than three decades. Morocco is not a member of ECOWAS, which is the West African regional bloc. Questions in both Kerala PSC and UPSC pair a country with the continental and regional bodies it belongs to.
Entry on the AU profile:
Kingdom of Morocco, 1963 / 31 January 2017
AU region:
Northern Africa
Why it matters for exams: The year a country joined or rejoined the African Union is among the most frequently set international organisation facts.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
OAU Organisation of African Unity — The continental body founded in 1963 that the African Union replaced.
ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States — The West African regional bloc; Morocco is not a member of it.
Background
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre records nine properties inscribed on the World Heritage List for Morocco, and all nine are cultural. They are the Medina of Fez, 1981; the Medina of Marrakesh, 1985; the Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou, 1987; and the Historic City of Meknes, 1996. The Archaeological Site of Volubilis and the Medina of Tetouan, formerly known as Titawin, were both inscribed in 1997. The Medina of Essaouira, formerly Mogador, followed in 2001, and the Portuguese City of Mazagan at El Jadida in 2004. The most recent is Rabat, Modern Capital and Historic City: a Shared Heritage, inscribed in 2012. Morocco ratified the World Heritage Convention on Tuesday, 28 October 1975.
Properties inscribed:
9, cultural 9
First inscription:
Medina of Fez, 1981
Latest inscription:
Rabat, Modern Capital and Historic City: a Shared Heritage, 2012
Convention ratified:
Tuesday, 28 October 1975
Why it matters for exams: The count of World Heritage properties for a focus country, and the first and latest inscriptions, are among the most repeated exam facts.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Medina Medina — The old walled quarter of a North African city.
Ksar Ksar — A fortified earthen village of southern Morocco, of which Ait-Ben-Haddou is the best known.
Background
The United Nations member states list gives Morocco a date of admission of 12 November 1956. That places its entry in the same year that it emerged from the French and Spanish protectorates. Morocco is therefore a founding-era rather than a founding member, the organisation having been established in 1945. Membership of the United Nations is the baseline fact behind every later question about Morocco and the Security Council, the General Assembly and the specialised agencies. The World Bank, a United Nations family institution, separately puts Morocco's population at about 37.8 million. Morocco is also a member of the African Union, which it rejoined on 31 January 2017.
Date of admission to the United Nations:
12 November 1956
Population:
About 37.8 million
African Union:
Rejoined 31 January 2017
Why it matters for exams: Dates of admission to the United Nations are set directly, and 1956 ties Morocco's entry to the end of the protectorates.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Protectorate Protectorate — A territory whose foreign affairs and defence are controlled by another state while it keeps nominal rulers.