Most Moroccans are Sunni Muslims of Arab, Berber, or mixed Arab-Berber stock. The Arabs invaded Morocco in the 7th and 11th centuries and established their culture there. Morocco's Jewish minority has decreased significantly and numbers about 7,000 (See History of the Jews in Morocco). Most of the 100,000 foreign residents are French or Spanish; many are teachers or technicians. Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب Ê»arab) are a large and heterogeneous ethnic group found throughout the Middle East and North Africa, originating in the Arabian Peninsula of southwest Asia. ... The Berbers (also called Imazighen, free men, singular Amazigh) are an ethnic group indigenous to Northwest Africa, speaking the Berber languages of the Afroasiatic family. ... Jews (Hebrew: יהודים translit. ... This article incorporates text from the public domain 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community. ...

Arabic is Morocco's official language (it is the "classical" Arabic of the Qur'an, literature and news media). The country's distinctive Moroccan-Arabic dialect is spoken mostly in western Morocco. It's actually a mix between Arabic and Tamazight (Berber). Arabic (; , less formally, ) is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... The Quran (Arabic , literally the recitation; also called or The Noble Quran; also transliterated Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ...

Approximately 15 million Moroccans, speak Berber--which exists in Morocco in three different dialects (Tarifit, Tashlehit, and Tamazight)--either as a first language or bilingually with the spoken Arabic dialect. French, which remains Morocco's unofficial third language, is taught universally and still serves as Morocco's primary language of commerce and economics; it also is widely used in education and government. The Amazigh (Berber) activists are struggling since a half century ago for the recognotion of Berber language (All Berbers call it Tamazight) as the official language of Morocco in the Moroccan constitution. They also demand that this language is taught in all Moroccan schools. Tarifit is a Northern Berber language of the Zenati subgroup, spoken mainly in the Moroccan Rif by about 2 million people. ... Afro-Asiatic - Berber The Berber languages (or Tamazight) are a group of closely related languages mainly spoken in Morocco and Algeria. ...

About 20,000 Moroccans in the northern part of the country speak Spanish. English, while still far behind French and Spanish in terms of number of speakers, is rapidly becoming the foreign language of choice among educated youth. As a result of national education reforms entering into force in late 2002, English will be taught in all public schools from the fourth year on. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Most people live west of the Atlas Mountains, a range that insulates the country from the Sahara Desert. Casablanca is the center of commerce and industry and the leading port; Rabat is the seat of government; Tangier is the gateway to Morocco from Spain and also a major port; "Arab" Fez is the cultural and religious center; and "Berber" Marrakech is a major tourist center. Map showing the location of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in northwest Africa extending about 2400 km (1500 miles) through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, and including The Rock of Gibraltar. ... The Sahara is the worlds second largest desert (second to Antarctica), over 9,000,000 km² (3,500,000 mi²), located in northern Africa and is 2. ... Casablanca from space Hassan II Mosque A view on the Boulevard de Paris in central Casablanca Parc de la Ligue Arabe Casablanca (Arabic: الدار البيضاء, transliterated ad-Dār al-Bayḍāʼ) is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. ... For the Maltese city on Gozo Island which can also be called Rabat, see Victoria, Malta. ... Tangier, Morocco Tangier, or Tangiers (Tanja طنچة in Berber and Arabic, Tánger in Spanish, and Tanger in French), is a city of northern Morocco with a population of 669,685 (2004 census). ... This article is about the city Fez in Morocco. ... The Koutoubia Mosque. ...

Education in Morocco is free and compulsory through primary school (age 15). Nevertheless, many children--particularly girls in rural areas--still do not attend school. The country's illiteracy rate has been stuck at around 50% for some years but reaches as high as 90% among girls in rural regions. Morocco has about 230,000 students enrolled in 14 public universities. The oldest and in some ways the most prestigious is Mohammed V in Rabat, with faculties of law, sciences, liberal arts, and medicine. University of Karueein, in Fez, has been a center for Islamic studies for more than 1,000 years. Morocco has one private university, Al-Akhawayn, in Ifrane. Al-Akhawayn, founded in 1993 by King Hassan II and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, is an English-medium, American-style university comprising about 1,000 students. World illiteracy rates by country Literacy is the ability to read and write. ... The University of Karueein in Fez, Morocco was founded in 859. ... Ifrane the word Ifrane means in Berber A CAVE. it is a a town in the middle Atlas region of Morocco. ... Fahd bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud (Arabic: , b. ... Medium of instruction is the language that is used in teaching. ...

Demographics of Morocco, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Population: 29,891,708 (September 2004 census) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... FAO can mean: Food and Agriculture Organization Faro Airport (Portugal), IATA airport code For (The) Attention Of This page concerning a three-letter acronym or abbreviation is a disambiguation page—a list of articles associated with the same title. ...

Age structure:
0-14 years: 35% (male 5,372,393; female 5,175,114)
15-64 years: 60% (male 9,021,259; female 9,163,548)
65 years and over: 5% (male 632,698; female 757,338) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.4% (September 2004 census)

Birth rate: 21.0 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 5.6 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 49.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: ±69.7 years
male: 67.5 years
female: 72.1 years (2002 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.4 children born/woman (2004 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Moroccan(s)
adjective: Moroccan

Ethnic groups: Arab-Berber 99.1%, other 0.7%, Jewish 0.2%

Religions: Muslim 98.7%, Christian 1.1%, Jewish 0.2%

Languages: Arabic (official), Spanish, Berber dialects (Morocco does not recognise them as languages but as dialects of a Berber language), French often the language of business, government, and diplomacy. A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος) is a variant, or variety, of a language spoken in a certain geographical area. ... Afro-Asiatic - Berber The Berber languages (or Tamazight) are a group of closely related languages mainly spoken in Morocco and Algeria. ...

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 43.7%
male: 56.6%
female: 31% (1995 est.)