For Immediate Release
**Please credit Arab Barometer**
Arab Barometer’s Wave VIII survey in Morocco is the most in-depth publicly available survey in the country that captures the sentiments of Moroccan citizens and their changing priorities, needs, and concerns in a rapidly evolving region.
Between December 11, 2023, and January 30, 2024, the research network interviewed more than 2,400 Moroccans face-to-face, about a wide range of topics including the economy, trust in political institutions, civil liberties, international relations, women’s status in society, and the environment. The findings of this survey can be compared with those of our previous surveys in Morocco dating back to 2006, providing insight into evolving views over time.
Key Findings from the Arab Barometer survey in Morocco 2023-2024 include:
- Following a fluctuation in support for democracy in the past few years, Moroccans have increased faith in democratic governance, and particularly support a multi-party parliamentary system (68%).
- Trust in the Moroccan government (33%) and the prime minister (30%), Aziz Akhannouch, remain relatively low, while trust in parliament (38%), regional government (49%), judiciary (74%), and civil society organizations (70%) has increased.
- Government performance ratings vary: Infrastructure and security receive higher marks than healthcare, education, or the economy.
- Moroccans place subsidies, education, and healthcare as the government’s top spending priorities.
- Moroccans’ views on political, economic, and social issues are starkly split along socioeconomic lines.
- Economic challenges remain, with only a third of Moroccans rating their economy positively while four-in-ten Moroccans (39%) believe the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing.
- Moroccans list the economy (22%), corruption (20%), and public services (18%) as the biggest challenges facing their country followed by climate change (14%).
- Nearly two-thirds (63%) of Moroccans say they have run out of food and didn’t have money to buy more in the past 30 days. This is a drastic increase from 2022 when only 36% said the same.
- There is little consensus on what action the government should take to improve the economy. The most favored actions are limiting inflation (28%), job creation (20%), education reform (14%) and wage increases (11%).
- Roughly a third of Moroccans (35%) want to leave their country and the plurality cite economic factors as the main reason for wanting to migrate (45%). Those wanting to emigrate are more likely to be men under 30 with a college degree. More than half (53%) of potential migrants in Morocco say they would be willing to emigrate without official papers.
- Regarding civil liberties, the majority of Moroccans (58%) say that the freedom to express their opinions is guaranteed to a great or a medium extent. More than half (57%) also believe that their freedom to protest is guaranteed to a great or a medium extent, representing a 12-point increase compared to 2022 (45%).
- Many Moroccans are concerned about the limitations to freedom of expression online, especially monitoring and censorship by their government (54%), foreign governments (51%), and social media platforms (53%).
- Support for normalization has plummeted, most likely due to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The effect of the war in Gaza appears broader, with views of global and regional powers being affected. In Morocco, Russia and China have clearly gained support while Western countries have fallen behind, with similar patterns exhibited for views of foreign leaders.
- Unlike other MENA countries, support for the U.S. has not declined after October 7, but China’s image has improved more than the U.S. image in the last two years.
Arab Barometer’s survey in Morocco 2023-2024 also finds:
- There has been a slight decline in views of women as capable political leaders. Yet there is a widespread support for instituting a quota for women in parliament (71%) and the cabinet (70%). Similarly, roughly three-quarters of Moroccans (73%) believe that having women in leadership positions advances women’s rights.
- In the workplace, roughly two-thirds (64%) say that men and women should have equal work opportunities and Moroccans see many obstacles holding women back from labor force participation. The most commonly perceived barriers to women’s entry into the workforce are lack of available jobs (17%), low wages (14%), bias against women (13%), and lack of childcare options (12%).
- Moroccans recognize that women continue to face harassment, with eight-in ten Moroccans (79%) saying harassment is widespread in the streets by strangers while two-thirds (65%) say the same about harassment in the workplace.
- Moroccans emphasize the significant impact of climate change on their daily lives and are increasingly calling for their government to take action to address this pressing issue.
- Water is the top environmental concern in Morocco. About four-in-ten say that either lack of water resources (24%), pollution of drinking water (11%), or pollution of water bodies (5%) are the biggest environmental challenges facing the country.
- In the aftermath of the September 2023 earthquake, a major natural disaster, Moroccans have become more concerned about climate change and want their government to do more to address it. Today, eight-in-ten say the government should be doing more on that front (80%). This level is twice the 40 % recorded in the previous wave in 2022.
- Moroccans are generally satisfied with the government’s handling of the earthquake. Overall, 43% say the government’s management of the crisis has met expectations and three-in-ten (31%) say it has exceeded expectations.
For Full Report, and Graphs on findings, click here
Please credit Arab Barometer in any dissemination.
ENDS //
ARAB BAROMETER MEDIA RESOURCES
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- Methodology: www.arabbarometer.org/survey-data/methodology
For more information contact Aseel Alayli from the Arab Barometer’s Media and Global Communications Department at aalayli@princeton.edu.
About Arab Barometer
Arab Barometer is the leading and most influential research network on public opinion in the Middle East and North Africa. Founded in 2006, we are the longest-standing research network that conducts rigorous and nationally representative public opinion surveys in the Arab world. We disseminate the findings through analyses and reports to deepen public conversations and facilitate data-driven solutions to the pressing problems facing ordinary citizens across MENA.
