MOROCCO
Kingdom of Morocco
Al-Mamlakah al-Maghribiyah
CAPITAL : Rabat
FLAG : The national flag consists of a green five-pointed star at the center of a red field.
ANTHEM : The Hymne Chérifien is a twentieth-century composition without words.
MONETARY UNIT : The dirham ( DH ) is a paper currency of 100 Moroccan centimes. There are coins of 1, 5, 10, and 20 Moroccan centimes and 1 / 2 , 1, and 5 dirhams, and notes of 5, 10, 50, 100, and 200 dirhams. DH 1 = $0.1021 (or $1 = DH 9.79) as of May 2003.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES : The metric system is the legal standard.
HOLIDAYS : New Year's Day, 1 January; Anniversary of the King's Accession, 3 March; Labor Day, 1 May; National Day, 14 August; Anniversary of the Green March, 6 November; Independence Day, 18 November. Movable religious holidays include 'Id al-Fitr, 'Id al-Adha', 1st of Muharram (Muslim New Year), and Milad an-Nabi.
TIME : GMT.
LANGUAGES
Although classical Arabic is the written and official language, Maghribi Arabic, a dialect peculiar to Morocco, is widely spoken; it can hardly be understood by Arabs of the Middle East. Berber dialects, principally Rifi, Tamazight, and Tashilhit, are spoken in more remote mountainous areas by less than one-third of the populace. French is often used as the language of business, government, and diplomacy. Spanish is also spoken.
DEPENDENCIES
Morocco has no territories or colonies.
