Morocco's economic sectors reflect the diversified and growing base of the economy. Its economy depends on output from the agricultural sector, rich fisheries, growing tourist and manufacturing industries, and a dynamic telecommunications sector.
In 1999, the agricultural sector accounted for 15 percent of the GDP and employed some 50 percent of the
Communications | |||||||||
Country | Newspapers | Radios | TV Sets a | Cable subscribers a | Mobile Phones a | Fax Machines a | Personal Computers a | Internet Hosts b | Internet Users b |
1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 | 1999 | 1999 | |
Morocco | 26 | 241 | 160 | N/A | 4 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 0.28 | 50 |
United States | 215 | 2,146 | 847 | 244.3 | 256 | 78.4 | 458.6 | 1,508.77 | 74,100 |
Egypt | 40 | 324 | 122 | N/A | 1 | 0.5 | 9.1 | 0.28 | 200 |
Algeria | 38 | 241 | 105 | 0.0 | 1 | 0.2 | 4.20 | 0.01 | 20 |
a Data are from International Telecommunication Union, World Telecommunication Development Report 1999 and are per 1,000 people. | |||||||||
b Data are from the Internet Software Consortium ( http://www.isc.org ) and are per 10,000 people. | |||||||||
SOURCE: World Bank. World Development Indicators 2000. |
Despite its diverse and vibrant economic base, Morocco's economic growth has been sluggish since the mid-1990s, mainly due to its dependence on rain-fed agriculture and other structural problems that affect economic performance, such as bureaucratic red tape and a soaring budget deficit. Recognizing these structural problems, the government has moved to deregulate the telecommunications sectors and to privatize several state-owned companies.
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