PESTEL Analysis of Morocco

PESTEL Analysis of Morocco Political: Morocco is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, whereby the Prime Minister of Morocco is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives of Morocco and the Assembly of Councilors. The current government is headed by Abdelilah Benkirane .The Moroccan Constitution provides for a monarchy with a Parliament and an independent judiciary. With the 2011 constitutional reforms, the King of Morocco still retains few executive powers whereas those of the prime minister have been enlarged. The constitution grants the king honorific powers; he presides over the Council of Ministers; appoints the Prime Minister from the political party that has won the most seats in the parliamentary elections, and on recommendations from the latter, appoints the members of the government. The King is formally the chief of the military. 

Some of the facts and figures are:  Total tax rate (% of commercial profits) Rounded 2010: 49%  Taxes on goods and services (% of revenue) Rounded 2010: 36%  Taxes on income, profits and capital gains (% of revenue) Rounded 2010: 25%  Taxes on international trade (% of revenue) Rounded 2010: 5%  Tax revenue (% of GDP) Rounded 2010: 23%  Military expenditure (% of central government expenditure) Rounded 2010:11%

Economic: Morocco's economy is considered a relatively liberal economy governed by the law of supply and demand. Since 1993, the country has followed a policy of privatization of certain economic sectors which used to be in the hands of the government. Government reforms and steady yearly growth in the region of 4-5% from 2000 to 2007 helped the Moroccan economy to become much more robust compared to a few years ago. The World Bank forecasts a rate of 4.2% growth for 2013.The services sector accounts for just over half of GDP. Agriculture accounts for only around 14% of GDP but employs 40–45% of the Moroccan working population. Morocco’s economy depends heavily on the weather, a typical characteristic of third-world countries. The major resources of the Moroccan economy are agriculture, phosphates, and tourism. Sales of fish and seafood are important as well. Industry and mining contribute about one-third of the annual GDP. Although Morocco runs a structural trade deficit, this is typically offset by substantial services earnings from tourism and large remittance inflows from the diaspora, and the country normally runs a small current-account surplus. 

Some of the facts and figures are:

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GDP 2011: $ 100.2 billion GDP growth (annual %) 2011: 4% GDP per capita 2011: $ 3053 Unemployment rate: 9.6% (in 2008) Ease of doing business index (1=most business-friendly regulations) 2011: 93 Cash surplus/deficit (% of GDP) 2010: -2% Central government debt, total (% of GDP) 2010: 50% Current account balance (BoP, current US$) 2011: -7999606285 Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) 2011: 34% Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) 2011: 48% Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) 2011: 2521364644 Inflation, consumer prices (annual %) 2011: 0% Inflation, GDP deflator (annual %) 2011: 1%

Social: According to the United States government, Morocco has inadequate numbers of men physicians (0.5 per 1,000 people) and hospital beds (1.0 per 1,000 people) and poor access to water (82 percent of the population) and sanitation (75 percent of the population). The health care system includes 122 hospitals, 2,400 health centers, and 4university clinics, but they are poorly maintained and lack adequate capacity to meet the demand for medical care. Only 24,000 beds are available for 6 million patients seeking care each year, including 3 million emergency cases. The health budget corresponds to 1.1 percent of gross domestic product and 5.5 percent of the central government budget. In 2011, Life expectancy at birth of female and male was 74 years and 69 years respectively. Morocco has one of the lowest rankings in the world in terms of Education. Education in Morocco is free and compulsory through primary school. The estimated illiteracy rate for the country in 2004 was 30.8% for males and 54.7% for females and the ratio of female to male primary enrolment (%) in 2011 was 94%. Morocco has more than four dozen universities, institutes of higher learning, and polytechnics dispersed at urban centers throughout the country.

Technical: Science and technology in Morocco has significantly developed in recent years. The Moroccan government has been implementing reforms to encourage scientific research in the Kingdom. While research has yet to acquire the status of a national priority in Morocco, the country does have major assets that could transform its R&D sector into a key vehicle for development. The industry remains dominated by the public sector, with the universities employing 58% of researchers. Morocco’s own evaluation of its national research system carried out in 2003revealed that the country has a good supply of well-trained high quality human resources and that some laboratories are of very high quality. Some of the facts related to the technical environment of Morocco are as follows. Number of internet users increased from 15.6million in 2010 to 16.4 million in 2011 and the number of secure internet servers to 4from 2. Patent applications in 2010 were 882 and high-technology exports as a percentage of manufactured exports were 7% in 2010.

Environmental: In 2008, about 56% of the electricity source of Morocco came from coal. However, as forecasts indicate that energy requirements in Morocco will rise 6%per year between 2012 and 2050, a new law passed encouraging Moroccans to look for ways to diversify the energy supply, including more renewable resources. The Moroccan government has launched a project to build a solar thermal energy power plant and is also in looking into the use of Natural Gas as a potential source of revenue for Morocco’s government. Morocco has embarked upon the construction of large solar energy farms to lessen dependence on fossil fuels, and to eventually export electricity to Europe. Some of the facts and figures are as follows.     

Forest area as a percentage of land area in 2010 was 11% Alternative and nuclear energy as a percentage of total energy use in 2010 was2% Combustible renewables and waste as a percentage of total energy in 2010 was2% Energy imports, net as a percentage of energy use in 2010 was 94% Methane emissions (kt of CO2 equivalent) Rounded 2010: 11777

Legal: Morocco's legal system is a mixture of several from around the world. Morocco's legal system is a combination of both Muslim Law and Civil Law. Civil Law originates from Continental Europe and it consists of an actual written code. It is a rational (based on reason) code that is universal (applies to everyone). The dual legal system consists of secular courts based on French legal tradition and courts based on Jewish and Islamic traditions. The secular system includes communal and district courts, courts of first instance, appellate courts and a supreme court. The Supreme Court is divided into five chambers: criminal, correctional (civil) appeals, social, administrative, and constitutional.