We have been in Tangier Morocco for a month, and as I write this blog – we are back in Canada for a holiday. In fact, we had a very satisfying “breakfast out” at a Cora’s restaurant two days ago.
Although we have been “in Morocco” for a month, we’ve seen very little of the city of Tangiers or Morocco. To that end, I asked Grok to give me a two paragraph country summary of Morocco.
Morocco, a North African nation with a population of approximately 38.4 million as of 2025, is characterized by a diverse demographic makeup, primarily of Arab and Berber origin, with 99% identifying as Sunni Muslims. The country is undergoing a demographic transition with a declining fertility rate (from 5 in the mid-1980s to 2.2 in 2010) and a young, increasingly urban population, where 67.3% live in cities like Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakech. The median age is 29.8 years, and the youth (15-29 years) constitute 26% of the population, though high youth unemployment (36.7% in 2024) poses challenges. Morocco’s cultural richness stems from its Berber, Arab, and historical influences from Spanish and Sub-Saharan African migrations, with urban centres driving economic and social life.
Morocco’s economy, with a GDP of $144.42 billion in 2023, is diverse, with services (54.5%), industry (25.5%), and agriculture (10.3%) as key sectors. Agriculture employs 30% of the workforce, producing barley, wheat, citrus, and olives, but is vulnerable to droughts. Industry, contributing 24.6% to GDP, includes phosphates (holding 75% of global reserves), automotive, aerospace, and textiles, with manufacturing exports like automotive parts thriving. Trade is significant, with the EU as the largest partner (49% of goods trade in 2022), though Morocco diversifies through agreements with the US and African nations. The defense sector, supported by a stable constitutional monarchy under King Mohammed VI, focuses on territorial control, notably over Western Sahara, with a 2025 budget allocating €1.37 billion to defence and post-earthquake reconstruction. Despite economic growth (3.2% in 2024), challenges include a 13.3% unemployment rate, public debt at 68.7% of GDP, and reliance on climate-sensitive agriculture.
This is a view of the beach that appears to be right in the middle of the city of Tangiers, and only a 10 minute walk from our boat. It is clean, and very popular. There are lifeguard stations and the usual assortment of vendors.
We have been to the Medina (city market) once, and the city is clean and tidy, with lots of people walking around doing their business.
This is a park that is much closer to the marina, just “up the hill”, near the mall and the closest Carrefour Supermarket.
We can see the yard at Soremar Marine Services (the nearby haul out yard). It is near the marina, near where the ferries and cruise ships come in.
Normally, we lock our eBikes up on the rack that is next to M dock, but since we left for “a holiday”, we brought them back to the boat.
As we were preparing to leave, we had our second experience with “InDrive”. Uber does not work in Morocco, but many people use InDrive. inDrive is most widely used in emerging markets, notably in Pakistan, Colombia, Egypt, Peru, and Morocco, with strong growth in Latin America, Africa, and parts of Asia. It originated in Yakutsk, Russia. InDrive is a little different than other driving apps that I have used (Uber and Grab for example) in that the price is negotiated with the driver. When I solicited a private car from Tangiers to Casablanca, InDrive suggested a fare of 670 Dirhams, but I couldn’t get any “bites” until I increased the amount to 1,000 Dirhams! I’m told that a regular taxi would cost at least 2,500 Durhams (about 250 euros).
Along the very good highway from Tangiers to Casablanca, I took this photo of a portion of the road sign, highlighting that it is in three languages: Arabic, French and Berber.
