The exodus of thousands of Moroccan citizens to Ceuta at the risk of drowning in the sea has exposed the contradictions of the country’s economy. The rapid development of recent years contrasts with high levels of inequality and a generation that continues to seek better living conditions abroad.
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Migration in Morocco has reached such a level that the Alaouite diaspora is the largest in North Africa, with about 3.6 million people living abroad, equivalent to 9.5% of the national population. These figures explain the enormous weight that Maghrebis living abroad have reached in their country’s economy. The remittances they send to Morocco already account for 6.8% of the national GDP, on par with tourism and only surpassed by exports from the automotive sector.
In 2025 alone, migrants transferred more than 11 billion euros, 2.6% more than the previous year, according to data from the Rabat Exchange Office. The trend is even more pronounced in 2026, with a 9.9% increase in remittances from January to June.
This money represents a lifeline for the North African state. It strengthens foreign currency reserves, acts as a stabilizer, helps sustain thousands of families, and boosts consumption. Spain appears as the second country of origin for these transfers, behind France and followed by Italy and Belgium, places that host 80% of the Moroccan diaspora.
To strengthen these ties, Morocco has launched new programs aimed at involving its emigrants. The Moroccan World Investment Fund (MDM) seeks to channel their savings into strategic sectors.
The Alaouite kingdom grows strongly but remains burdened by high youth unemployment and inequality
All this while the country’s economy grows steadily above the European level, with average annual increases of 3.5% since the early 2000s and 4.9% in 2025, the highest recorded in the last decade. International aid is also key, with multi-million euro loans and aid from the European Union, the EIB, the IMF, and the World Bank. Development is visible throughout the coastal area, from Casablanca to Tangier, with significant infrastructure. In addition to building modern highways and Africa’s first high-speed rail line, Morocco has made enormous efforts to boost its port capacities to become a logistics power.
Jordi Torrent, an expert in port strategy and secretary general of the Mediterranean Ports Association, highlights the growing importance of the Tangier Med port, through which more than ten million containers pass annually. “It has become the leading cargo port in the Mediterranean,” Torrent continues. Managed by a commercial company, industrial clusters of the automotive, textile, and phosphate processing sectors have been established around it.
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At the end of this year, Morocco will inaugurate another large port in Nador and is already preparing another in Dakhla, on the Atlantic coast. All these port facilities, Torrent continues, are taking advantage of European emissions legislation, which requires large cargo ships to pay an environmental tax. As a result, more and more cargo ships choose Moroccan ports, without such taxes, to make their first stop in the Mediterranean.
The transformation of the Moroccan economy also attracts numerous Western companies seeking opportunities. From Catalonia, with a significant Maghreb community, Foment del Treball has been organizing business missions for companies wanting to do business in Morocco for several years. “The country is in full economic expansion; we help companies that want to grow there or seek a place from which to jump to the rest of Africa; not to relocate production from Catalonia, but to open new markets,” explains Kilian García, International Director of Foment.
In total, more than 350 Spanish companies have established themselves in the country, according to data from the Trade Secretariat. Their investments focus on energy, infrastructure, the automotive auxiliary industry, banking, and technology, areas expected to grow with projects linked to the 2030 World Cup, which the Alaouite kingdom wants to use as a lever for change and an external showcase. In fact, the Spanish digital ecosystem has shown special interest in deploying its technology in the country, with a recent mission by the Adigital employers’ association with leading investors and entrepreneurs interested in leveraging the football championship opportunity.
The government has also created a special tax regime to attract foreign companies. Casablanca’s modern financial district is an example of the country’s determination to move forward. But this progress does not reach all citizens by any means. Unemployment remains high, above 13%. And among young people aged 15 to 24, protagonists of the Ceuta migration crisis, it reaches 36%. Added to this is a high rate of young people who neither study, work, nor receive training, representing a quarter of that age group.
In addition to the generational gap, there is a regional one. The population living below the severe poverty threshold barely reaches 3% in urban areas, while in rural areas it exceeds 13%. The government is trying to eradicate shantytown housing with aid programs, but a transformation of this magnitude is not done overnight. Eager for growth, Morocco remains a developing country where migration continues to boil.
