Morocco is changing. But where?
The population of 1,503 communes, between the 2014 and 2024 censuses
In ten years, Morocco gained 2,980,088 people. Yet one commune in two lost residents. This story follows growth commune by commune: Casablanca emptying while its outskirts double, Rabat shrinking, Tangier taking off, the South growing fastest, and the mountains and the interior emptying, far from roads and running water.
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GeoInsights
Morocco is changing. But where?
In ten years, Morocco gained almost three million people: 2,980,088 more between the 2014 and 2024 censuses. But the growth wasn't evenly distributed. Commune by commune, the map shows where people went — and where they left.
2,980,088residents
more between 2014 and 2024 (+8.8%)
Source : Haut-Commissariat au Plan — Population légale du Royaume répartie par régions, provinces, préfectures et communes, RGPH 2024 (décret n° 2.24.1009)
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One commune in two is emptying
Each commune takes the colour of its change between 2014 and 2024. In orange, those that lost residents: 855 out of 1,499, or 57%. They cover almost half the territory and are still home to one Moroccan in three. In teal, those that grew: on the Atlantic coast, around the big cities, and in the South.
57%
of communes lost residents (855 of 1,499)
Source : Haut-Commissariat au Plan — Population légale du Royaume répartie par régions, provinces, préfectures et communes, RGPH 2024 (décret n° 2.24.1009)
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Eighty communes account for all the growth
Green columns rise where the population grew by more than 10,000, orange ones where it fell by more than 3,000. The 81 green communes added 2,978,949 residents between them: almost exactly the country's growth. Losses, by contrast, are scattered: 855 communes lost 1,033,496 residents, most of them a few hundred each.
81communes
gained more than 10,000 residents: 2,978,949 between them
Source : Haut-Commissariat au Plan — Population légale du Royaume répartie par régions, provinces, préfectures et communes, RGPH 2024 (décret n° 2.24.1009)
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Casablanca empties, its outskirts double
The commune of Casablanca lost 141,238 residents (−4.2%). Its neighbours took over: the provinces of Nouaceur and Médiouna doubled, adding 511,827 residents. Dar Bouazza went from 151,373 to 302,970; Sidi Hajjaj Oued Hassar almost quadrupled. The columns replay each commune, from 2014 to 2024.
Source : Haut-Commissariat au Plan — Population légale du Royaume, RGPH 2014 et RGPH 2024 (2014 et 2024)
▸ See the data
| 2014 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Dar Bouazza | 151 373 | 302 970 |
| Bouskoura | 103 026 | 200 359 |
| Bni Yakhlef | 48 338 | 117 653 |
| Almajjatia Oulad Taleb | 32 286 | 95 457 |
| Sidi Hajjaj Oued Hassar | 20 349 | 76 362 |
| Deroua | 47 719 | 96 619 |
| Oulad Azzouz | 40 372 | 81 048 |
| Mohammadia | 208 612 | 194 358 |
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Rabat shrinks, its periphery grows
The same movement around the capital. Rabat lost 63,979 residents (−11.1%), Témara 16,412. Meanwhile the province of Skhirate-Témara gained 208,932 (+36.4%): Ain Attig almost tripled, Skhirate and Sidi Yahya Zaer doubled. Across the Bouregreg, Salé gained 54,698 residents.
Source : Haut-Commissariat au Plan — Population légale du Royaume, RGPH 2014 et RGPH 2024 (2014 et 2024)
▸ See the data
| 2014 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Salé | 890 403 | 945 101 |
| Rabat | 573 895 | 509 916 |
| Témara | 313 510 | 297 098 |
| Skhirate | 59 775 | 122 705 |
| Sidi Yahya Zaer | 57 790 | 116 649 |
| Ain El Aouda | 49 816 | 98 502 |
| Ain Attig | 25 078 | 73 985 |
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Tangier, the fastest-growing commune
No commune grew more than Tangier: 327,476 more residents (+34.5%), 11% of the country's growth on its own. The city now has more than 1.27 million people. Around it, Gueznaia almost quadrupled, and the province of Tanger-Assilah grew by 40%.
327,476residents
more in Tangier between 2014 and 2024
Source : Haut-Commissariat au Plan — Population légale du Royaume répartie par régions, provinces, préfectures et communes, RGPH 2024 (décret n° 2.24.1009)
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Marrakesh and Agadir spread out
Marrakesh gained 90,707 residents (+9.9%), but its neighbouring communes grew fastest: Harbil doubled, Tassoultante grew by 49%. The same pattern around Agadir: the city gained 82,924 (+19.7%), Drargua 52%, and the neighbouring province of Chtouka-Aït Baha 33%.
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They come from elsewhere
In communes that grew by more than 30%, 40.8% of residents aged 10 and over lived in another commune ten years earlier, against 8.6% in those that lost more than 5%. In Dar Bouazza it is one in two; in Gueznaia, seven in ten. They live in new homes: 36.7% of dwellings there are less than ten years old, against 13.4%. In grey, the six cities divided into districts, whose published figure is unusable.
40.8%
of residents in the fastest-growing communes lived elsewhere ten years earlier
Source : Haut-Commissariat au Plan — Base de données de la migration interne selon les résultats du RGPH 2024 (par commune)
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The South grows fastest
Proportionally, the population grows fastest in the South. The Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab region grew by 53.9% in ten years, Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra by 22.6%. Dakhla went from 106,277 to 165,463 residents (+55.7%), Laayoune from 217,732 to 262,791. In grey, four communes with no figure of their own in 2014.
53.9%
population growth in the Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab region
Source : Haut-Commissariat au Plan — Population légale du Royaume répartie par régions, provinces, préfectures et communes, RGPH 2024 (décret n° 2.24.1009)
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The mountains empty
The higher you go, the less places grow. Below 200 m, the population grew by 14.6% in ten years; between 500 and 1,000 m, by 2.3%. Above 1,000 m it has not moved: 3.62 million residents in 2014, 3.60 million in 2024. Two mountain communes in three lost people. The relief is exaggerated to be readable.
Source : Haut-Commissariat au Plan — population légale des communes, RGPH 2014 et 2024 ; altitude : Terrain Tiles (SRTM, NASA), AWS Open Data (2014-2024)
▸ See the data
| Below 200 m | 14,6 |
|---|---|
| 200–500 m | 7 |
| 500–1,000 m | 2,3 |
| 1,000–1,500 m | 0 |
| Above 1,500 m | -1,6 |
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The interior empties
Away from the coast, the map turns orange. The Oriental region lost 19,681 residents (−0.9%), Beni Mellal-Khenifra stagnated (+0.2%). In the Rif, the provinces of Chefchaouen (−9.8%), Ouezzane (−8.7%) and Al Hoceima (−7.0%) declined. Al Hoceima, Berkane and Guercif each lost more than 6,000 residents.
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Those who stay grow older
This map no longer shows change but the share of people aged 60 and over in 2024. It looks like the map of change, in negative. In the 623 communes that lost more than 5% of their residents, 16.7% are 60 or older, against 9.4% in the 108 that grew by more than 30%. Illiteracy is also more common there: 34.2% of those aged 10 and over, against 19.4%.
16.7%
aged 60 and over in the communes that are emptying (9.4% in the fastest-growing ones)
Source : Haut-Commissariat au Plan — Indicateurs démographiques et socioéconomiques du Royaume du Maroc selon les résultats du RGPH 2024 (par commune)
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Far from the networks
Where people leave, networks are missing. In communes that lost more than 5% of their residents, 39.1% of households have no running water and only 33.5% are connected to the sewer; in those that grew by more than 30%, 8.4% and 72.5%. The nearest paved road is on average 2.1 km from home, against 0.7 km. Electricity, though, reaches almost everyone.
39.1%
of households in the communes that are emptying have no running water (8.4% in the fastest-growing ones)
Source : Haut-Commissariat au Plan — Indicateurs démographiques et socioéconomiques du Royaume du Maroc selon les résultats du RGPH 2024 (par commune)
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Where places grow, people work
The same contrast holds for work. In communes that grew by more than 30%, unemployment affects 16.4% of the labour force; in those that lost more than 5%, 24.2%. More people there work for a company too: 58.4% of the employed are private-sector employees, against 40.9%. Population growth and salaried jobs go hand in hand.
Source : Haut-Commissariat au Plan — Indicateurs démographiques et socioéconomiques du Royaume du Maroc selon les résultats du RGPH 2024 (2024)
▸ See the data
| Communes up 30% or more (108) | Morocco | Communes down more than 5% (623) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moved in within ten years | 40,8 | 17,6 | 8,6 |
| Homes under 10 years old | 36,7 | 22 | 13,4 |
| Aged 60 and over | 9,4 | 13,8 | 16,7 |
| Illiteracy | 19,4 | 24,8 | 34,2 |
| Activity rate | 47,7 | 41,5 | 36,8 |
| Unemployment | 16,4 | 21,3 | 24,2 |
| Private employees | 58,4 | 49,2 | 40,9 |
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A country on the move
Three regions, Casablanca-Settat, Rabat-Sale-Kenitra and Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, added 1,852,494 residents: 62% of the country's growth. The Morocco of 2024 is not just more populous than that of 2014: it has moved, towards the coast, towards the outskirts of the big cities and towards the South.
Source : Haut-Commissariat au Plan — Population légale du Royaume, RGPH 2014 et RGPH 2024 (2014 et 2024)
▸ See the data
| Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab | 53,9 |
|---|---|
| Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra | 22,6 |
| Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima | 13,3 |
| Souss-Massa | 12,8 |
| Casablanca-Settat | 12,1 |
| Rabat-Sale-Kenitra | 12 |
| Marrakesh-Safi | 8,2 |
| Fez-Meknes | 5,5 |
| Guelmim-Oued Noun | 3,4 |
| Draa-Tafilalet | 1,3 |
| Beni Mellal-Khenifra | 0,2 |
| Oriental | -0,9 |
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The map is yours
All 1,503 communes are here. Click one to read its population in 2014 and 2024, zoom in on your region, show or hide the columns.
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Sources and method
Everything this story states comes from here: the data tables, the references cited and the catalogue datasets, with their licence and date.
Data
Haut-Commissariat au Plan — Population légale du Royaume, RGPH 2014 et RGPH 2024
Period : 2014 et 2024Licence : Données publiques du HCP
The columns move from the 2014 population to the 2024 population, at the centre of each commune.
Period : 2024Licence : Données publiques du HCP
Each rate is recomputed for the group from the counts published per commune (labour force, population aged 10+ and 15+, employed), not as an average of rates. Over all 1,503 communes, it matches the published national rates. Illiteracy among those aged 10+, activity among those aged 15+, private-sector employees among the employed, homes of settled households. “Moved in within ten years”: people aged 10+ who lived in another commune ten years earlier (HCP internal migration database), excluding the six cities divided into districts, whose published figure is inconsistent.
Period : 2014-2024Licence : Données publiques du HCP ; relief SRTM du domaine public
Population change of all the communes in the same altitude band. A commune's altitude is the mean over its territory, read from the Terrain Tiles relief tiles at zoom 9 (about 270 m on the ground).
References
- Haut-Commissariat au Plan — Population légale du Royaume répartie par régions, provinces, préfectures et communes, RGPH 2024 (décret n° 2.24.1009) · 2024 · Données publiques du HCP
- Haut-Commissariat au Plan — Base de données de la migration interne selon les résultats du RGPH 2024 (par commune) · 2026-10-12 · Données publiques du HCP
- Haut-Commissariat au Plan — Indicateurs démographiques et socioéconomiques du Royaume du Maroc selon les résultats du RGPH 2024 (par commune) · 2026-10-12 · Données publiques du HCP
- Terrain Tiles (Mapzen) — relief SRTM (NASA), GMTED et ETOPO1, AWS Open Data · 2026-10-12 · Domaine public (SRTM, GMTED, ETOPO1)
- Haut-Commissariat au Plan — Population légale des régions, provinces, préfectures et communes d'après le RGPH 2014 (découpage en 12 régions) · 2015 · Données publiques du HCP
Catalogue datasets
Legal population by commune — Morocco, RGPH 2014–2024
Haut-Commissariat au Plan (HCP) · Licence : proprietary · Updated : October 12, 2026
Socio-economic indicators by commune — Morocco, 2024 census
Haut-Commissariat au Plan (HCP) · Licence : proprietary · Updated : October 12, 2026
Layers prepared for this story
Not in the catalogue: these data were prepared for the story and are not downloadable. The original source is authoritative.
Évolution de la population par commune, RGPH 2014 → 2024
Haut-Commissariat au Plan (HCP) — population légale RGPH 2014 et RGPH 2024, via le jeu Kharita « Population légale par commune » · Licence : Données publiques du HCP
Limites communales du jeu Kharita relues dans ses tuiles au zoom 8 (précision ~40 m), réunies par commune et simplifiées à ~150 m : une carte de lecture, pas un découpage officiel. classe : 1 < −15 %, 2 −15 à −5 %, 3 −5 à 0 %, 4 0 à +10 %, 5 +10 à +30 %, 6 +30 à +60 %, 7 ≥ +60 % ; 0 pour Lagouira, Aghouinite, Zoug et Mijik, « pm » en 2014 (comptées avec une autre commune), dont l'évolution n'est pas mesurable.
Part des 60 ans et plus par commune, RGPH 2024
Haut-Commissariat au Plan (HCP) — Indicateurs démographiques et socioéconomiques du Royaume du Maroc selon les résultats du RGPH 2024 · Licence : Données publiques du HCP
Part des 60 ans et plus dans la population municipale de chaque commune (somme des tranches 60-64, 65-69, 70-74 et 75 ans ou plus). Géométrie : celle de la couche communes-evolution-2014-2024. Pas d'indicateur pour Lagouira, Aghouinite, Zoug et Mijik (classe 0).
Taux de chômage par commune, RGPH 2024
Haut-Commissariat au Plan (HCP) — Indicateurs démographiques et socioéconomiques du Royaume du Maroc selon les résultats du RGPH 2024 · Licence : Données publiques du HCP
Taux de chômage, taux d'activité des 15 ans et plus et part des salariés du secteur privé parmi les actifs occupés, tels que publiés par commune. Géométrie : celle de la couche communes-evolution-2014-2024. Pas d'indicateur pour Lagouira, Aghouinite, Zoug et Mijik (classe 0).
Habitants arrivés d'une autre commune en dix ans, par commune, RGPH 2024
Haut-Commissariat au Plan (HCP) — Base de données de la migration interne selon les résultats du RGPH 2024 · Licence : Données publiques du HCP
Indice d'entrées récentes du HCP : part des personnes de 10 ans et plus qui résidaient dans une autre commune dix ans avant le recensement. Classe 0 (gris) pour Casablanca, Rabat, Salé, Fès, Marrakech et Tanger : dans le fichier publié, les arrivées et les non-migrants y dépassent la population. logements_neufs : part des logements de moins de dix ans (indicateurs communaux du RGPH 2024). Géométrie : celle de la couche communes-evolution-2014-2024.
Ménages sans eau courante, par commune, RGPH 2024
Haut-Commissariat au Plan (HCP) — Indicateurs démographiques et socioéconomiques du Royaume du Maroc selon les résultats du RGPH 2024 (feuille Ménages) · Licence : Données publiques du HCP
sans_eau : 100 moins la part des ménages qui disposent de l'eau courante. egout : part des ménages raccordés au réseau public d'assainissement. route_km : distance moyenne des logements à la route goudronnée (non publiée pour les communes urbaines). altitude_m : altitude moyenne de la commune, calculée sur les tuiles de relief Terrain Tiles (SRTM, AWS Open Data) au zoom 9. Classe 0 (gris) : commune sans chiffre publié. Géométrie : celle de la couche communes-evolution-2014-2024.
Methodology
Legal population of the communes published by the HCP for the 2014 and 2024 censuses (Kharita dataset “Legal population by commune”), in the 2024 boundaries: 1,503 communes, with the districts of Casablanca, Rabat, Salé, Fez, Marrakesh and Tangier merged into one commune. Change compares the 2024 population with 2014. Four communes (Lagouira, Aghouinite, Zoug, Mijik) had no population of their own in 2014 (“pm”: counted with another commune); they are shown in grey and left out of commune counts (1,499 comparable). Commune boundaries are read from the dataset's tiles and simplified to about forty metres: a reading map, not an official boundary file. Columns stand at the centre of each commune; green and orange share one scale. Socio-economic indicators (age, illiteracy, activity, unemployment, housing) and recent internal migration come from the HCP's 2024 census files by commune; group rates are recomputed from the published counts. Migration is not counted for Casablanca, Rabat, Salé, Fez, Marrakesh and Tangier: in the published file, arrivals and non-migrants exceed the population there. Running water, sewer connection and distance to a paved road come from the Households sheet; recomputed over all communes, they match the published national figures (82.9%, 65.4%, 1.5 km). A commune's altitude is the mean over its territory on the Terrain Tiles relief tiles (SRTM), at zoom 9.
Boundaries: Natural Earth 1:50m (public domain), Morocco as a single polygon. Satellite basemap: Esri World Imagery.