Since many Moroccan Arabs live in either poor rural areas or in crowded cities, poverty and unemployment are major challenges. Health care is inadequate, and the rates of both infant and maternal mortality remain high. Though employment numbers have improved steadily, unemployment is still highest among college graduates aged 24-35 (17%).
The economy has grown in the last decade as economic policies have liberalized. The service sector accounts for half of Morocco’s GDP, and industry is an additional quarter. Recent growth has come from tourism, telecoms, information technology, and textiles.
Though Morocco enjoys a fairly strong amount of freedom of speech, criticism of the king is still rare. And despite a surface sense of religious openness, the government closely monitors mosques, controls what is preached, and tries to control the form of Islam nationwide. Though officially a parliamentary monarchy, many Moroccans feel like they are living in a police state.