Prefectures and provinces of Morocco
Encyclopedia
In Morocco
, the 61 second-level administrative subdivisions are 13 prefecture
s and 48 province
s. They are subdivisions of the 16 regions of Morocco
. Each prefecture and province are subdivided into district
s (cercles, sing. cercle), municipalities (communes, sing. commune) or urban municipalities (communes urbaines, sing. commune urbaine), and arrondissement
s in some metropolitan areas. The districts are subdivided into rural municipalities (communes rurales, sing. commune rural).
Note: The municipalities and arrondissements should probably be thought of as fourth-level subdivisions, on the same level as the rural municipalities.
Greater Tensift
South Morocco (a.k.a. Western Sahara
Most of Western Sahara is administered by Morroco; the rest
is administered by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
(SADR.) The international community considers the territory to be disputed and several states recognize the SADR as the sole legitimate government of Western Sahara while others recognize it as a part of Morocco.
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, the 61 second-level administrative subdivisions are 13 prefecture
Prefecture
A prefecture is an administrative jurisdiction or subdivision in any of various countries and within some international church structures, and in antiquity a Roman district governed by an appointed prefect.-Antiquity:...
s and 48 province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
s. They are subdivisions of the 16 regions of Morocco
Regions of Morocco
Regions of Morocco As part of a 1997 decentralization/regionalization law passed by the legislature 16 new regions were created. It is the current highest administrative division of Morocco. The regions are subdivided into a total of 61 second-order administrative divisions, which are prefectures...
. Each prefecture and province are subdivided into district
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
s (cercles, sing. cercle), municipalities (communes, sing. commune) or urban municipalities (communes urbaines, sing. commune urbaine), and arrondissement
Arrondissement
Arrondissement is any of various administrative divisions of France, certain other Francophone countries, and the Netherlands.-France:The 101 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts. The capital of an arrondissement is called a...
s in some metropolitan areas. The districts are subdivided into rural municipalities (communes rurales, sing. commune rural).
Note: The municipalities and arrondissements should probably be thought of as fourth-level subdivisions, on the same level as the rural municipalities.
Central Morocco
- Chaouia-Ouardigha RegionChaouia-OuardighaChaouia-Ouardigha ) is one of the sixteen regions of Morocco. It is situated in north-central Morocco. It covers an area of 7,010 km² and has a population of 1,655,660 . The capital is Settat....
- Ben Slimane Province
- Khouribga Province
- Settat Province
- Greater Casablanca Region
- Prefecture of CasablancaCasablancaCasablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
- Prefecture of MohammediaMohammediaMohammedia is a port city on the west coast of Morocco located between Casablanca and Rabat in the region of Greater Casablanca. It hosts the most important oil refinery of Morocco, Samir, which makes it the center of the Moroccan petrol...
- Médiouna Province
- Nouaceur Province
- Prefecture of Casablanca
- Tadla-Azilal RegionTadla-AzilalTadla-Azilal ) is one of the sixteen regions of Morocco. It is situated in central Morocco. It covers an area of 17,125 km² and has a population of 1,450,519 . The capital is Beni Mellal.The region is made into of the following provinces :...
- Azilal Province
- Béni-Mellal Province
Greater TensiftTensiftThe Tensift is a river in central Morocco. It takes spring in the eastern High Atlas, north of the Tizi-n-Tichka pass. It passes close to the city of Marrakech and has its outlet into the Atlantic Ocean at the ancient fortress of Souira Qedima, around 40 km south from Safi...
- Doukkala-Abda RegionDoukkala-AbdaDoukkala-Abda ) is one of the sixteen regions of Morocco. It is situated in west-central Morocco. It covers an area of 13,285 km² and has a population of 1,984,039 . The capital is Safi.The region is made up into the following provinces :...
- El Jadida Province
- Safi Province
- Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz RegionMarrakech-Tensift-El HaouzMarrakesh-Tensift-El Haouz is one of the sixteen regions of Morocco. It is situated in central Morocco. It covers an area of 31,160 km² and has a population of 3,102,652...
- Prefecture of MarrakechMarrakechMarrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...
- Al Haouz Province
- Chichaoua Province
- El Kelaa des Sraghna Province
- Essaouira Province
- Prefecture of Marrakech
North Central Morocco
- Fès-Boulemane RegionFès-BoulemaneFès-Boulemane ) is one of the sixteen regions of Morocco. It is situated in northern Morocco. It covers an area of 19,795 km² and has a population of 1,573,055 . The capital is Fès....
- Prefecture of Fès-Dar-Dbibegh
- Moulay Yacoub Province
- Sefrou Province
- Boulemane Province
- Taza-Al Hoceima-Taounate RegionTaza-Al Hoceima-TaounateTaza-Al Hoceima-Taounate is one of the sixteen regions of Morocco. It is situated in northern Morocco. It covers an area of 24,155 km² and has a population of 1,807,113 . The capital is Al Hoceima....
- Al Hoceïma Province
- Taounate Province
- Taza Province
North Morocco
- Gharb-Chrarda-Béni Hssen RegionGharb-Chrarda-Béni HssenGharb-Chrarda-Béni Hssen is one of the sixteen regions of Morocco. It is situated in north-western Morocco. It covers an area of 8805 km² and has a population of 1,859,540 . The capital is Kenitra....
- Kénitra Province
- Sidi Kacem Province
- Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer RegionRabat-Salé-Zemmour-ZaerRabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer is one of the sixteen regions of Morocco. It is situated in north-western Morocco. It covers an area of 9,580 km², and has a population of 2,366,494...
- Prefecture of RabatRabatRabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...
- Prefecture of SaléSaléSalé is a city in north-western Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town...
- Prefecture of Skhirat-Témara
- Khémisset Province
- Prefecture of Rabat
- Tangier-Tétouan RegionTangier-TetouanTangier-Tetouan is one of the sixteen regions of Morocco. It is situated in north-western Morocco. It covers an area of 11,570 km² and has a population of 2,470,372...
- Prefecture of Fahs Anjra
- Prefecture of Tangier-Assilah
- Tétouan Province
- Chefchaouen Province
- Larache Province
South East Central Morocco
- Meknès-Tafilalet RegionMeknès-TafilaletMeknès-Tafilalet is one of the sixteen regions of Morocco. It is situated in north-central Morocco, bordering Algeria. It covers an area of 79,210 km² and has a population of 2,141,527...
- Prefecture of Meknès-El Menzeh
- El Hajeb Province
- Errachidia Province
- Ifrane Province
- Khénifra Province
- Midelt Province
- Oriental Region
- Prefecture of Oujda-Angad
- Berkane Province
- Figuig Province
- Jerada Province
- Nador Province
- Taourirt Province
- Souss-Massa-Draâ RegionSouss-Massa-DraâSouss-Massa-Draâ is one of the sixteen regions of Morocco. It is situated in central Morocco. It covers an area of 70,880 km² and has a population of 3,113,653 . The capital is Agadir...
- Prefecture of Agadir-Ida Ou Tanane
- Prefecture of Inezgane-Aït Melloul
- Chtouka Aït Baha Province
- Ouarzazate Province
- Taroudant Province
- Sidi Ifni ProvinceSidi Ifni ProvinceSidi Ifni is a province in the Moroccan economic region of Sous-Massa-Draa. Its population in 2004 is 127 781....
- Tiznit Province
- Zagora Province
South Morocco (a.k.a. Western SaharaWestern SaharaWestern Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
)
Most of Western Sahara is administered by Morroco; the restFree Zone (region)
The Free Zone or Liberated Territories is a term used by the Polisario Front to describe the part of Western Sahara that lies to the east of the Moroccan Berm and west and north of the borders with Algeria and Mauritania, respectively...
is administered by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a partially recognised state that claims sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony. SADR was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on February 27, 1976, in Bir Lehlu, Western Sahara. The SADR government controls about...
(SADR.) The international community considers the territory to be disputed and several states recognize the SADR as the sole legitimate government of Western Sahara while others recognize it as a part of Morocco.
- Guelmim-Es Semara RegionGuelmim-Es SemaraGuelmim-Es Semara is one of the sixteen regions of Morocco. It covers an area of 122,825 km² and has a population of 462,410 . The capital is Guelmim. The southern half of the region forms part of the Western Sahara....
- Assa-Zag Province (located in Mainland Morocco)
- Es Semara Province
- Guelmim Province (located in Mainland Morocco)
- Tan-Tan Province (located in Mainland Morocco)
- Tata Province (located in Mainland Morocco)
- Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra RegionLaâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El HamraLaâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra is one of the sixteen regions of Morocco. It is partly located in the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Most of the region is administered by Morocco.The region is made up into the following provinces:...
- Boujdour Province
- Laâyoune Province
- Oued Ed-Dahab-Lagouira RegionOued Ed-Dahab-LagouiraOued Ed-Dahab-Lagouira is one of the sixteen regions of Morocco. It is situated in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, considered by Morocco to be the southern part of the country. The Polisario Front and other independence-seeking Sahrawis consider this to be a part of the Sahrawi Arab...
- Aousserd Province
- Oued Eddahab Province
Wilaya
In Morocco, a wilaya is an administrative division created since 1981 that "brings together many provinces or prefectures or both at the same time, and is intended to endow big urban units such as Casablanca with an administrative organization capable of meeting the needs that emerge from these expanding cities and their growing populations." Therefore, strictly speaking, the level of wilayas are between the regions and prefectures/provinces (although wilayas only cover urban areas). However, they are often used synonymous with regions or prefectures/provinces in common usage.See also
- List of administrative divisions of Morocco by population
- List of administrative divisions of Morocco by area
- ISO 3166-2:MAISO 3166-2:MAISO 3166-2:MA is the entry for Morocco in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.Currently for Morocco, ISO 3166-2 codes are...