Updated: Sep 22, 2022
Morocco, or officially the Kingdom of Morocco.
Morocco is located in northwestern Africa.
Morocco is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and the Alboran Sea, Algeria to the east, Western Sahara to the south, and Spain (Ceuta and Melilla) to the north.
The reason for naming the country
The full Arabic name al-Mamlakah al-Maghribiyyah translates to "Kingdom of the West"; as "the West" in Arabic is Al-Gharb.
For historical references, medieval Arab historians and geographers sometimes referred to Morocco as al-Maghrib al-Aqṣá meaning "The Farthest West" to distinguish it from neighboring historical regions called The Middle West and The Nearest West.
The origin of the name Marrakesh is disputed, but is most likely from the Berber words amur (n) Akash or "Land of God".
The Moroccan flag was adopted on November 17, 1915. Until 1956, Morocco was a French colony, but unlike other colonized nations, Morocco did not adopt the French tricolor flag and managed to retain its flag during this period. The flag consists of a red background with a green emerald pentagram. The red color represents hardiness, bravery, strength, and courage, while the green represents love, joy, wisdom, peace, and hope; it also represents Islam, and the pentagram represents the seal of Solomon and it is said the five branches also represent the pillars of Islam.
Morocco recognizes both Modern Standard Arabic and Berber as its official languages French is the country's primary language of economics, culture, commerce, medicine, and sciences and it is used in government and schools as well. Standard Arabic is mostly heard in schools, administrative offices, and mosques.
Islam is the predominant religion in Morocco, 99% of Moroccans are Muslim. Christianity is the second-largest religion, has been in Morocco before the arrival of Islam. There are few Jews in the country, most of them having relocated from Israel. A small number of Moroccans practice the Baha'i faith. In recent years the number of non-religious has been increasing in Morocco.