The latest statistics from the High Commission for Planning highlight a worrying increase in poverty in Morocco, with the absolute poverty rate having more than doubled since 2019 to reach 3.9% in 2022. However, this alarming trend underscores the growing scale of the socio-economic challenges facing the country, requiring urgent measures to strengthen the resilience of urban and rural communities in the face of this persistent crisis.
Figures and statistics published by the High Commission for Planning have revealed an increase in poverty and social vulnerability among Moroccans in recent years, with the absolute poverty rate increasing from 1.7% in 2019 to 3.9% in 2022. .
In accordance with the report of the High Commission for Planning (HCP) on the evolution of the standard of living of the population based on the results of national research on the standard of living of families for 2022, the number of poor people at the national level has increased from 623,000 in 2019 to 1.42 million in 2022, recording an average annual increase of 33.7% during this period, with an average annual increase of 72.5%. Furthermore, the total number of poor people in urban areas increased significantly from 109,000 in 2019 to 512,000 in 2022, while the number of poor people in rural areas increased from 513,000 in 2019 to 906,000 in 2022.
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It thus appears that the breakdown of multidimensional poverty by dimension reveals that monetary poverty is a major source of this form of poverty, explaining more than half (52%) of the prevalence of multidimensional poverty in 2022, compared to 37.8 % in 2014. As for the contributions of denial of access to basic social services (water, electricity and sanitation) and social deficits in education, they stand at 25 and 23%, respectively, in 2022.
Regarding the increase in the number of poor observed over the last five years, there are objective reasons beyond our control, including the global crisis resulting from the repercussions of the health crisis that hit the world in 2020 and caused high inflation and high prices for consumer goods, which have damaged the purchasing power of citizens and reduced their possibilities to satisfy their basic needs and services.
Furthermore, the deterioration of the living conditions of Moroccans and the fall of a large part of the middle class towards the poverty line are however due to self-inflicted causes, namely the non-compliant policy of successive governments which have managed public affairs over the past ten years.
