Morocco is located in North Africa. It has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Spain to the North (a water border through the Strait and land borders with 3 small Spanish exclaves, Algeria to the East, and Mauritania to the South.

Here are 10 facts about Morocco you might not have known

1. The country has an estimated population of 32 million people

2. The country gained independence from France in 1956.

3. The country is a member of the Arab League, Arab Maghreb Union, the Francophonie, Organization of the Islamic Conference, Mediterranean Dialogue group and Group of 77. The country is situated in North Africa and it is the only African country that is presently not a member of the African Union.

4. The shrine of Sidi Yahya, situated in Oujda is said to be the tomb of ‘John the Baptist’.

5. The University in Fes, founded in 859 AD, claims to be the oldest university in the world.

6. Tangier was an International City, from 1922 to 1956, being ruled by representatives of eight European countries.

7. Rabat is the governmental capital of Morocco but is not the largest city in the country. The largest city in / commercial capital of Morocco is Casablanca (which has a population of more than 3 million people).

8. Arabic is the only Moroccan official language. French and Spanish is widely spoken though.

9. The Moroccan dirham (MAD) is the country’s currency.

10. According to 2003 estimates there are over 1.2 million landline phones and over 7 million mobile phone users in the country.

I’m sure that there’s more to this North African country than meets the eye. Comment on this post if you have anything you add to this list.

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