Morocco Drought Sparks Rural Exodus

A severe drought has forced farmers into the cities, making Morocco mostly urban for the first time.

And while illiteracy has fallen overall, two-thirds of women can’t read.

The figures from the 1994 census, revealed in recent weeks, prompted Population Minister Liamine Benomar to call for remedial action last week. But he didn’t specify what action should be taken or what it should target.

Urbanization has been prompted by Morocco’s worst drought this century, which cut grain production by an estimated 80 percent this year.

About 13.3 million of Morocco’s 26 million people now live in cities, according to the census.

The rural exodus has created large urban slums where unemployment is posing growing problems for the government of King Hassan II.

The urban population had not been expected to surpass that of rural areas until the year 2000.

The census also showed that illiteracy has fallen to 54.9 percent, down from 65 percent in 1982. But the rate was 89.1 percent among rural women and 67.5 percent among urban women.