The streets of Ceuta are filled with young Moroccan men amid a growing Spanish military presence

Morocco is the 5th biggest African economy in terms of nominal GDP and 6th in terms of GDP at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). A Bloomberg article from June 2026 said Morocco overtook South Africa as the continent's most industrialized economy.

Morocco is quickly maturing into a Western style economy as the country is beginning to see acute labour shortages. As of April 2026, roughly 50k legal migrants from West Africa work in Morocco's agriculture sector despite having an unemployment rate of 12-13%.

The manufacturing sector is struggling as well to find labourers and is bringing in migrants from countries like Togo, Benin, Senegal, Guinea etc. Factory owners in the country note that young Moroccans are picky when it comes to job offers and many refuse to work in agriculture or manufacturing, preferring to stay unemployed or migrate to Europe.

Europa.com (@europa)