ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief historical background and a description of major events in Morocco. It also provides basic political, economic, and social data arranged in the following categories: polity, economy, population, purchasing power parities, life expectancy, ethnic groups, capital, political rights, civil liberties, and status. The chapter discusses the progress and decline of political rights and civil liberties in Morocco. Sahrawis are subject to Moroccan law. Since inheriting the Moroccan throne in July 1999, King Mohammad has tried to win the support of Sahrawis. With the referendum on hold and refugee and security issues still unsettled, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan sent Baker to mediate talks between Polisario and Moroccan officials in 1997. Prospects for a long-awaited United Nations-sponsored referendum on the future of Western Sahara dimmed in 2001 as UN envoy James Baker proposed a plan to give the territory five years of limited autonomy within Morocco.
