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Updates:

As of 2015, ISO had not provided subdivision codes for the twelve new regions. Now, however, the ISO maintenance committee has circulated a document N849, dated 2015”N10ŒŽ15“ú. If it is approved, the region codes will be the same as the Direction de la Statistique codes as shown in the table below.

In 2010, a commision (Commission consultative de la régionalisation) prepared a report proposing to reorganize Morocco into 12 regions. These regions constituted a regrouping of the existing provinces and prefectures. The plan has now been put into effect.

Update 7 to Geopolitical Entities and Codes, the successor to FIPS standard 10-4, was issued with the date 2012”N02ŒŽ01“ú. It changes the spelling of Guelmim-Es Smara to Guelmim-Es Semara. On 2014”N11ŒŽ03“ú, ISO issued an update to ISO 3166-2, making the same spelling change.

FIPS 10-4 Change Notice 11, dated 2006”N07ŒŽ11“ú, has assigned a FIPS code to Laâyoune - Boujdour - Sakia El Hamra region, as shown below.

FIPS Publication Change Notice No. 10, affecting FIPS PUB 10-4, was issued on 2006”N03ŒŽ23“ú. It assigns new FIPS codes to the current Moroccan regions, superseding the province codes formerly in effect. Among the new codes, there are none that apply to the southernmost regions. Perhaps FIPS now considers them part of Western Sahara, but I don't have any FIPS codes for them under that heading, either.

ISO 3166-2 Newsletter Number I-6 was published on 2004”N03ŒŽ08“ú. The only change to the Morocco listing is to correct the spelling of Laayoune to Laâyoune in two places. This page has always included the accent.

ISO 3166-2 Newsletter Number I-2 was published on 2002”N05ŒŽ21“ú. It replaces the former seven economic regions with a completely new set of sixteen economic regions, shown in the following table (which I had posted about a year earlier). The ISO standard retains the same list of second-level administrative divisions (wilayas and provinces) as before, although a few spellings and one code are corrected. I have inserted the ISO codes for the economic regions in the table below. The changes are also reflected on the Prefectures page.

On this page, I reported that the province of Aousserd was split from Oued Ed-Dahab - Lagouira, which was correct. However, I misinterpreted it as meaning that Aousserd should be added to the table. In fact, it is a second-level subdivision and as such it should only be listed as a secondary division (see the Prefectures page). In correcting this error, I've also restored the HASC code for Oued Ed-Dahab - Lagouira from MA.OD to MA.OL.

Country overview:

In 1900, Morocco was an independent sultanate, although several European countries had sought varying degrees of influence. Spain, in particular, had possessed exclaves on the Mediterranean coast for many years. Spain also claimed, and later occupied, the coastal exclave of Ifni in the south. The French and Germans agreed on 1911”N11ŒŽ04“ú to respect French pretensions to Morocco in exchange for a French cession in the Cameroons. In the Treaty of Fez (1912”N03ŒŽ30“ú), the sultan agreed to a Spanish protectorate over two strips of territory at the north and south ends, and a French protectorate over the rest of the country. From 1925 to 1956, Tangier, with its environs, was administered jointly by the European powers. In 1956, the sultanate once again became independent, first in the French protectorate, then the Spanish, and finally Tangier. In 1976, Spain relinquished Spanish Sahara. Mauritania and Morocco promptly divided it between them. However, Mauritania ceded its portion to Morocco three years later. Morocco has administered the region since then. The United Nations intends to hold a referendum to determine the future of this territory, now known as Western Sahara. Pending the decision, other governments have withheld recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara.

Other names of country:

1. Arabic: al-Mamlaka al-Maghrebia (formal)
2. Danish: Marokko
3. Dutch: Marokko, Koninkrijk Marokko (formal)
4. English: Kingdom of Morocco (formal)
5. Finnish: Marokko
6. French: Maroc m
7. German: Marokko n
8. Icelandic: Marokk?
9. Italian: Marocco m
10. Norwegian: Marokko, Kongeriket Marokko (formal)
11. Portuguese: Marrocos n (mp in Brazil), Reino m de Marrocos (formal)
12. Russian: Королевство Марокко (formal)
13. Spanish: Marruecos, Reino m de Marruecos m (formal)
14. Swedish: Marocko
15. Turkish: Fas Krallığı (formal)

Origin of name:

from Medieval Latin Morroch, which came in turn from the city name Marrakech. Arabic name was al-Maghreb: the west, al-aksa: farthest

Primary subdivisions:

Morocco is divided into twelve regions.

Note: Morocco claims sovereignty over Western Sahara. Other governments have withheld recognition of this claim, pending a referendum in the territory. The regions of Ed Dakhla-Oued ed Dahab and part of Laâyoune-Saguia al Hamra correspond roughly to Western Sahara.

Postal codes:

Morocco uses five-digit postal codes. The first two digits indicate the prefecture or province.

Further subdivisions:

See the Prefectures of Morocco page.

The regions are subdivided into provinces and prefectures. Those, in turn, are subdivided into cercles, municipalities or communes urbaines (urban communes), and (in some metropolitan areas) arrondissements. The cercles are subdivided into communes rurales. The municipalities and arrondissements should probably be thought of as fourth-level subdivisions, on the same level as communes rurales. Karem Abdalla reports that Morocco is introducing a new level of administration between the regions and the provinces/prefectures, called wilaya't (lands).

Territorial extent:

Morocco does not include the Spanish places of sovereignty in Africa, namely, the coastal cities of Ceuta and Melilla with small surrounding enclaves, and the islands of Pe??n de Vélez de la Gomera, Pe??n de Alhucemas, its nearby neighbors Isla de Mar and Isla de Tierra, and the Islas Chafarinas (Isabel II, Congreso, and del Rey).

The UN LOCODE page for Morocco lists locations in the country, some of them with their latitudes and longitudes, some with their ISO 3166-2 codes for their subdivisions. This information can be put together to approximate the territorial extent of subdivisions.

Origins of names:

1. Agadir: Touareg for wall, possibly from Semitic gadir: walled place
2. Casablanca: Spanish casa: house, blanca: white, a calque of the city's Arabic name, Dar el Beida
3. El Jadida: Arabic for the new one, so named when the city was rebuilt
4. Essaouira: from Arabic for the beautiful
5. Fès-Médina: from a Berber word for springs + Arabic madinat: city
6. Marrakech: Classic Arabic marrukuch: the well adorned one; or from Berber for "sons of Kutch"; or Masmooda for "do not linger"
7. Rabat: after the city, originally ar-Ribat al-fath: the stronghold of victory
8. Tétouan: Berber titawin: little wells

Change history:

1. Note: The situation in Morocco is particularly messy. From independence to 1997, Morocco was divided into provinces and prefectures. They are supposed to be at the same administrative level. However, the prefectures are much smaller in area, as each one contains only one or two cities and their suburbs. Many sources don't even list the prefectures. The numbers of provinces and prefectures have grown fairly steadily over the years. This history is only an approximation to the changes that have occurred. The treatment of prefectures is incomplete.
2. In 1900, Morocco was an independent sultanate, although several European countries had sought varying degrees of influence. Spain, in particular, had possessed exclaves on the Mediterranean coast for many years. Spain also claimed, and later occupied, the coastal exclave of Ifni in the south.
3. 1911”N11ŒŽ04“ú: France and Germany agreed to respect French pretensions to Morocco in exchange for a French cession in the Cameroons.
4. 1912”N03ŒŽ30“ú: Morocco divided into a French protectorate and a Spanish protectorate. The Spanish protectorate consisted of strips of territory at the north and south ends of the country.
5. 1925”N06ŒŽ01“ú: Tangier established as an international zone (effective date).
6. ~1946: French protectorate consisted of the regions of Agadir, Casablanca, Fès, Marrakech, Meknès, Oujda, and Rabat. Spanish protectorate consisted of the regions of Gomara, Kert, Lucus, Rif, and Yebala (northern area) and the Southern Protectorate of Morocco.
7. 1956”N04ŒŽ07“ú: Morocco became independent. The Spanish protectorate ended on this date; the French protectorate had ended earlier in the same year.
8. 1956”N10ŒŽ29“ú: Status of Tangier changed from international zone to province of Morocco.
9. ~1957: Morocco divided into provinces. The provinces of Agadir, Beni-Mellal, Casablanca, Fès, Marrakech, Mazagan, Meknès, Ouarzazate, Oujda, Rabat, Safi, Tafilalet, and Taza corresponded to French Morocco. The provinces of Chauen, Larache, Nador, Rif, Tangier, and Tetuan corresponded to Spanish Morocco (the northern protectorate). Southern Protectorate of Morocco became the province of Tarfaya.
10. 1960: The administrative decrees of 1959 and 1960 provided that Morocco's primary divisions were the provinces and prefectures. They were subdivided into cercles (circles), which were further subdivided into circonscriptions rurales and circonscriptions urbaines (rural and urban constituencies). The rural constituencies were subdivided into communes; the urban into arrondissements.
11. 1962”N07ŒŽ09“ú: Name of Kenitra (the city) officially changed to Mina Hassan Tani (Port Hassan II, in honor of the king); however, the new name has not been in use.
12. 1965-01: Rabat province split into Rabat prefecture and Kenitra province.
13. 1965”N06ŒŽ15“ú: Safi province split from Marrakech.
14. ~1967: Name of Tafilalet province and its capital changed to Ksar es Souk. Name of Rif province and its capital changed to Al Hoce?ma. Chauen, Larache, and Tetuan provinces merged to form Tétouan. Mazagan province merged with Casablanca.
15. 1969”N06ŒŽ30“ú: Ifni restored to Morocco by Spain, becoming part of Agadir province.
16. ~1970: El Jadida (formerly Mazagan), Khouribga, and Settat province split from Casablanca; name of Rabat province changed to Rabat-Sal?.
17. 1971”N06ŒŽ23“ú: By decree 1-71-71, dated 1971”N06ŒŽ16“ú but published a week later, a new level of local government was created. Seven "administrative regions" were formed by combining the existing 19 provinces and two prefectures, which remained in place as secondary divisions. The regions were as follows:

1. 1973”N08ŒŽ13“ú: El Kelâa des Sraghna province split from Marrakech. Khémisset province split from Rabat. Khénifra province formed from parts of Ksar es Souk and Meknès.
2. 1974”N01ŒŽ14“ú: Figuig province formed from parts of Ksar es Souk and Oujda.
3. 1976: Spain relinquished control of Spanish Sahara. Mauritania and Morocco promptly divided it between them. This action was not recognized as legal by the international community. The United Nations intends to hold a referendum to determine the future of this territory, now known as Western Sahara. Pending the decision, other governments have withheld recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara.
4. ~1978: Azilal province formed from parts of Beni-Mellal and Marrakech. Ben Slimane province split from Casablanca. Boulemane province formed from parts of Fès and Taza. Chefchaouen (formerly Chauen) province split from Tétouan. Essaouira province split from Safi. Taounate province split from Fès. Tata province formed from parts of Agadir and Ouarzazate. Tiznit province split from Agadir.
5. 1979: Mauritania ceded its portion of Western Sahara to Morocco.
6. ~1980: Tarfaya province split into three parts. Two of the parts became Guelmim and Tan-Tan provinces. The third part merged with Laâyoune province in Western Sahara. Since Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara is not internationally recognized, we must regard this third part as a separate Laâyoune province in Morocco.
7. 1981: Casablanca divided into five prefectures: A?n Chock-Hay Hassani, A?n Sebâa-Hay Mohammedi, Ben M'sick-Sidi Othmane, Casablanca-Anfa, and Mohammedia-Zenata.
8. ~1982: Ifrane province split from Meknès. Name of Ksar es Souk province and its capital changed to Errachidia.
9. ~1986: Sidi Kacem province split from Kenitra. Taroudannt province split from Agadir.
10. The changes from ~1990 to ~1997 may or may not be completely accurate, but they do help account for some of the discrepancies in the standards.
11. ~1990: Larache province split from Tétouan. Rabat-Sal? province split into three prefectures: Rabat, Sal?, and Skhirate-Témara.
12. ~1993: Agadir province split into Chtouka-A?t Baha province and Agadir-Ida-Tenane and Inezgane-A?t Melloul prefectures. Meknès province split into El Hajeb province and Meknès-El Menzeh prefecture. Oujda province split into Berkane-Taourirt, Jerada, and Taourirt provinces and Oujda-Angad prefecture. Assa-Zag province split from Guelmim. Chichaoua and Al Haouz provinces split from Marrakech. Sefrou province split from Fès.
13. ~1994: Mohammedia-Zenata prefecture split into Al Fida-Derb-Sultan, Méchouar de Casablanca, Mohammedia, and Sidi Bernoussi-Zenata (possibly with annexations from other prefectures). Marrakech split into Marrakech-Ménara province and Marrakech-Médina and Sidi-Youssef-Ben-Ali prefectures. Fès province split into Fès el Jadid-Dar Dbibagh, Fès-Médina, and Zouagha-Moulay Yacoub prefectures. Al Isma?lia prefecture split from Meknès-El Menzeh, El Hajeb, or parts of both.
14. ~1997: Berkane-Taourirt province split into Berkane and Taourirt.
15. 1997-03: Sixteen regions created as primary subdivisions, relegating provinces and prefectures to the secondary level. These were the regions:

1. 2015”N09ŒŽ04“ú: Morocco reorganized from sixteen regions to twelve. Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceima region formed by annexing Al Hoceima and Ouezzane provinces to Tanger-Tétouan region. Driouch and Guercif provinces annexed to Oriental region. Fès-Meknès region formed by merging Fès-Boulemane region with the northern part of Meknès-Tafilalet region and annexing Taounate and Taza provinces. Rabat-Sal?-Kénitra region formed by merging Fès-Boulemane and Meknès-Tafilalet regions. Béni Mellal-Khénifra formed by annexing Fqih Ben Salah, Khouribga, and part of Khénifra provinces to Tadla-Azilal region. Casablanca-Settat region formed by merging Grand Casablanca and Chaouia-Ouardigha regions and annexing El Jadida province. Marrakech-Safi region formed by annexing Safi province to Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz region. Drâa-Tafilalet region formed from Errachidia, Ouarzazate, and Zagora provinces, taken from Meknès-Tafilalet and Souss-Massa-Dra? regions, and part of Khénifra province. Souss-Massa region formed by annexing Tata province to Souss-Massa-Dra? region. Guelmim-Oued Noun region formed by annexing Sidi Ifni province to Guelmim-Es-Semara region. Laâyoune-Saguia al Hamra region formed by annexing Es-Semara province to Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra region. Ed Dakhla-Oued ed Dahab region is equivalent to the former Oued Ed-Dahab-Lagouira region.

Other names of subdivisions:

1. Casablanca-Settat: Grand Casablanca-Settat (variant)
2. Laâyoune-Sakia al Hamra: Laâyoune-Saguia al Hamra (variant)
3. L'oriental: Oriental et Rif (variant)

See Prefectures of Morocco page under this heading. Some region names include province or prefecture names. Here are other names of the 1971 regions:

1. Central: Center (variant); Centre (French)
2. Eastern: East (variant); Est, Oriental (French)
3. North-Central: Centre-Nord (French); North Center (variant)
4. Northwestern: Nord-Ouest (French); North-West (variant)
5. South-Central: Centre-Sud (French); South Center (variant)
6. Southern: South (variant); Sud (French)
7. Tansift: Tensift (variant)

Sources:

1. [1] Moroccan Direction de la Statistique (http://www.statistic.gov.ma/codegeo.xls, dead link, retrieved 2005”N02ŒŽ23“ú).
2. [2] Haut Commisariat au Plan (http://www.recensement.hcp.ma/index.php3, dead link, retrieved 2005”N02ŒŽ23“ú).
3. [3] "Découpage territorial: La nouvelle carte du Maroc dévoilée ", Medias24 online Moroccan news site (dated 2015”N01ŒŽ21“ú, retrieved 2015”N03ŒŽ05“ú).
4. [4] Recensement Général de la Population et de l'Habitat 2014 (retrieved 2015”N03ŒŽ21“ú).