Morocco's economic growth slows as drought, locusts deplete farmland
The North African country is grappling with a sixth year of drought, the longest in Morocco’s modern history.
Morocco’s economy grew 3.7% year-on-year for the fourth quarter of 2024, a slower rate than anticipated as droughts and locust swarms continue to grip the country and deplete agricultural output.
The Central Bank of Morocco estimated the country’s gross domestic product to have grown by 3.2% last year and expects the rate to reach 3.9% this year.
What happened: However, the kingdom’s 3.7% growth was lower than the previous quarter’s 4.3% and lower than the fourth quarter of 2023 at 4.2%, according to data released Monday by the High Commission for Planning, the government's statistics agency.
Morocco’s GDP grew by 2.5% and 2.4% in the first two quarters of 2024 before increasing to 4.3% in the third quarter, the highest increase since the end of 2021.
