Moroccans
File:Moroccan people mosaic.jpeg  _-_BAE09705.jpg?lang=en)  | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 39-40 million (worldwide) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Morocco 31,993,000 (2009)[1] | |
 France | 1,200,176 |
 Israel | 1,000,000[2] |
 Spain | 758,000[3] |
 Italy | 555,000[4] |
 Netherlands | 352,000[5] |
 Belgium | 333,244[6] |
 Germany | 202,000[7] |
 United States | 200,000[8] |
| Languages | |
| Moroccan Arabic Berber (Riff, Shilha, Central Atlas Tamazight) | |
| Religion | |
| predominantly Islam, some Judaism | |
The Moroccan people (Template:Lang-ar Modern Standard Arabic: al-Maghāribah, Moroccan Arabic: l-Mgharbah) are a people that share a common Moroccan culture, ancestry and speak the Moroccan variant of the Arabic language or a Berber language as a mother tongue.
In addition to the nearly 32 million Moroccans in Morocco, there is a large population in France, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and smaller groups in United Kindom, United States and Canada ( see Moroccan diaspora ).
Because of wide-ranging diaspora, about estimated 4.5 million Moroccans living abroad and of full or partial Moroccan ancestry live outside of Morocco, most notably in Europe, North America and many Arabic-speaking countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait amongst others.
Ethnic groups and ancestry
Morocco's population is composed of two major ethnic groups, the Berbers and the Arabs. However, mixing since the arrival of the Arabs in the 8th century has made Berber and Arab identity largely meaningless in many communities. In addition, because there were many marriages between Arab men and Berber women in the first centuries of Arab rule, many Arabs in Morocco today are of Berber ancestry. Assuming that it is possible to separate Arabs from Berbers in Morocco, Arabs are believed to be about 66% of the Moroccan population, although this includes people of mixed Arab and Berber descent. Arabs are an indigenous group in the middle east and are the majority population in 15 nations in the Middle East and North Africa.[9]
Others insist on the Arab-Berber-African identity of Morocco. About 70% acknowledge an Arab identity. Classical Arabic is the only official language of Morocco and is used in limited socio-economic and cultural activities and written newspapers.
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. Most if not all of the invaders into North Africa, ie: Phoenicians, Romans have left some imprint upon the modern Berbers as have slaves brought from throughout Europe between 1530 and 1780 in a series of raids which depopulated coastal towns from Sicily to Cornwall, England (some estimates place the number of European slaves (Saqaliba) brought to North Africa during the Ottoman period as high as 1.25 million).[10]
Berber groups
Culture
Through Moroccan history, Morocco hosted many people in addition to the indigenous Berbers, coming from both East (Phoenicians, Jews and Arabs), South (Moors and Sub-Saharan Africans) and North (Romans and Vandals). All of which have had an impact on the social structure of Morocco. It conceived many forms of beliefs, from paganism, Judaism, Christianity to Islam.
Each region possesses its own uniqueness, contributing to the national culture. Morocco has set among its top priorities the protection of its diversity and the preservation of its cultural heritage.
Languages
Classical Arabic is Morocco's official language (it is the "classical" Arabic known as Moroccan-Arabic).
More than 12 million Moroccans speak Berber — which exists in Morocco in three different dialects (Riff, Shilha, and Central Atlas Tamazight) — either as a first language or bilingually with the spoken Arabic dialect. French, which remains Morocco's unofficial third language, is taught at universally and still serves as Morocco's primary language of commerce and economics; it is also widely used in education and government.
Morocco is a member of La Francophonie. Amazigh (Berber) activists have struggled for half a century for the recognition of their language as the official language of Morocco in the Moroccan constitution. They also demand that this language should be taught in all Moroccan schools and universities.
About 20,000 Moroccans in the northern part of the country speak Spanish. Meanwhile English, still far behind French; the Italian and German is well studied, and Spanish in terms of the number of speakers, is rapidly becoming the second foreign language of choice among educated youth, after French.
See also
References
- ^ Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Population Division (2009). "World Population Prospects, Table A.1" (PDF). 2008 revision. United Nations. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help); line feed character in|author=at position 42 (help) - ^ History of the Jews in Morocco
- ^ INE 2010
- ^ Moroccan people in Italy
- ^ CBS 2010
- ^ Bijlage bij BuG 22
- ^ Marokkanische Diaspora, Ministerie voor ontwikkelingssamenwerking Duitsland, 2007, page 3
- ^ Moroccan American
- ^ Ethnic groups in Morocco.
- ^ New book reopens old arguments about slave raids on Europe
