Q

Morocco

Morocco is a North African country bordering the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and the Moroccan Dirham (MAD) is its national currency. The Bank al-Maghrib regulates the circulation and issue of the Moroccan dirham which is made up of 100 santimat. The dirham is the official currency of Morocco, it is still sometimes referred to as rial in colloquial language although the usage is gradually dying out.

Modern coins made out of silver, copper, and gold were introduced in 1882 with the silver coins being called dirham. The Moroccan rial also became the country’s official currency in 1882. One rial divides into 10 dirhams or 50 mazunas. When most of the country became a French protectorate in 1912, the rial was replaced by the Moroccan franc. In 1956, Morocco's independence began the dirham was reintroduced. The franc continued in circulation until it was replaced by the santim in 1974. The MAD coins have denominations of ½, 1, 2, 5, and 10 dirhams and the banknotes have denominations of 20, 50, 100, and 200 dirhams. The series of MAD banknotes issued in August 2013 features the royal crown and a portrait of King Mohammed VI, as well as an image of a Moroccan doorway, as an acknowledgment of Morocco’s architectural heritage and an allusion to its openness.

The Moroccan dirham is the modern evolution of an ancient type of currency. In pre-Islamic times, the Levant saw use in a large area in Western Asia, while the dirham saw use in Arabia, bounded by both the Arabian Desert and the Taurus Mountains. Similar to the ancient currency that first circulated here, the region that includes the country has witnessed human habitation for tens of thousands of years. The region was one of the few to elude Ottoman rule. In 1912, the area was split into French and Spanish protectorates but gained independence again in 1956. The King of Morocco has executive and legislative control over monetary policy, as well as foreign and religious policies. He rules by an elected parliament.

Morocco has a highly educated population, according to data from World Bank. The rich country experiences no yearly inflation and, as of 2017, which is the most recent year of available data, has a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of a 4.1%.
 

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