The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board has concluded the 2025 Article IV consultation with Morocco and completed the Third Review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). This arrangement, initially approved in September 2023, now allows Moroccan authorities to draw SDR 375 million, approximately US$496 million. Total disbursement under this facility has reached SDR 937.5 million, or about US$1.24 billion.
Despite a challenging year marked by drought, Morocco's economy demonstrated resilience in 2024. Strong domestic demand mitigated weak agricultural output, leading to a modest slowdown in economic activity to an estimated growth rate of 3.2 percent for the year. The unemployment rate remained high at around 13 percent due to job losses in agriculture. However, GDP growth is anticipated to accelerate to approximately 3.7 percent over the coming years, bolstered by infrastructure projects and ongoing structural reforms.
Inflation decreased further in 2024 as supply shocks diminished, prompting Bank Al-Maghrib to reduce the policy rate twice during the year. The dirham continued its movement within a fluctuation band of ±5 percent.
Fiscal performance exceeded expectations with a central government fiscal deficit closing at 4.1 percent of GDP for 2024—0.2 percentage points lower than projected—thanks to better-than-expected tax revenues offsetting higher spending levels.
Progress continues on Morocco's structural reform agenda, including restructuring state-owned enterprises (SOEs), operationalizing the Mohammed VI Investment Fund, and implementing a new Charter of Investment.
Under the RSF arrangement, Morocco has advanced measures aimed at enhancing resilience against climate change impacts. These include efforts to protect underground water resources and improve electricity market regulations to foster renewable energy production by private entities.
Following discussions on Morocco's economic situation, IMF Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura stated: "The Moroccan economy continued to show resilience to negative shocks, a testament to the country’s very strong economic policies and frameworks...GDP growth is expected to accelerate...driven by a new cycle of infrastructure projects and...structural reform agenda."
Okamura also noted that six out of seven scheduled measures were implemented during the third review under the RSF arrangement: "These measures will help improve management of scarce water resources...and address climate risks on fiscal position stability." However, he acknowledged that further analysis was needed before introducing a carbon tax due to required consultations with stakeholders.