At a time when many schools are setting up in Morocco, like emlyon business school or ESSEC BS, more and more students are attracted by the opportunities in this country. But does the average salary in Morocco allow you to live decently in 2024? What about the cost of living in this country?
Morocco has the highest minimum wage in North Africa, according to the International Labor Organization. It is also considered one of the most expensive countries in the region according to a report from the collaborative database Numbeo. However, the Moroccan average salary has decreased by 62% since May 2018 and experiences strong disparities, mainly between the public sector and the private sector, a gap among the highest in the region.
Furthermore, despite the 21 increases in the SMIG (guaranteed interprofessional minimum wage) since 1980, 4 out of 10 employees in the private sector receive less than this. Consequence: they cannot live decently, according to the CNSS.
However, the positive point is that the average salary in Morocco seems to have started to rise again in 2024. Even if it does not reach the 2018 level, it almost doubles compared to 2019.
The average salary in Morocco in 2024
The average salary in Morocco, all sectors combined, was 6,333MAD (€563) in May 2018 compared to 2,368MAD (€222.38) in August 2019a drop of 62%. Despite everything, the economic recovery seems to be felt since in 2024the average salary in Morocco is 4,193.91 madeither €382.25 monthly net.
However, there is a difference in 2,361MAD/month (222€) between the average monthly salary in the private sector (5,188MAD = €487) and that of the public sector (7,549MAD = 709€). This delta climbed up to 7,600MAD (712.10€) on average, in 2018. On the side of farmers, the average salary is around 3,028MAD/month (€284), which is slightly more than the national average salary.
Here is the list of average salaries in different Moroccan cities according to Numbeo:
| City | Average salary 2024 |
|---|---|
| Agadir | €305.28 |
| Casablanca | €447.28 |
| El Jadida | €334.46 |
| Fez | €522.48 |
| Kenitra | €281.89 |
| Khouribga | €391.86 |
| Marrakech | €362.01 |
| Meknes | €342.87 |
| Nador | €332.62 |
| Ouarzazate | €396.41 |
| Oujda | €396.41 |
| Rabat | €439.93 |
| Safi | €560.45 |
| Settat | €660.69 |
| Sidi Slimane | €181.08 |
| Tangier | €330.67 |
| Taounate | €441.98 |
| Tetouan | €348.57 |
Contrary to what we have seen in other countries, the largest cities do not always offer the highest salaries. This is what we can observe with Agadir, Marrakech and even Rabat.
Furthermore, the average salary decreased in all cities in Morocco in 2024 compared to the year 2021.
Significant wage inequalities in Morocco
Inequalities are greater than they seem. If we take into account the median salary for 2017, it amounts to 2,712MAD/month (254€) against the 5,120MAD/month (480€) of the average salary of the same year. Already at the time, we could see that 39% of declared employees with the CNSS received a salary lower than the SMIG which was 2,566MAD/month (242€) while the consumer price index increased by 2.2%.
More recently, in 2019, only 14% of employees in the private sector received a salary equal to or greater than 6,000MAD/month (€563) and only 6.8% earned more than 10,000MAD per month (€941). These high salaries were those of individuals who worked in particular in the financial field, IT, communications and insurance.
At the same time, 30% of civil servants had a monthly salary of between 6,000 and 8,000MAD/month. It is important to note that they also benefited from health coverage and were affiliated to a retirement system.
In Morocco, 79% of the working population is not affiliated to any retirement system and 75% of workers do not benefit from any social coverage. On the other hand, women are more affected by inequalities, 45% of women received less than the minimum wage compared to 35% of men.
The evolution of the minimum wage in Morocco
To remedy this, since 1er January 2020, the monthly SMIG which includes the industry, commerce and liberal professions sector, now amounts to 2,698MAD/month (€253) compared to a monthly SMIG of 3,300MAD/month (€309.94) for the public service. Regarding agricultural activities, the SMAG (guaranteed minimum agricultural wage) is 73.22MAD/day or 1,830MAD/month (€172). This revaluation aims to improve the living conditions of private sector actors following the social dialogue agreement signed on April 25, 2019.
However, the current amount of SMIG is considered insufficient according to the consumer protection association Unicon. In order to cover the needs of a single person (health costs, transport, rent and basic needs without entertainment costs), a worker would need to receive 6,000MAD or €563 per month. For a family of four, living in the capital Rabat, 15,000MAD (€1,409) is necessary to cover all household needs, not including the rent!
According to Bank Al Magrhibthe SMIG is too low to allow households to save, given the stock of unpaid debts of individuals which amounts to 23 billion Moroccan dinars or 2.1 billion euros.
Sectors and professions recruiting in Morocco in 2024
Sectors of activity
According to the employment portal in Morocco which is none other than ReKrute.comthe two sectors of activity which have recruited the most in recent years are IT and the call center sector. Furthermore, the most recruited profiles are mainly bac+4 and bac+5 graduates.
When it comes to information technology, recruiters are becoming more and more demanding in terms of level of education and experience. Knowing that the IT-electronics, internet-multimedia and telecoms-networks specializations are the most sought after. Please note that you will have a greater chance of being recruited if you have at least three years of experience!
Jobs recruiting in Morocco
In 2023, Morocco is mainly looking for profiles for the following areas of activity:
- Production, quality, safety, maintenance
- Commercial, sales, export
- IT, electronics
- Management, accounting, finance
Namely:
- The local population will always be favored in recruitment.
- According to France Diplomacynearly 53,824 French people are registered at the consulate.
The cost of living in Morocco in 2024
The cost of living is much lower in Morocco than in France. In 2024, it is considered to be 54.24% lower than that of France. The average rent amount is also lower than that of France by 63.59%.
However, the average cost of living in Morocco, compared to the average salary in 2024, still remains very high. We consider that a person living alone spends on average 3,937.69 MAD (or €371.55) for an average salary of 3,966.51 MAD, not including rent.
The average amount of rent in Morocco in 2024 amounts to 3,392.71MAD (either €309.18) for a one-room apartment in the city center against 1,947.58MAD (either €177.48) for equivalent accommodation located in the suburbs.
Basic necessities are of course cheaper than in France. Cheese and meat stand out with particularly high prices compared to the average salary in 2024. It costs 87.95MAD for a kilo of local cheese (i.e. €8.01) and 90.21MAD for a kilo of beef (8 .22€).
Concerning modes of travel, vehicles are overpriced when we take into consideration the average salary in 2024 in Morocco. It takes around 270,000MAD for a Golf (Volkswaggen) or €24,604.95. A resident of Morocco would therefore have to spend nothing and save for 54 months (or 4 and a half years) to be able to afford a new vehicle.
Average salary in Morocco: 3 things to know about the Moroccan economy in 2024
Here are five things to know about the Moroccan economy in 2024. While the average salary is rising in Morocco, know that the entire economy is doing quite well and is not experiencing the crisis!
- According to the World Bank, the growth of the Moroccan economy, which was 7.9% in 2021, should have stood at 1.3% in 2022. Ultimately, it is growth of 1.7% which was recorded in 2022 for Morocco.
- The World Bank’s forecasts are rather optimistic. Morocco’s economy is expected to grow by 3.1% of GDP in 2023 and 3.3% in 2024, according to data from the WB Information Bulletin.
- For 2023, the Executive is counting on a growth rate for the Moroccan economy via the draft Finance Law, currently being adopted in Parliament. An increase in expenses of 15.25% is planned.
