Population: 31,689,265

Area: 446,550 sq. km.

Economy: In 2002, Morocco ranked 119th in the UN's Human Development Index survey and 52nd in total GDP, with a per capita GDP of $3,593. In 2001, 17.8% of its revenues went to foreign debt service and in 1999, 19% of its population lived in poverty. 7.5% of Moroccans live on less than $2 a day.

Main Language: Arabic, French

Monkey's Name: The Monkey has conflicting information regarding his Moroccan (Arabic) name. An Algerian friend tells the Monkey that his name is El Khard (el card). Other information, from the Middle East, suggests that the Arabic name for the Monkey is Maimun (my moon). With French as another official language, the Monkey also goes by Le Singe (luh sonzh).

Fun Fact: Morocco asserts a claim on the large territory of Western Sahara to its south. Formerly a Spanish colony, the Western Sahara is one of the largest non-state areas left on the planet. After the Spanish withdrawal in 1976, Mauritania and Morocco took leading roles in the running of the territory. When the Western Saharan Polisario nationalist guerrillas took up arms against their occupying neighbors, Mauritania quickly ceded control of its portion of Western Sahara to Morocco. Meanwhile, the Polisario front and Moroccan troops continued fighting until a UN-brokered cease-fire in 1991, though the status of the Western Sahara remains ambiguous.