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With the renewal of the housing stock and increasingly smaller families, city dwellers in Morocco have, over the past decade, shown a growing tendency to opt for smaller homes while being less inclined to become homeowners. Presented on Tuesday in Rabat by the High Commission for Planning (HCP), the detailed results of the 2024 General Census of Population and Housing (RGPH) reveal that urban households are living in homes with fewer rooms.
The proportion of households occupying homes with 1 to 2 rooms increased from 35.7% in 2014 to 43.5% in 2024, while those occupying homes with at least 3 rooms dropped from 64.3% to 56.5% over the same period. Urban households living in homes with at least 3 rooms are more prevalent in the regions of Drâa-Tafilalet (64.7%), Guelmim-Oued Noun (63.2%), and Casablanca-Settat (59.3%). Rabat-Salé-Kénitra (59%) follows closely, ahead of Marrakech-Safi (58.5%), Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma (48.3%), and Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab (36.9%).
Home ownership stagnates, slums show slight decline
Unveiled by the High Commissioner for Planning, Chakib Benmoussa, during a press conference, the RGPH 2024 figures also highlight the «stagnation of urban households owning their homes». Over the last decade, the ownership status structure in cities has remained largely unchanged, moving from 61.9% in 2014 to 61.5% in 2024. The percentage of tenants rose slightly from 27.3% to 28%, while households living rent-free (7.1% to 7.5%) and in service housing (1.7% to 1.5%) remained relatively stable.
Regionally, Casablanca-Settat (65.1%), Oriental (64.9%), Rabat-Salé-Kénitra (63.9%), and Marrakech-Safi (63.1%) have the highest shares of urban homeowners. Conversely, home ownership drops significantly in Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab (30.2%) and Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra (43.9%).
Regarding housing quality, the figures show a global decline in slums from 5.2% to 3.3% in urban areas. In rural areas, the proportion of non-residential-type housing fell from 2.4% to 1.7% over the same period. Reflecting a shift in building trends, the share of rural homes made of earth or rudimentary structures decreased significantly from 64.1% in 2014 to 53.3% in 2024.
However, the most urbanized regions continue to account for the highest numbers of slum housing in 2024, with Casablanca-Settat (7.6%), Fès-Meknès (2.9%), Rabat-Salé-Kénitra (2.7%), Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra (2.5%), and Marrakech-Safi (2.2%) leading the list.
Modern apartments replacing villas and traditional homes
By housing type in cities, the overall figures show a continued preference for modern Moroccan homes, whose share increased from 65% in 2014 to 65.4% in 2024. However, families are increasingly opting for apartments, with their share rising from 17.5% to 24.4% over the same period. Already underrepresented (4.5%), villas now account for only 2.7% of primary housing, while traditional homes followed a similar trend, dropping from 5.5% to 2.6%.
Reflecting this «clear transition» to modern structures, the RGPH 2024 also indicates a slight decrease in families living in older housing. As of this year, 22% of households reside in homes less than 10 years old (23.8% in urban areas and 18.3% in rural areas) compared to 20.1% in 2014.
This momentum is tempered, however, by the increase in homes aged 10 to 49 years, which rose from 59.6% to 64.7% over the same period. Meanwhile, the share of homes over 50 years old dropped from 20.3% to 13.3% (2014–2024). These older homes remain most common in the regions of Marrakech-Safi (20.9%), Béni Mellal-Khénifra (16.1%), Casablanca-Settat (16.2%), and Fès-Meknès (15.3%).
In his opening remarks, Chakib Benmoussa also highlighted that Morocco's legal population, as of September 1, 2024, stood at «36.8 million inhabitants, with an average annual growth rate of 0.85% between 2014 and 2024». He underscored the continuous progress of urbanization, now reaching 62.8%, compared to 51.4% in 1994.
