Moroccan diaspora


The Moroccan diaspora consists of emigrants from Morocco and their descendants. Of the estimated 5 to 6 million Moroccans living abroad, the overwhelming majority live in Europe; the remainder are distributed throughout the Americas, Australia, Africa, and the countries of the Arab World.They are the next largest foreign community in Europe after Turkey.

History

Europe has long been a destination for Moroccan migration, with Moroccans arriving in some countries at least as early as the twentieth century. The largest concentration of Moroccans outside Morocco is in France, which has reportedly over 1.9 million Moroccans, and the Netherlands and Belgium. In the Netherlands, Moroccans are the third largest group of non-western immigrants after people from the former Dutch colonies of Suriname and Indonesia and the Turks.
In Belgium, Moroccans now form even the largest group of non-western immigrants. At about 4% of Belgium's population, the Moroccan population in Belgium is the highest percentage-wise in Europe.
There are also large Moroccan communities in Spain, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. Many Moroccans have also settled for quite a long time in the United States, Canada, Brazil and other Arab countries, most notably Libya. Some other Moroccans have immigrated to other parts of Africa where they have prospered financially.
The majority of the Moroccan diaspora are Muslims, with a sizable minority of Jews and Christians. The vast majority of Moroccan Jews are now living in Israel.
The Moroccan diaspora is historically composed of guest workers. Because of the economic opportunities, many Moroccans have worked in the Arab World, most notably in Arab states of the Persian Gulf like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait among others.