Prefectures and provinces of Morocco

Prefectures and provinces of Morocco
In Morocco, the 75 second-level administrative subdivisions are 13 prefectures and 62 provinces. They are subdivisions of the 12 regions of Morocco. Each prefecture or province is subdivided into arrondissements (only in prefectures of some metropolitan areas), municipalities (communes, sing. commune) or urban municipalities (communes urbaines, sing. commune urbaine) in other urban areas, and districts (cercles, sing. cercle) in rural areas. The districts are subdivided into rural municipalities (communes rurales, sing. commune rural). One prefecture (Casablanca) is also subdivided into préfectures d'arrondissements (sing. préfecture d'arrondissements), similar to districts (cercles) except they are grouping a few arrondissements instead of rural municipalities.
Note: The arrondissements and (urban) municipalities should probably be thought of as fourth-level subdivisions, on the same level as the rural municipalities, but they are not part of any district.
List of prefectures and provinces
Seats / Headquarters
Mainland Morocco
Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima Region
M'diq-Fnideq Prefecture
Tangier-Assilah Prefecture
Al Hoceïma Province
Chefchaouen Province
Fahs-Anjra Province
Larache Province
Ouezzane Province
Tétouan Province
Oriental Region
Prefecture of Oujda-Angad
Berkane Province
Driouch Province
Figuig Province
Guercif Province
Jerada Province
Nador Province
Taourirt Province
Fès-Meknès Region
Prefecture of Fès
Prefecture of Meknès
Boulemane Province
El Hajeb Province
Ifrane Province
Sefrou Province
Taounate Province
Taza Province
Moulay Yacoub Province
Rabat-Salé-Kénitra Region
Prefecture of Rabat
Prefecture of Salé
Prefecture of Skhirat-Témara
Kénitra Province
Khémisset Province
Sidi Kacem Province
Sidi Slimane Province
Béni Mellal-Khénifra Region
Azilal Province
Béni-Mellal Province
Fquih Ben Salah Province
Khénifra Province
Khouribga Province
Casablanca-Settat Region
Prefecture of Casablanca
Prefecture of arrondissements of Casablanca Anfa
Prefecture of arrondissements of Al Fida - Mers Sultan
Prefecture of arrondissements of Aïn Sebaâ - Hay Mohammadi
Prefecture of arrondissement of Hay Hassani
Prefecture of arrondissement of Aïn Chock
Prefecture of arrondissements of Sidi Bernoussi
Prefecture of arrondissements of Ben M'Sick
Prefecture of arrondissements of Moulay Rachid
Prefecture of Mohammedia
Ben Slimane Province
Berrechid Province
El Jadida Province
Médiouna Province
Nouaceur Province
Settat Province
Sidi Bennour Province
Marrakech-Safi Region
Prefecture of Marrakech (fr)
Al Haouz Province
Chichaoua Province
El Kelâat Es-Sraghna Province
Essaouira Province
Rehamna Province
Safi Province
Youssoufia Province
Drâa-Tafilalet Region
Errachidia Province
Midelt Province
Ouarzazate Province
Tinghir Province
Zagora Province
Souss-Massa Region
Prefecture of Agadir-Ida Ou Tanane
Prefecture of Inezgane-Aït Melloul
Chtouka Aït Baha Province
Taroudant Province
Tata Province
Tiznit Province
Western Sahara (most under de facto Moroccan administration)
Most of Western Sahara is administered de facto by Morocco (where the area is informally named the Southern Provinces by the Moroccan government and media); the rest is administered by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
The United Nations considers the territory to be disputed, as it was not legally transferred by Spain when it abandoned its former colony in 1975, and several states (notably members of the African Union) either recognize the SADR as the sole legitimate government of Western Sahara, or consider that the status of the region (either as an independent state, or as part of Morocco, or as part of Mauritania that initially claimed a part of it) has still not been autodetermined by the local population prior to its annexation. The United Nations has no legal instruments confirming the claims on the region made by the governments of Morocco or the self-proclaimed SADR, and in international treaties, it is still a formal part of Spain that remains to be properly decolonized, even though Spain and Mauritania no longer claim any part of it.
Since the annexation, the situation is worsened by the fact that most of the historic Western Saharan population has fled either to the remaining free zone (now isolated by the Moroccan militarized berm) or to refugee camps in neighbouring countries (notably Algeria), due to lack of resources in the free zone. The remaining native Western Saharan population now lives as a minority among the new Moroccan occupants. The absence of a legal government with a permanent administration in the free zone has also introduced a threat to the security of the surrounding countries in the Saharan and Sahel regions, including Morocco itself.
Guelmim-Oued Noun Region
Assa-Zag Province (partly located in Western Sahara)
Sidi Ifni Province (located in Mainland Morocco)
Guelmim Province (located in Mainland Morocco)
Tan-Tan Province (located in Mainland Morocco)
Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra Region
Boujdour Province
Es Semara Province
Laâyoune Province
Tarfaya Province (partly located in Mainland Morocco)
Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab Region
Aousserd Province
Oued Ed-Dahab Province
Before 2015
Mainland Morocco
Chaouia-Ouardigha Region
Ben Slimane Province
Berrechid Province
Khouribga Province
Settat Province
Greater Casablanca Region
Prefecture of Casablanca
Prefecture of Mohammedia
Médiouna Province
Nouaceur Province
Tadla-Azilal Region
Azilal Province
Béni-Mellal Province
Fquih Ben Salah Province
Doukkala-Abda Region
El Jadida Province
Safi Province
Sidi Bennour Province
Youssoufia Province
Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz Region
Prefecture of Marrakesh-Medina
Prefecture of Marrakesh-Menara
Prefecture of Sidi Youssef Ben Ali
Al Haouz Province
Chichaoua Province
El Kelâat Es-Sraghna Province
Essaouira Province
Rehamna Province
Fès-Boulemane Region
Prefecture of Fès-Dar-Dbibegh
Moulay Yacoub Province
Sefrou Province
Boulemane Province
Taza-Al Hoceima-Taounate Region
Al Hoceïma Province
Taounate Province
Taza Province
Guercif Province
Gharb-Chrarda-Béni Hssen Region
Kénitra Province
Sidi Kacem Province
Sidi Slimane Province
Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer Region
Prefecture of Rabat
Prefecture of Salé
Prefecture of Skhirat-Témara
Khémisset Province
Tangier-Tétouan Region
Tangier Sub-Region
Prefecture of Tangier-Assilah
Fahs-Anjra Province
Tétouan Sub-Region
Prefecture of M'diq-Fnideq
Chefchaouen Province
Larache Province
Ouezzane Province
Tétouan Province
Oriental Region
Prefecture of Oujda-Angad
Berkane Province
Driouch Province
Figuig Province
Jerada Province
Nador Province
Taourirt Province
Meknès-Tafilalet Region
Prefecture of Meknès
El Hajeb Province
Errachidia Province
Ifrane Province
Khénifra Province
Midelt Province
Souss-Massa-Drâa Region
Prefecture of Agadir-Ida Ou Tanane
Prefecture of Inezgane-Aït Melloul
Chtouka Aït Baha Province
Ouarzazate Province
Taroudant Province
Zagora Province
Sidi Ifni Province
Tiznit Province
Tinghir Province
Moroccan Sahara (most under de facto Moroccan administration)
Guelmim-Es Semara Region
Assa-Zag Province (located in Mainland Morocco)
Es Semara Province
Guelmim Province (located in Mainland Morocco)
Tan-Tan Province (located in Mainland Morocco)
Tata Province (located in Mainland Morocco)
Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra Region
Boujdour Province
Laâyoune Province
Tarfaya Province
Oued Ed-Dahab-Lagouira Region
Aousserd Province
Oued Ed-Dahab Province
Wilaya
In Morocco, a wilaya is an administrative division created in 1981 that "brings together many provinces or prefectures or both at the same time, and is intended to endow big urban units such as Casablanca with an administrative organization capable of meeting the needs that emerge from these expanding cities and their growing populations." Therefore, strictly speaking, the level of wilayas are between the regions and prefectures/provinces (although wilayas only cover urban areas). However, they are often used synonymous with regions or prefectures/provinces in common usage.
See also
Regions of Morocco
List of administrative divisions of Morocco by population (2004)
List of administrative divisions of Morocco by area (2004)
ISO 3166-2:MA (2004)
References
External links
ISO Administrative divisions
Morocco, Prefectures
Government of Morocco
Morocco, Prefectures
Morocco geography-related lists
Subdivisions of Morocco