# Spain and Morocco compared Spain and Morocco side by side: 43 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 6 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/esp-vs-mar Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Spain: 1492 — The Granada War ends and the Catholic Monarchs' realms span the peninsula - Morocco: c. 788 CE — Idris I founds the Idrisid dynasty at Walila ## Economy | Metric | Spain | Observed | Morocco | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $1.73 T | 2024 | $161 B | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $35,327 | 2024 | $4,153 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 3.5% | 2024 | 3.8% | 2024 | | Inflation | 2.8% | 2024 | 1.0% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 70.0% | 2024 | 92.2% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Spain | Observed | Morocco | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 49 m | 2024 | 38 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 83.9 yrs | 2024 | 75.5 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 80.3% | 2024 | 62.8% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 1.1 | 2024 | 2.2 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Spain | Observed | Morocco | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 76.9 | 2024 | 44.1 | 2024 | | Political stability | 65.8 | 2024 | 58.4 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 72.9 | 2024 | 54.8 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 64.7 | 2024 | 54.4 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 73.0 | 2024 | 50.6 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 62.3 | 2024 | 37.4 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Spain | Observed | Morocco | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 9.2% | 2023 | 6.1% | 2023 | | Physicians | 4.29 | 2022 | 0.74 | 2021 | | Under-5 mortality | 3.2 | 2024 | 15.7 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 97.0% | 2024 | 98.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 99.5% | 2024 | 80.0% | 2024 | ## Education | Metric | Spain | Observed | Morocco | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 99.7% | 2021 | 64.3% | 2014 | | Education spending | 4.6% | 2022 | 6.0% | 2023 | | Primary enrolment | 102.9% | 2024 | 116.6% | 2024 | | Secondary enrolment | 118.5% | 2024 | 90.0% | 2024 | | Tertiary enrolment | 93.8% | 2024 | 48.2% | 2024 | ## Technology | Metric | Spain | Observed | Morocco | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 1.5% | 2023 | 0.7% | 2010 | | Researchers (per million) | 3,654 | 2023 | 1,083 | 2016 | | Internet users | 95.8% | 2024 | 91.2% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 130 | 2024 | 153 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 9.3% | 2024 | 5.4% | 2023 | ## Geography | Metric | Spain | Observed | Morocco | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 499,697 km² | 2023 | 446,300 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 37.2% | 2023 | 12.9% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 49.6% | 2023 | 66.7% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 4.5 | 2024 | 1.8 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 19.0% | 2021 | 10.9% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Spain | Observed | Morocco | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 0.1% | 2021 | 0.4% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 0.1% | 2021 | 0.3% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.1% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 | | Phosphate rock | — | — | 36 Mt | 2025 | ## Military | Metric | Spain | Observed | Morocco | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 1.4% | 2024 | 3.5% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $25 B | 2024 | $5.5 B | 2024 | | Armed forces | 199,000 | 2020 | 246,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/ESP.md and https://terralore.co/country/MAR.md. ## Entangled histories (6 events) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - 1086: **Almoravids enter al-Andalus** — Yusuf ibn Tashfin leads the Almoravids into Spain, checking the Christian Reconquista and bringing Muslim al-Andalus under Moroccan rule. (from the Morocco chronicle; sources: North Africa: The Maghrib under the Almoravids and the Almohads; The Art of the Almoravid and Almohad Periods (ca. 1062–1269)) - 1212: **Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa** — A Christian coalition decisively defeats the Almohads in Spain, beginning the dynasty's decline and reopening al-Andalus to the Reconquista. (from the Morocco chronicle; sources: The Art of the Almoravid and Almohad Periods (ca. 1062–1269); North Africa: The Maghrib under the Almoravids and the Almohads) - 30 March 1912: **Treaty of Fez establishes the protectorates** — Sultan Abd al-Hafid signs the Treaty of Fez, making Morocco a French protectorate; a Spanish zone in the north and south and an international zone at Tangier are settled the same year. (from the Morocco chronicle; sources: Treaty of Fès (1912); A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition: Morocco) - 22 July 1921: **Battle of Annual and the Rif War** — Abd el-Krim's Riffian fighters destroy a Spanish army at Annual and proclaim a Republic of the Rif; a Franco-Spanish coalition suppresses the rebellion by 1926. (from the Morocco chronicle; sources: Rif War) - 2 March 1956: **Restoration of independence** — France ends its protectorate by agreement with Morocco; Spain relinquishes most of its northern zone in April, restoring Moroccan independence under Sultan Mohammed V. (from the Morocco chronicle; sources: French Colony to Sovereign State: Moroccan Independence; A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition: Morocco) - 6 November 1975: **The Green March** — King Hassan II leads the Green March, in which about 350,000 unarmed Moroccans enter the Western Sahara to assert Morocco's claim as Spain withdraws; the territory's status remains disputed. (from the Morocco chronicle; sources: Moroccans march into Western Sahara in the Green March, 1975; Dispute over the Western Sahara Erupts in the Green March) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex - Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/ESP/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/MAR/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Spain and Morocco compared", terralore.co/compare/esp-vs-mar, retrieved .