Morocco Language: What Languages Are Spoken in Morocco?

Morocco is a multilingual country by history and by law. Its language policy rests on Article 5 of the Constitution adopted in 2011, which gives official status to two languages and protects the other expressions of Moroccan identity.

The same article created the National Council for Moroccan Languages and Culture, responsible for protecting and developing Arabic, Amazigh and the country’s other cultural expressions.

The General Census of Population and Housing carried out in 2024 by the High Commission for Planning (HCP) gives a precise picture of what Moroccans actually speak.

Two forms of Arabic coexist in Morocco. Modern Standard Arabic is the language of the State, the law, schooling, the press, official speeches and religious life. Among literate Moroccans aged ten and over, 99.2% can read and write Arabic, according to the 2024 census.

Darija is the spoken Moroccan Arabic used at home and in the street. It draws on Arabic and Amazigh, with vocabulary taken from French and Spanish, and has its own pronunciation and rhythm. Speakers of Arabic from the Middle East sometimes find it hard to follow at first, while Moroccans usually understand other forms of Arabic well through media and schooling.

Amazigh is the oldest language of North Africa. It became an official language with the Constitution of 2011, and Organic Law n° 26.16, published in the Bulletin Officiel in September 2019, sets out how that status is applied in education, legislation, the media, culture and public services. The law adopts Tifinagh as the script for writing Amazigh.

Three main regional varieties are spoken in the Kingdom:

According to the 2024 census, Amazigh is the mother tongue of 64% of the population in the Draa-Tafilalet region and 56.4% in Souss-Massa. The Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture (IRCAM), founded in 2001, works on the standardisation and teaching of the language. Since 2023, the Amazigh New Year, Id Yennayer, celebrated on 14 January, has been an official paid public holiday.

Hassaniya is the form of Arabic spoken in the Moroccan Sahara, in the regions of Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra, Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab and Guelmim-Oued Noun. It carries a rich oral tradition of poetry and storytelling, and the Constitution commits the State to preserving it as part of the unified Moroccan cultural identity. Darija and Standard Arabic are understood throughout these regions.

French has no official status, but it holds a strong place in economic life. It is used in banking, business, medicine, engineering and many university courses, and appears on road signs, menus, shop fronts and administrative forms. The 2024 census found that 57.7% of literate Moroccans aged ten and over can read and write French.

For a visitor, French is the most useful foreign language in Morocco. Taxi drivers, shopkeepers, hotel staff and guides in the cities generally speak it with ease.

Spanish is understood in parts of the north, around Tetouan, Tangier and Larache, and among older generations in the south, a legacy of history and proximity to Spain. Only 1.2% of literate Moroccans report reading and writing it.

English is the fastest-growing foreign language. The 2024 census counts 20.5% of literate Moroccans who read and write it, and the Ministry of National Education has been extending English teaching to all middle schools since 2023. In hotels, riads, restaurants and tourist sites of the large cities, English is widely spoken.

You can travel across Morocco speaking English or French. A few words of Darija, or of Amazigh in the mountains, are always welcomed and often open a warmer conversation.

Transliterations follow the most common spelling used by Moroccans when writing Darija in Latin letters.

Public buildings display their names in Arabic and in Amazigh written in Tifinagh, the script with geometric letters such as ⵣ, the symbol often seen on flags and jewellery. Road signs, stations and airports usually add French. In practice, a visitor who reads the Latin alphabet can find their way without difficulty.