The Moroccan youth is often broken off from the adult world and has difficulty in finding its place in society. In the previous generation, young people were a productive force in the family ranks. Today, these young people, most particularly in urban areas, have become « a burden » that disturbs representations and traditions between generations.

Moroccan youth, especially the urban population, is very much in tune with communication and information technologies. During interviews with urban youth, 95% of young people considered computer and Internet use to be their main occupation of free time, either at home, or more often in “cybercafés” that promote a friendly, social space and allow one to be “connected to the entire world” as expressed by a young person from Rabat. This also allows Moroccan youth to be in step with global youth trends, particularly such as music, rap, and hip hop for rural youth. If computer use is spreading in rural areas, it is largely due to the presence of cultured youth in villages or emigrants returning home to set up associations, to participate in the municipal council, or to contribute to the introduction of collective “modern” activities with the establishment of daily Internet use.

The experiments, however, remain unequally based on territorial distribution, and there is today a “digital gap” between rural and urban youth regarding usage of information technologies. However, football, for boys, deserves the title of “national past time”, far more than cultural hobbies, which represent only 12% of those mentioned during the interviews. [...]

Due to the personal status reform, the legal age of marriage increased from 15 to 18 years old for women, and it remains at 18 years old for men. Polygamy remains legal, but it is allowed only under two conditions. It must be authorized by a judge and accepted by both (or several) spouses. It is today undergoing a distinct regression. Concerning education, it is now compulsory for children from 6 to 14 years of age, but without official control. The legal age of majority and criminal responsibility has increased to 18 years of age. Military service is no longer compulsory. There is, furthermore, a specific form of justice for minors. A youth judge must organise their placement in one of the 22 reform centres spread throughout the country. Through articles 476 and 500 of the code of civil procedure, the delegate in charge of youth probation, who is a government official from the State Bureau in charge of youth, ensures that youth are monitored under the supervision of a judge for minors. This supervision occurs in two phases. The first involves observation of the minor, his family, and his environment. The second is a reform of the minor’s behaviour through either probation or a stay in a rehabilitation centre.

Young men and women who do have work widely report holding poor-quality jobs, often working without job security or benefits (about 88% of employed youth work without a contract, meaning that most have informal sector jobs), experiencing underemployment (especially in the informal sector, where many jobs are temporary or part-time), and poor working conditions.

Overall, youth in Morocco report being dissatisfied with their jobs and recount many problems with them—the most widely cited are the low pay, heavy workloads, long hours, and boredom.

Private versus Public sector Jobs: Approximately 50% of youth are salaried workers in private companies. The importance of the public sector as a source of jobs has declined. Only 5% of youth have public sector salaried positions. Despite the interest expressed by young survey respondents, very few are actually self-employed.

Youth feel they have little control over their economic future. Better education and skills are considered insufficient to obtain a decent job without personal or family networks and connections, whether in the public, private, or informal sector, and even just to gain an internship. This is due to limited formal job intermediation mechanisms. One in three youth desires or plans to leave Morocco because of poor future prospects.