Casablanca-Settat ( ar, الدار البيضاء - سطات, ad-dār al-bayḍāʾ - siṭṭāt; ber, ⴰⵏⴼⴰ - ⵙⵟⵟⴰⵜ, anfa - sṭṭat) is one of the twelve administrative regions of

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

. It covers an area of 20,166 km² and recorded a population of 6,861,739 in the

2014 Moroccan census The 2014 Moroccan census The moroccan census of the population, officially named general census of the population and the habitat (RGPH), is a census taking place every ten years in the kingdom. It is established under the responsibility of the Hig ...

, 69% of which lived in urban areas. The capital of the region is Casablanca.

Geography

Casablanca-Settat is located on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast. It borders the regions of

Rabat-Salé-Kénitra Rabat-Salé-Kénitra ( ar, الرباط-سلا-القنيطرة, ar-ribāṭ salā al-qunayṭira; ber, ⴻⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ-ⵙⵍⴰ-ⵇⵏⵉⵟⵔⴰ, eṛṛbaṭ sla qniṭra) is one of the twelve administrative regions of Morocco. It is ...

to the northeast,

Béni Mellal-Khénifra Béni Mellal-Khénifra ( ar, بني ملال - خنيفرة, banī mallāl - ḵunayfira; ber, ⴰⵢⵜ ⵎⵍⵍⴰⵍ - ⵅⵏⵉⴼⵕⴰ, ayt mllal - xnifṛa) is one of the twelve regions of Morocco. It covers an area of 28,374 km2 a ...

to the southeast, and

Marrakesh-Safi Marrakesh-Safi or Marrakech-Asfi ( ar, مراكش آسفي, murrākuš āsafi; ( ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ ⴰⵙⴼⵉ, mṙṙakš asfi) is one of the ten Regions of Morocco.

to the south. Part of the border with Marrakesh-Safi follows the course of the

Oum Er-Rbia River Oum Er-Rbia (Berber: ⴰⵙⵉⴼ ⵏ ⵉⵙⴰⴼⴻⵏ, ar, أم الربيع, "the mother of springtime", spelling Oum el- rbia, is a large, long and high-throughput river in central Morocco. The river is long. With an average water throughp ...

, which flows northwest and empties into the Atlantic at

Azemmour Azemmour or Azammur ( ar, أزمور, azammūr; ber, ⴰⵣⵎⵎⵓⵔ, azemmur, lit=wild olive tree) is a Moroccan city, lying at the Atlantic ocean coast, on the left bank of the Oum Er-Rbia River, 75 km southwest of Casablanca. Etymo ...

. The river divides the region into two plains, the

Doukkala Doukkala () is a tribal confederation of mostly Arab origin, and is also a natural region of Morocco made of fertile plains and forests. Nowadays it is part of the Casablanca-Settat administrative region. The region is a plain stretching fr ...

in the west and the Chaouia in the east. Several reservoirs provide water for the region, including that of the

Al Massira Dam The Al Massira Dam is a gravity dam located south of Settat on the Oum Er-Rbia River in Settat Province, Morocco. Completed in 1979, the dam provides water for the irrigation of over of farmland in the Doukkala region. The dam's hydroelectric po ...

on the Oum Er-Rbia and one on the Oued Mellah south of Mohammedia.

History

Casablanca-Settat was formed in September 2015 by merging Grand Casablanca with the provinces of El Jadida and Sidi Bennour in

Doukkala-Abda Doukkala-Abda ( (Ǧihâtu Dukkālâ - ʿAbdâ)) was formerly one of the sixteen regions of Morocco from 1997 to 2015. It is situated in west-central Morocco. It covered an area of 13,285 km² and had a population of 2,173,090 (2014 census). The ...

region and the provinces of Benslimane, Berrechid and Settat in

Chaouia-Ouardigha Chaouia-Ouardigha () was formerly one of the sixteen regions of Morocco from 1997 to 2015. It was situated in north-central Morocco in the historical region of Chaouia. It covered an area of 7,010 km² and had a population of 1,893,950 (2014 cens ...

region.

Government

Mustapha Bakkoury Mustapha Bakkoury (Arabic: مصطفى البكوري; born 20 December 1964, Mohammedia, Morocco) is a Moroccan businessman, engineer and politician. He is chairman of the board of the Moroccan Solar Energy Agency and the council president of the ...

, a member of the

Authenticity and Modernity Party The Authenticity and Modernity Party ( ar, حزب الأصالة والمعاصرة, translit=ḥizb al-ʾaṣāla wa-l-muʿāṣira; zgh, ⴰⵎⵓⵍⵍⵉ ⵏ ⵜⴰⵥⵖⵓⵕⵜ ⴷ ⵜⴰⵎⵜⵔⴰⵔⵜ, translit=amulli n taẓɣoṛt ...

, was elected as the first president of Casablanca-Settat's regional council on 14 September 2015. Khalid Safir was appointed governor (''wali'') of the region on 13 October 2015. He was succeeded by Abdelkébir Zahoud in 2017.

Subdivisions

Casablanca-Settat comprises two prefectures and seven provinces: * Benslimane Province *

Berrechid Province Berrechid Province () is a province of Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean ...

* Casablanca Prefecture *

El Jadida Province El Jadida Province (in Arabic: الجديدة) is a province of Morocco, located in the region of Casablanca-Settat. The province takes its name from the chief city of El Jadida. Its population in 2006 was 1,128,098. History The El Jadida pro ...

Médiouna Province Médiouna is a province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's te ...

* Mohammadia Prefecture *

Nouaceur Province Nouaceur ( ar, إقليم النواصر, french: Province de Nouaceur) is a province in the Moroccan region of Casablanca-Settat. Its population in 2004 was 236,119Its major town is Bouskouraalthough the administrative centre is Nouaceur. Moha ...

Settat Province Settat is a province of Morocco in the Casablanca-Settat Region. The province had a population of 956,904 people in 2004. The Wali (governor) of the region is Bouchaib El Moutawakkil. The major cities and towns are: #Ben Ahmed # El Borouj # Gui ...

Sidi Bennour Province Sidi Bennour Province () is a province of Morocco in the Casablanca-Settat Casablanca-Settat ( ar, الدار البيضاء - سطات, ad-dār al-bayḍāʾ - siṭṭāt; ber, ⴰⵏⴼⴰ - ⵙⵟⵟⴰⵜ, anfa - sṭṭat) is one of the ...

Economy

Casablanca-Settat had a

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is oft ...

of 290 billion

Moroccan dirham The Moroccan dirham ( ar, درهم, translit=dirham, ary, درهم, translit=derhem; ber, ⴷⵔⵀⵎ, translit=drhm; sign: DH; code: MAD) is the official monetary currency of Morocco. It is issued by the Bank Al-Maghrib, the central bank of ...

s in 2013, accounting for 32% of Morocco's GDP and ranking first among Moroccan regions. Its economy is primarily based on services and industry. In addition, the Doukkala area in the west is noted for its agricultural output.

Infrastructure

The A3, A5, and A7 expressways connect Casablanca with Rabat, Safi (via

El Jadida El Jadida (, ; originally known in Berber as Maziɣen or Mazighen; known in Portuguese as Mazagão) is a major port city on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, located 96 km south of the city of Casablanca, in the province of El Jadida and the ...

), and Marrakesh (via

Berrechid Berrechid ( ar, برشيد, ber, ⴱⴰⵔⵛⵉⴷ, baršid) is a town and municipality in Berrechid Province of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco. It recorded a population of 136,634 inhabitants in the 2014 Moroccan census The 2014 Moroc ...

and

Settat Settat ( ar, سطات, siṭṭāt, ber, ⵥⴻⵟⵟⴰⵜ, ẓeṭṭat) is a city in Morocco between the national capital Rabat and Marrakesh. Settat is located by road south of the centre of Casablanca, roughly an hour's drive. It is the ...

) respectively. There is also an expressway running from Berrechid to

Beni Mellal Beni Mellal ( ar, بني ملال}, ber, ⴰⵢⵜ ⵎⵍⵍⴰⵍ, Ayt Mellal) is a city in north-central Morocco. It is the capital of the Béni Mellal-Khénifra Region and has a population of 192,676 (2014 census). It sits at the foot of Jbe ...

. Railways link the region with Marrakesh to the south,

Oued Zem Oued Zem is a city in Khouribga Province, Béni Mellal-Khénifra, Morocco. According to the 2014 Moroccan census The 2014 Moroccan census The moroccan census of the population, officially named general census of the population and the habitat (RG ...

to the southeast, and Rabat and other Moroccan cities to the northeast. The ports at Casablanca,

Jorf Lasfar Jorf Lasfar (Arabic for "Yellow Cliffs")McGuinness, Justin.Morocco, 4th ed. (2003). Footprint Travel Guides. p. 142. . Google Books. Retrieved on April 7, 2011. is a deepwater commercial port located on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. In terms of t ...

and Mohammedia ranked second through fourth nationally by tonnage in 2014.

Mohammed V International Airport Mohammed V International Airport, ; ber, ⴰⵣⴰⴳⵯⵣ ⴰⴳⵔⵖⵍⴰⵏ ⵎⵓⵃⵎⵎⴷ ⵡⵙ5; french: Aéroport International de Mohammed V is an international airport serving Casablanca, Morocco. Located in Nouaceur Province ...

, located 20 km south of Casablanca in Nouaceur Province, is Morocco's busiest airport, handling nearly eight million passengers in 2014. The country's only

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...

in Mohammedia shut down in August 2015.

References

External links

{{Regions of Morocco